UK to continue Tiger ban

4 June 2010 08:31 am

The British government has assured the ban on the LTTE will continue to remain in force and Britain will continue to prevent actions supportive of the LTTE on British soil. The assurance was given by the British High Commissioner in Sri Lanka to Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne.

According to the Prime Minister’s office the British High Commissioner for Sri Lanka Dr. Peter Hayes met Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne at the Prime Minister’s Office and discussed matters pertaining to mutual relations between the two countries.

During the discussion Dr. Peter Hayes said that Britain has been continuously prosecuting the individuals and entities collecting money inside Britain on behalf of the LTTE.

In addition the Dr. Peter Hayes stated that British government officials are discussing with Tamil Diaspora representatives on matters pertaining to mutual understanding between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Diaspora. He said that British officials are persuading the Tamil representatives to actively engage in the economic development programme of the Lankan government.

He said, “We are advising the Tamil Diaspora in Britain to work with the government of Sri Lanka to settle the ethnic and political disputes between the two parties and actively take part in the ongoing development process of the government. The Tamil Diaspora could be a rich source of funds for the economic upheaval of the North and East areas of Sri Lanka and to the entire country as well. Therefore, we believe that convincing the Tamil Diaspora to invest in the Sri Lankan economy is an ideal measure which the British government is currently implementing for the benefit of Sri Lanka”.

He also said that the British officials are advising the Tamil representatives in Britain to work within the limits of the Sri Lankan political system and any ideological disputes which arise with the Lankan government should be solved within the existing limits of the system rather than opting to take action outside the latter.  (Daily Mirror online)