Foreign Minister tells international community:

Hunt LTTE global network

Sri Lanka appealed for support in dismantling the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) international support network after victory over the terrorists.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told a high-level security forum in Singapore that the global organisation of the LTTE remained “largely intact.”

“Many of the operatives have clearly cultivated powerful, political lobbies in certain capitals with a view to resurrecting the LTTE,” he said.

“It is important for the international community to take all measures to assist the government of Sri Lanka to track down the global network of the LTTE,” he told an annual forum of defence and military officials organised by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Bogollagama dismissed allegations that heavy weapons were used by the military in civilian areas as part of the “propaganda of genocide against the Tamil people.” “This was both fictional and well-fabricated, with ulterior and sinister motives in order to discredit the Armed Forces as well as to embarrass the government of Sri Lanka,” he added.

“Sri Lanka will no doubt enter the annals of history as a classic textbook example of a nation that successfully prevailed over the scourge of terrorism, whilst tenaciously upholding the cherished values of democracy and human rights that have been deeply engraved in the psyche of our people,” he said.

“The government is firmly committed to reaching a political settlement acceptable to all,” the Foreign Minister said.

Sri Lanka’s handling of the LTTE “has sent a strong signal to the international community that terror can be defeated and terrorism can be eliminated,” he added.

AFP