Support for LTTE fades in UK

Text & Pic by Shirajiv SIRIMANE

London: The support for the LTTE is dying fast and a strong British lobby is being created to extend the GSP Plus facility to Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom, Justice Nihal Jayasinghe said that the momentum the LTTE had during the war is now fading. "During the height of the war one could see nearly 20, 000 LTTE supporters and sympathizers in protest for the movement," he said.

"However now the London Police estimates that this number has come down to 5,000," he said.

He said that the protesters are now talking about Internally Displaced People (IDP) and when this issue is settled they would hardly have any material to muster support and hold protests.

He said that in a highly developed country like the United States it has taken over four years to resettle people who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. "People are still living there in makeshift camps," he said.

In addition landmines have to be cleared which takes time. "Before people return to their livelihoods, infrastructure for them too has to be provided.

"A responsible government cannot just let out these people and ask them to go on their own," he said.

The proper addresses of the people too should be double checked before they are sent to their original homes.

"The government cares for these IDPs and that is why the government is investing so much in the North East," he said.

He also said that Sri Lanka protested on the fake Channel 4 exposure on Sri Lanka and they are still working on this matter.

Commenting on tourism people have now woken to the reality that Sri Lanka is a free country and people could travel anywhere including the North and the East.

"The softening of the travel advisories too encourages more British tourists to come to Sri Lanka," he said.

"Using trade as a strategic tool makes the global trading system hostage to endless political posturing and negotiating games. Governments should grant trade preferences on simple, fair criteria, largely based on the poverty and vulnerability of trading partners," editorial of the Financial Times said.

"Trade deals should be a means for poor countries to haul themselves out of poverty, not a tool of foreign policy manipulation by their richer counterparts. Sri Lanka's exporters have used their access to the European market well. They should keep it," the Financial Times added.

In 2008, the European Union was Sri Lanka's largest export market, accounting for 36 percent of its $8.1 billion in total exports, followed by the United States with 24 percent.