October 18, 2011, 8:46 pm
By Saman Indrajith
External Affairs Minister Prof G. L. Peiris yesterday told Parliament that even though the LTTE had been militarily defeated in Sri Lanka, the terrorist outfit was still very much active in foreign countries.
The EUROPOL (short for European Police Office), the European Union’s criminal intelligence agency, had informed the Sri Lankan government that the LTTE was still fully operational in the Europe.
This also highlights the necessity that maximum measures should be taken with regard to the security arrangements of the President when he visits foreign countries, Prof. Peiris said.
The government is not in a position to divulge the details pertaining to the security contingents of the President on foreign tours as revealing these facts would jeopardize the security arrangements, he said.
The Minister was responding to a question raised by UNP Colombo District MP Ravi Karunanayake on the details and expenses of the security men who covered the President during the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last year.
A 30-member delegation, including the President, had attended the 2010 UNGA meeting in New York. A sum around Rs 50 million had been spent by the Ministry of External Affairs for this purpose.Responding to a supplementary question raised by UNP Kurunegala District MP Dayasiri Jayasekera on whether any other persons had joined the delegation apart from the 30 persons already mentioned, the Minister said that President’s bodyguards too had participated in the tour but their details could not be divulged owing to security reasons.
Some anti-Sri Lankan forces had attempted to bring about a resolution against Sri Lanka in the UN’s human rights committee in Geneva but the work and measures taken on the sidelines of the UNGA meeting had enabled Sri Lanka to defeat this attempt, Prof. Peiris added.
Source: The Island, October 19, 2011
