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16-03-2006

UK-Lanka deal to curb Tiger fund raising

LONDON: The British Government will come forward to curb illegal fund raising from the Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora in the United Kingdom, it emerged yesterday.

The British Minister of State for the Home Department Tony McNully has agreed on the importance of sharing information in this regard and outlined practical measures to Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera when they met in London yesterday.

They also agreed on further cooperation between UK and Sri Lanka in combating terrorism financing. Immigration related issues were also discussed. The LTTE's extortion of the Tamil diaspora in the UK was exposed in a Human Rights Watch report released on Tuesday.

Later, Samaraweera addressed the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London on 'the challenges faced by democracies like Sri Lanka in dealing with terrorism'.

The Minister said despite the dilemma of having to negotiate with a group yet to renounce terrorism and violence, the Government was committed to a negotiated political solution to achieve durable peace.

He also emphasised that a solution should uphold democracy, pluralism and human rights in bringing about lasting peace to the people of Sri Lanka. He pointed out that President Mahinda Rajapakse has taken a new approach towards the peace process by consulting all democratic political parties to obtain consensus on the way forward.

He upheld that such an inclusive, broad-based and transparent strategy is a clear indication of the Government's commitment to find a durable solution.

Source-Daily News