THE Tamil Tigers leader V Piraparahan yesterday addressed the Tamil people and the world on the occasion of ‘Great Heroes Day’.
He said it was a day ‘when we pay homage to our brave and valiant heroes who have transformed our land from one that was for many years subjugated by foreign rule into a defiant land refusing to submit to the will of the alien oppressor.’
He added: ‘Our heroes died for this land and are at rest in its bosom . . .
‘With its greed for land, Sinhalam has entered a militaristic path of destruction. It has sought to build the support of the world to confront us. It is living in a dreamland of military victory. It is a dream from which it will awake. That is certain.’
He continued: ‘The land of Tamil Eelam is confronted with an intense war as never before . . . As the Sinhala state is committed to a military solution, the war is becoming intense and widespread.’
The Sinhala state ‘is executing its war plan at full gallop. Pooling together all its military resources and arsenal, and with all its national wealth to buttress it, the racist Sinhala state has waged a fierce war on our land.
‘Our freedom fighters, have dedicated themselves to unbending resistance against this war of aggression launched by the racist Sinhala state.
‘With various countries of the world buttressing the genocidal war on the people of Tamil Eelam, we are waging a defensive war for the freedom of our people.’
Piraparahan continued: ‘We have faced forces much mightier than ours. We have had direct confrontations even against superior powers, stronger than us. We have withstood wave after wave of our enemy attacks.
‘Standing alone, we have blasted networks of innumerable intrigues, interwoven with betrayal and sabotage. We stood like a mountain and faced all dangers that loomed like storms. When compared to these happenings of the past, today’s challenges are neither novel nor huge. We will face these challenges with the united strength of our people.’
Piraparahan added: ‘From the day that British colonialism was replaced with Sinhala oppression, we have been struggling for our just rights – peacefully at first and with weapons thereafter.
‘The political struggle for our right to self-determination has extended over the last sixty years . . .
‘We were compelled to take up arms in order to protect our people from the armed terrorism of the racist Sinhala state. The armed violent path was not our choice. It was forced upon us by history.
‘Even though the armed struggle was thrust on us by inevitable needs, yet we wish to stop the war and seek a peaceful resolution to the national question of our people.
‘Our freedom movement is always ready for it. We are not opposed to a peaceful resolution. We have never hesitated to participate in peace talks.’
He concluded: ‘Let us all make a firm and determined resolution to follow fully the path of our heroes, who, in pursuit of our aspiration for justice and freedom, sacrificed themselves and have become a part of the history of our land and our people.’
