September 6, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-us-Saani27,1423

COLOMBO, Sept 5: Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance _ a coalition of Tamil political parties _ on Thursday applauded the government for lifting the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), terming it the wisest decision taken in the last 20 years.

Ananda Sangari, head of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), one of the oldest Tamil political parties in the country, was optimistic.

“Nothing can go wrong now. The lifting of the ban was a compulsory measure if the talks were to be successful. We cannot expect them to some to the discussion table as terrorists”, Anadasangari said.

The business community in Colombo also expressed satisfaction with the decision, saying that it had proven to be an obstacle to progress and communal harmony.

The former chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Chandra Jayaratne, said the lifting of ban was an indication that the government was committed to peace.

“We have to think of the larger perspective. We have to restore the economy. And the way to do it is to take the revelant steps towards this goal”.

Peace activist and tycoon Lalith Kotelawela, who has provided jobs to youth in the LTTE-dominated regions with the construction of nearly twenty companies in the war-torn north and east, said it was “the correct attitude” taken by the United National Front.