Lankan envoy in US talks tough

Says Sri Lanka will not be intimidated by LTTE front organisations

The President and the people of Sri Lanka are not intimidated by the threats and distortions of fact of pro-LTTE front organisations that continue to support an international terrorist organisation.

We have endured one of the worst terrorist groups in the world and have emerged a united and victorious nation, said Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States.

Referring to a lawsuit filed against President Rajapaksa in Texas by an LTTE front organisation, Wickramasuriya said, “What we are seeing now is that the same individuals or relatives of these individuals that were part of these proscribed LTTE front organisations have started new groups. These so-called advocacy organisations have the same membership and directors as the proscribed organisations. They continue to spread propaganda against the Government and carry out publicity stunts like this baseless law suit.”

Ambassador Wickramasuriya noted that the Government of Sri Lanka continues to work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies in identifying LTTE front organisations.

Following is the press release issued by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in the US:

LTTE front organisations will eventually be exposed and brought to justice and cannot intimidate the President or the people of Sri Lanka

Recently foreign supporters of the LTTE terrorist group that fought and lost a conflict against the Sri Lankan people have accused Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, of committing war crimes as commander in chief of Sri Lanka’s armed forces.

Today LTTE supporters outside of Sri Lanka continue to accuse the government of human rights violations, according to Jaliya Wickramasuriya, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United States. Today those groups continue to raise funds for violent terrorist activities. Swiss federal police recently arrested 10 alleged LTTE supporters who the police say were threatening Sri Lankan Tamils into providing money to the LTTE.

A number of LTTE support groups have put the word “Tamil” in their names, hoping to attract attention and avert suspicion, Ambassador Wickramasuriya said. But he noted that the LTTE has been banned in the U.S. and a number of other countries. He said that the LTTE was responsible for the murder of thousands of civilians and assassinated numerous heads of state including Sri Lanka’s President Ranasinghe Premadasa, India’s Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lanka’s Tamil Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

 “It is clear what these groups are doing, and they have already drawn attention from law enforcement in countries where the LTTE is banned,” Ambassador Wickramasuriya said. “The LTTE has tried before to raise money by using groups that pose as humanitarian organisations, and they have been caught. Those attempting to do this now must cease or face prosecution.”

He said that front organisations have been discovered in the past and were brought to justice.

 “Let me be clear when I say that a majority of Sri Lankans living in the U.S. — Tamil, Muslim and Sinhalese alike — are grateful to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for liberating 300,000 citizens from terrorist captivity and uniting our island,” the ambassador said. A very small group of the Sri Lankan Diaspora is made up of supporters of the LTTE terrorist group. For the past 10 or 15 years this small minority has been very vocal in spreading propaganda against the Government of Sri Lanka.

The Ambassador pointed out, “The LTTE, an organisation that was once described by the FBI as the most ruthless terrorist organisation in the world, received a majority of its funding from outside Sri Lanka. Over the past several years the Government of Sri Lanka worked very closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to identify the sources of this terrorist funding. A few years ago the U.S. Department of Justice found numerous so-called charity organisations were in fact fronts for the LTTE.”

In 2007 the Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (T.R.O) was proscribed as a foreign terrorist organisation after the U.S. Justice Department found that donations collected for purportedly charitable purposes were actually being spent on further militarising the LTTE terrorists. The U.S. Treasury Department issued a press release in 2007 noting that the “T.R.O. passed off its operations as charitable, when in fact it was raising money for a designated terrorist group responsible for heinous acts of terrorism.” The Tamil Foundation was also proscribed as a front organisation.

“What we are seeing now is that the same individuals or relatives of these individuals that were part of these proscribed LTTE front organisations have started new groups. These so-called advocacy organisations have the same membership and directors as the proscribed organisations. They continue to spread propaganda against the Government and carry out publicity stunts like this baseless law suit.” Ambassador Wickramasuriya noted that the Government of Sri Lanka continues to work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies in identifying LTTE front organisations.

He remarked, “The future is bright for Sri Lanka. The unbelievable economic Renaissance and tourism boom that our nation is experiencing exemplifies the international confidence in the nation. The President is not intimidated by these distortions, nor are the people of Sri Lanka. We have endured the one of the worst terrorist groups in the world and have emerged a united and victorious nation.”

Today, most of the 300,000 people who were held by the LTTE have been resettled in their homes. Government programmes are underway to rebuild communities and lives. The government has established a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission to examine the conflict and aid in healing the wounds of war. The Government of Sri Lanka is thankful for the support that the U.S. Government has given the Commission.