A Petition from WORLD ALLIANCE FOR PEACE IN SRI LANKA Honorable President Barack Obama, Honorable Vice President Joe Biden, Honorable Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the Honorable Members of the Congress of the United States By: the freedom loving citizens of all races and creeds in Sri Lanka in order to seek support to strengthen democracy and banish fascist racist terrorism from Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans, custodians of a country with a proud history of 2500 years, described as the 'mediatrix' of trade between the East and the West by Greek historians, having been identified as a single entity from the ancient times, look forward eagerly to a productive relationship with the Obama administration. In your inaugural address the strong message you sent to those groups that have embraced terrorism as a way to gaining their demands and pose a threat to democracy is indeed encouraging. For the past quarter century, Sri Lanka has been fighting a war on terror against the most ruthless terrorist organisation the world has seen,the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) a.k.a. the Tamil Tigers. The LTTE's armed struggle in Sri Lanka was essentially to empower a fascist group similar to Hitler's NAZI party using racist propaganda. Importantly, a report by Professor Rohan Guneratne, an expert on terrorism and a consultant to the US government, that was handed over to former President George Bush, to all levels at the State Department, the Foreign Relations committee of the US Senate and the FBI, clearly indicates the links between the LTTE and Al Qaeda. While deceptively calling themselves Freedom Fighters for the Liberation of the Tamil people; they have assassinated many highly respected Democratically minded Tamil leaders like Hon. Lakshman Kadirgamar, Dr. Neelan Tiruchelvam with Harvard links, are just two among a long list of prominent Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka who have fallen victim to the LTTE suicide and other killer squads. The Sri Lankan Tamils unlike the African Americans were a privileged group that benefited from the special educational facilities provided to them from colonial times, enabling them to hold positions in the highest echelons of the public and private sectors, professions and armed services. Democratically oriented Tamil leaders and by far the majority of Tamils do not accept the LTTE as their representatives. Successive Governments of Sri Lanka have always been open to a negotiated peace settlement, but the LTTE repeatedly stalled negotiations making Cease Fire Agreements an opportunity to recuperate and replenish their weapons and cadres thereafter resuming terrorist activities once they had stocked up their arsenals. The armed violence perpetrated by the LTTE was the greatest obstacle facing Sri Lanka's efforts to develop the country. President Mahinda Rajapakse's Government along with the Sri Lankan Defence forces have now liberated significant areas of sovereign Sri Lankan territory illegally held by LTTE with minimal harm to civilians.The LTTE has now formed a human shield for their protection. Retreating defeated Tamil Tiger terrorists record a historical victory against terrorism almost unparalleled in the annals of democratic nations. In a small island of 25,000 sq miles all ethnic groups need to work together for social and economic development rather than attempting to balkanize the island creating tremendous internal as well as external strife. The defeat of the LTTE will provide a golden opportunity for Sri Lanka to march forward with confidence to the next vital steps of nation building and healing wounds among her people. As vast areas in Sri Lanka under the illicit control of the LTTE are being liberated rapidly we would urge you to consider helping the Sri Lankan Government who is seeking assistance from the US Government to redevelop the areas of Sri Lanka that have been ravaged by the LTTE terrorists and to rehabilitate LTTE child soldiers as well as displaced persons of all races within Sri Lanka. The LTTE has been banned in the US for the past decade or more as an international terrorist organization recognized as one of the most vicious by the FBI They are banned in 28 other countries including the European Union, Canada, Australia, India, Malaysia and re-proscribed Sri Lanka on 7th January 2009. President Obama, we respectfully urge you and the new US administration to continue the full proscription of the LTTE, whilst being ever watchful of Tamil organizations masquerading as Obama support groups who may urge you to de-proscribe the LTTE. We earnestly request you to instruct your Security agencies to take extreme care in vetting various Tamil organizations that in effect may be LTTE front organizations typically using quite innocuous names. Such LTTE front organizations in USA and other western nations have been supporting terrorism in Sri Lanka by word and deed for decades, We urge you to be vigilant of the LTTE, their support groups and front organizations in the United States of America so that they will not be able to fund the LTTE's terrorist war in Sri Lanka and their international racist propaganda machine. Finally we urge President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to initiate steps through US security establishments to list the LTTE including LTTE fronts operating in USA, as an integral part of international terrorism responsible for crimes against humanity and violation of human rights as per UN resolutions on Terrorism and initiate punitive action against them. To quote Sri Lanka's former illustrious Foreign Minister the late Hon Lakshman Kadirgamar who was murdered by the LTTE-" Terrorism any where is terrorism every where" Thank you Yours truly Ranjith Soysa,Spokesperson Member organizations in the USA President - New York Society of United Sri Lankans-U.S.A President - First Society of Sri Lankan Professors in American Universities President - FOSUS - FRIENDS OF SRI LANKA in US President - New York Society of United Sri Lankans and Consortium of Sri Lanka Expatriates President - SRI LANKAN PATRIOTS, Los Angeles, California