Banning terrorist organisations:
Minister questions sincerity of some Western countries
by Uditha Kumarasinghe
Senior Minister for Good Governance and Infrastructure Ratnasiri
Wickramanayaka said that certain countries in the West unfortunately do
not seem to be sincere when it comes to banning terrorist organisations
such as the LTTE which is still active in such countries.
“If these countries are really keen on eliminating terrorism, they
must translate their words into action.
Even after a terrorist organisation is banned and if it is allowed to
continue its other activities, the question arises as to whether that
country is really sincere the Minister told the Sunday Observer.
Therefore, suspicion is rife whether some foreign Governments are
ready to dance to the tune of the LTTE, he said.
Minister Wickramanayaka said there can’t be different degrees of
terrorism. When the Western World speaks in two tongues, I wonder to
what extent they are sincere, he said.
The Minister said he learned through the media that the LTTE has
launched a bus service in the United Kingdom (UK). The LTTE is, however,
a banned terrorist organisation in UK. Therefore, the question arises as
to how democratic or fair it is for a terrorist organisation to be
allowed to launch its other activities? Doesn’t that prejudice people
who are anti-terrorist? If a terrorist organisation is banned in a
country, one expects that country to take steps to prevent such
organisations resorting to fund-raising and other activities.
He said when we look at this problem from that perspective, I feel
there are certain countries in the West which do not seem to be sincere
when it comes to banning terrorist organisations in their countries.
|