Singapore, 05 June, (Asiantribune.com): Sri Lanka appealed to the South east Asian Countries check on the Tamil separatist outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam from using their territories for terrorist activities such as arms smuggling and money laundering.
South East Asian leaders have positively responded and assured Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama that they would be more vigilant and not permit their territories be used in any manner by the LTTE. They also pledged to cooperate with the government in combating terrorism.
Sri Lanka has been assured of increased assistance in combating LTTE terrorism, including intelligence sharing, by states attending the Sixth Annual IISS Asian Security Summit held in Singapore.
The Forum attended by defense ministers and military commanders, appreciated the challenge faced by Sri Lanka in countering LTTE terrorism and agreed that they would further strengthen cooperation between their governments and the Government of Sri Lanka.
Rohitha Bogollagama met separately with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of Cambodia Gen. Tea Banh, Indonesian Defence Minister Prof. Gen. Juwono Sudarsano, Secretary of Defence of Thailand Gen. Winai Pattiyakul, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Lt. Gen. Nguyen Duc Soat, and Myanmar’s Maung Myint, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the Sixth Annual IISS Asian Security Summit – The Shangri-La Dialogue which concluded on Sunday (3 June 2007).
Following meetings with Indian Defence Minister A.K. Anthony and British Minister for Armed Forces Adam Ingram on Saturday morning, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and the Sri Lanka delegation held a series of bilateral meetings later Saturday and on Sunday, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Associated with the Minister were Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Chief of Staff Air Chief Marshall Donald Perera, the Foreign Ministry’s Director General/Public Communications Ravinatha Aryasinha and Director General/East Asia and Pacific Ahmed Jawad and First Secretary of the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore Savitri Panabokke.
In a meeting with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Foreign Minister Bogollagama briefed him on the current level of security threat posed by the LTTE and the manner in which the Sri Lankan government proposed to meet this threat.
Foreign Minister Bogollagama besides briefing measures regarding maritime counter measures, Sri Lanka was also sought assistance to effectively counter the recent threat posed due to LTTE air capability.
Associated with Secretary Gates were Commander, US. Pacific Command (PACOM) Admiral Timothy J Keating, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence James Cladd, US Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Asia and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless.
In separate meetings with Deputy Chief of General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China Lt. Gen. Zhen Quinsheng, and Chief of Staff of Pakistan Gen. Ul Haq, Minister Bogollagama briefed them on current security developments in Sri Lanka. They agreed to enhance cooperation and to share intelligence with a view to defeating terrorism.
In another round of separate meetings with the Head of the Delegation of France, Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Francis Delon, and the Permanent Secretary, British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Sir Peter Ricketts, Foreign Secretary Dr. Palitha Kohona discussed Sri Lanka’s concerns regarding LTTE fund raising, human smuggling and propaganda operations in those countries, as well as in the broader European context.
The Foreign Secretary appreciated action taken in France and the UK in recent months to effectively counter LTTE fund raising that takes place through intimidation and extortion. He also explained the political proposals being developed to end the present conflict through the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) process.
Foreign Secretary Kohona also met with the Foreign Secretary of Singapore Peter Ho for a follow up discussion, pursuant to earlier meetings the Foreign Minister and Foreign Secretary had with the Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo and Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean. They emphasized the need for particularly greater cooperation between the intelligence services of both countries.
Minister Bogollagama and delegation also held separate meetings with the former US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and former Minister of State in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and presently Member of Parliament shadow Defense Secretary Liam Fox. The Minister appreciated the initiatives taken by Mr. Armitage and Mr. Fox in seeking to help end the conflict in Sri Lanka. The delegation briefed them both on current developments in combating LTTE terrorism and in seeking to evolve a lasting political settlement to the present conflict.
