Govt to pursue and dismantle LTTE overseas network

Manjula FERNANDO

In a relentless effort to pursue LTTE terrorist operatives and dismantle the LTTE overseas and international network, the Government is currently looking into the option of either prosecuting LTTE terrorist activists here in Sri Lanka, or having them prosecuted in their present countries of domicile, Government legal sources told the Daily News yesterday. Sources working closely in the Government's international counter terrorism activities, said this will be a viable option against a formal extradition which would necessarily involve following lengthy legal processes unless the countries concerned opt to cooperate with Sri Lanka .

"We are using available and very current intelligence" to pursue these operatives' exposed by Tiger leaders in custody and interrogated by Sri Lankan intelligence sleuths. The Government's intention is not to allow these operatives to continue to raise funds and keep them on the run without allowing them to pursue their terrorist goals, they said. Legal authorities therefore are looking into the option of overseas prosecutions as well.

Sri Lanka successfully initiated a similar case in 2002 and cracked the LTTE fundraising cell in Australia which is said to have financed the first Tiger aircraft.

'Operation Halophyte' by the Anti Terrorist Unit of the Australian Federal Police was initiated following a confidential memo submitted by the then Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Australia Maj.Gen. Janaka Perera to the Australian authorities.

Australian Federal Police arrested four suspects in the operation took legal action against them on three counts; being members of a terrorist organisation, financing terrorism and providing material support to terrorism. The case is still continuing.

Sri Lanka is in a position to claim its own citizens' living abroad to be prosecuted here if there is proof the person's conduct had amounted to a criminal offence.

This process will facilitate a pre-arranged deportation where either our officials could go there and bring him down or get the foreign law enforcing officers to escort and hand the suspects to our officials at the airport. But in the case of a suspect who has become a citizen elsewhere, the process could take years due to formalities involving an extradtion.

'This could be an extremely time consuming process," sources said adding that this would be so, especially if the suspect takes up a position to legally challenge the extradition move.

LTTE Chief procurer Kumaran Pathmanathan alias KP, who took over the terror outfit after Prabhakaran and who was arrested by defence officials in an undercover operation is alleged to have exposed the terror links with Adele Balasingham in UK, Rudrakumaran in US and Nediyawan in Norway, etc.

In the aftermath of the successful humanitarian and military operation against the LTTE in Sri Lanka, defense officials intensified their efforts to crackdown on the LTTE overseas network to stop regrouping the LTTE remnants and the arrest of KP is considered a major breakthrough in this operation.