The LTTE is currently engaged in peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan government to end the country’s protracted civil war. Any power-sharing arrangement will involve the LTTE in implementing the austerity measures demanded by the World Bank and IMF, which will, in turn, provoke opposition from workers and the poor. The threats against SEP members on Kayts are a sharp warning of the methods that the LTTE intends to use in dealing with any opposition to these policies.

We urge all our readers to support the WSWS campaign by sending letters of protest to the LTTE leadership, demanding that it repudiate its threats and guarantee the SEP’s right to conduct its political work, free of harassment, intimidation and physical assault. The SEP also urgently requires donations to its 50,000-rupee ($US500) defence fund to cover legal and other campaign costs.

Some of the most recent letters of support include:
Four young plantation workers from the Hatton area, S. Udayakumar, P. Chandran, P. Saravana Kumar and T. Savarimuttu, wrote: “We call upon the LTTE leadership to condemn the attack on Socialist Equality Party members in the island of Kayts in the northern province of Sri Lanka. The right of the SEP to conduct political work in those areas should be defended.