Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, May 18, 2002
Global Ban on Sri Lankan Tamil Rebels Should Remain: PM
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that his government was not in favor of international bans on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels being lifted once the organization was de-proscribed in the country.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that his government was not in favor of international bans on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels being lifted once the organization was de-proscribed in the country.
"We are concerned that the international bans would also be lifted," he told a local television on Friday night, adding "we don't want them to be lifted."
Wickremesinghe said the United States and India had maintained that local de-proscription of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels would not have any effect on the bans in their countries.
He will seek support from India, Britain and the European Union (EU) in this regard when he meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair, EU President Romano Prodi and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during his visits within the next three weeks.
The LTTE rebels insist that the ban on them should be lifted before their talks with the government expected to be held in Thailand in June. Both sides are observing an indefinite ceasefire in terms of an agreement signed in February this year.
The government has indicated that the ban on the rebels will be lifted or suspended to pave way for peace talks in Thailand but wants the international community to keep the ban in place.
The U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and India have outlawed the LTTE rebels. India has recently decided to extend the ban for another two years.