Gotabaya warns national security at risk

Former Defence Seretary Gotabaya Rajapakse today warned that national security is?at risk since the LTTE international network is still active.

A recent US report claimed last week that despite the military defeat of the LTTE at the hands of the Sri Lankan government in 2009, the LTTE?s international network of sympathizers and financial support still persists.

?The fact that the LTTE?s international network and its sympathisers remain active even after the war, has been noted by me on many previous occasions. They remain committed to the LTTE?s cause and constantly seek ways to resume the struggle for a separate state,? Gotabaya Rajapakse said in a statement.

He also urged President Maithripala Sirisena and the new Sri Lankan government to give utmost consideration to national security and act with more awareness over the prevailing threat.

?It is disappointing to note that many parties have actively tried to downplay the continued threat posed by the LTTE for various reasons, including political ones. Further, because no major attacks by the LTTE have taken place after 2009, there is a widespread public perception that the LTTE no longer poses a threat to this country. The truth, however, is very different,? Rajapakse noted.

Despite the claims, the Sri Lankan government said on Monday that India, the United States and the EU share intelligence with Sri Lanka on the LTTE and other matters and added that government agencies were on alert for any attempt to harm national security. ?After all this there is no room for the LTTE to raise its head once again in Sri Lanka,? Deputy Foreign Minister Ajith Perera had asserted. (Colombo Gazette)