LTTE may seek asylum in UK

5 March 2010 06:26 am

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Pakistan has said that some LTTE leaders in the guise of asylum seekers could take refuge in the UK which could pose a grave threat to regional as well as global peace.

“Yes absolutely, if terrorists get asylum in Britain as civilian immigrants, it could pose grave security challenges,” Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody said in response to this scribes’ enquiries in the backdrop of the chances of relocation of Tamil rebels to the Britain.

He added, “I don’t think that the Britain is promoting terrorism but if somebody tries to organise the terror elements or the relics of crushed Tamil rebels, it is not only a cause of concern for us but for every country as it could endanger world’s peace.”

He further said that the LTTE was completely defeated and its key leaders were killed and arrested while some had absconded. “By aiding or organising these elements would be very counterproductive,” he cautioned.

The strong protest lodged by Sri Lankan government with the Great Britain over its backdoor and public interactions with Tamil rebels have once again mounted Lanka’s concerns that some terrorist leaders could seek asylum in Britain to pose a grave threat to regional as well as global peace.

The incident has questioned the uncalled for interference of UK in South Asian region.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband’s meeting with the leaders of Global Tamil Forum had backfired earlier this week triggering massive protests with hundreds of Sri Lankans gathering outside the British High Commission in Colombo to flay Britain’s support for GTF, a shadow organisation of LTTE.

However, the British authorities have kept mum over the issue and senior diplomats of the British High Commission here are reluctant to give their on-the-record version in this regard.

(The Nation)