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Pro-LTTE network funding western politicians-MR

31 Aug 2013 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has accused pro-LTTE networks of using money to bribe politicians in key Western nations, in order to get them to agitate against the Sri Lankan government on human rights issues.

He also said that international networks sympathetic to the terrorist Tamil Tigers, decisively defeated in Sri Lanka's civil war in 2009, play a big role in the people-smuggling trade to Australia.

"The LTTE (Tamil Tigers) sympathiser networks have been in this business for a long time," Mr Rajapaksa said in an exclusive interview with The Australian in his Colombo office.

"It was their big money-raiser. They are still doing it today."

Mr Rajapaksa said his government was co-operating closely with Canberra to suppress the people-smuggling trade.

"We are very happy with Australia's policies," he said.

"The myth is that when you get to Australia the government will look after you, the government will give you a dole, the government will give you free medical care," he said. "We don't want this trade to happen."

Mr Rajapaksa said the defeat of the Tamil Tigers in 2009 had allowed Sri Lanka to rapidly accelerate economic and social development to the benefit of all. He also thought the defeat of the Tigers was a security benefit to many nations, including Australia, in efforts to prevent terrorist attacks.

He described the leader of the Tigers, Prabrakaran, who died in the final conflict of 2009, as "a psychopath who took a delight in killing".

Mr Rajapaksa denied that the Sri Lankan army ever deliberately killed civilians, and cited the huge numbers of Sri Lankan Tamils who fled LTTE areas to get to the protection of the government.

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Pro-LTTE network funding western politicians-MR

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