Sri Lanka encourages EU ban on Tamil Tigers

Colombo, Apr 23: Sri Lanka today urged the European Union (EU) to include the Tamil Tiger rebels in their list of foreign terrorist organisations, in order to put pressure on the rebel outfit to abandon violence and join direct talks to end the bloody ethnic conflict.

''We expect the European community to go ahead with its threatened sanction, listing the LTTE as a terrorist organisation, if the LTTE continue to behave in this appalling manner and go on with its wave of violence and terrorism and does not cease to offer flimsy excuses for not coming to Geneva for the talks,'' Head of the Government Peace Secretariat and President Mahinda Rajapakse's senior Advisor, Dr Palitha Kohona told mediapersons here today.

Dr Kohona, a former member of the UN treaty section, said, there are consultations going on between the Sri Lankan government and the European community on the actions to be taken against the LTTE '' and we have been communicating our views to them on a regular basis.'' He, however, said it was not for the Sri Lankan government to ''dictate terms to the European community'' on what measures it should take, but pointed out that the EU itself had already put in place certain sanctions against the LTTE such as the travel ban, while threatening to blacklist them (LTTE) unless it continued with the negotiating process.

Dr Kohona said despite the series of attacks against the government security forces and other acts of provocation, the government has been ''stretching its limits'' in order to bring the LTTE to the negotiation table as proposed in Geneva.

He said the government last night has agreed to the latest demand by the LTTE through the Norwegian facilitators to charter a private 10-seater helicopter to airlift their eastern commanders to the Wanni for consultation with the elusive rebel leadership prior to the Geneva talks.

Dr Kohona said the government's decision has now been conveyed to the LTTE leadership in Kilinochchi through the Norwegian facilitators and expressed optimism that the LTTE would agree to the government's acceptance to charter a private helicopter to air transport their eastern commanders.

''There is a limit to which you can entertain excuses and I think that the LTTE's package of excuses may have run out now,'' Dr Kohona said, indicating that the government was running short of patience with the LTTE.

Meanwhile, government spokesman and Media Minister, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said some of the attacks by the LTTE were with the sinister intention of provoking the civilians and backlash like what happened in 1983 July in the South.

''I do not want to come to a conclusion that the talks in Geneva will not take place. We do not want to come to that conclusion very soon. But the President the government are doing their utmost to ensure that the talks will take place in Geneva in another date,'' Mr Yapa said.

The Tamil Tigers have already been banned in several countries including India, US, UK and last week in Canada.

UNI

Related Stories