Lankan turmoil: LTTE says it is not holding civilians

Colombo: Rubbishing the Sri Lankan Government's claim that it is holding civilians in Wanni as "human shields", the LTTE today said it has not imposed restrictions on anyone to leave the war zone in northern areas as Colombo set a 48-hour deadline for the rebels to surrender.
"We have been very clear that any individual who wishes to leave the combat zone has an individual right to move anywhere," Tamil Tigers' political head B Nadesan said."We have not imposed any restriction on individuals.
But, we will not be organising any 'organised exodus' against the collective will of the people who have sought refuge away from a genocidal military," he was quoted as saying by the pro-LTTE website TamilNet.Com.President Mahinda Rajapaksa had yesterday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the LTTE to surrender and allow free movement of civilians trapped in conflict areas and assured a "safe passage" to the civilians to a secure environment.
Nadesan claimed that several civilians have died without medical transport and the LTTE has been urging the ICRC, the UN and all the actors of the international community to act urgently to provide transport to the wounded.
He said yesterday that the LTTE has been urging the UN, ICRC and other international actors through all available offices to facilitate transportation for the wounded civilians in need of medical treatment to the Vavuniyaa Hospital.
Nadesan said there were "elements" seeking to feed false reports to tarnish the image of the Tigers.The rebel leader also said the LTTE has been asking the top officials of the UN and other international agencies to immediately visit the 'safety zone' and obtain the views of the civilians and make independent assessment of the needs and concerns of the civilians.