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Call to root out LTTE

by Colvin L. De Silva - Our London Correspondent

Lord Nascby in a speech delivered in the House of Lords on Friday September 14, in the aftermath of the devastating terrorist attack in America, questioned why the British Government was allowing the chief spokesman for the LTTE Anton Balasingham to choose London to make a statement that his organisation would have nothing to do with a ceasefire and nothing to do with a peace conference.

Following are excerpts of his speech:

"Noble Lords will know that for well over 20 years I have spoken in depth, both in this House and in the other place about the problems in Sri Lanka. I know the country well and I am the Joint Chairman of the all party Sri Lanka group. Over those 20 years, that country has suffered from terrorism. Some 60,000 people have died".

"The hijackers of the four aircraft last Tuesday were suicide bombers. I believe that some research work has been carried out on acts carried out by suicide bombers over the past 20 years at the University of St. Andrews. It has been estimated that the number of such acts is around 250, but as many as 160 of those have taken place in Sri Lanka. The President has gone, ministers have gone and individuals have gone. Many of those senior people have been in my home here in the United Kingdom: they were close friends, Now they have all gone."

"I have campaigned hard to have the LTTE proscribed. Thankfully earlier this year the Government responded to the campaign. But an Act of Parliament is not enough, as the other speakers have pointed out. Only last week the chief spokesman for the LTTE, Anton Balasingham, chose London as the venue for his international statement that his organisation would have nothing to do with a cease-fire and nothing to do with a peace conference. I ask this question of Her Majesty's Government: if the LTTE is a proscribed organisation, as are a number of the fundamental organisations, why is such an individual over here and why is he allowed to make such a statement? Why are such organisations still allowed to operate? I raise this because I suggest that they ought to be rooted out. Following on the experience of last Tuesday, I hope that a lesson will have been learnt and the issue taken even more seriously".

"I conclude by reflecting that the British who died in New York will not thank the BBC for changing the Last Night of the Proms. I also conclude with the thought that their lives cannot be restored, but others can be saved if all democracies co-operate in rooting out terrorism. This summer I read Ian Kershaw's book about Hitler between 1889 and 1936, called Hubris. There is no better blueprint of what happens to democracy if people are not vigilant and if they hope that a problem will go away. Problems such as Hitler and fundamentalism will never go away. They will be removed only if they are eradicated and if we are strong".

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