Sri Lankan FM calls for curb on funding for Tamil Tigers

(9 May 2006)
New Delhi - 8 May 2006
1. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraveera with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
2. Pan from Samaraveera to Singh
3. Sri Lankan officials
4. Cutaway photographer
5. Indian officials
New Delhi - 9 May 2006
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mangala Samaraveera, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister:
"The onus, ladies and gentleman, is now on the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). For the government of Sri Lanka, there is only one desirable option, namely, a negotiated political solution that meets the aspirations of all communities and preserves the territorial integrity of an undivided Sri Lanka. The international community must, therefore, make it very clear to the LTTE that the decision as to whether the peace process goes ahead rests entirely with them."
New Delhi - 8 May 2006
7. Samaraveera shaking hands with Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma
8. Pan from Sharma to Samaraveera
9. Sri Lankan officials
10. Sharma and Samaraveera sitting down
11. Pan from Samaraveera to Sharma
12. Sri Lankan official
New Delhi - 9 May 2006
13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mangala Samaraveera, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister:
"The thing which hurts the LTTE most is the curtailment of their fund-raising activities. The lifeline of the LTTE, their raison d''etre, most probably is raising money for terrorist activities in Europe and in the West, and one of the first actions the international community could do, especially the European Union, is to bring stringent measures to stop and curtail the fund raising of the LTTE. And one of the measures they could consider is the listing of the LTTE in the European Union and that again not as an end in itself, but as a means of getting the LTTE back to the table."
14. Cutaway cameraman
15. Samaraveera shaking hands with Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed
16. Close of handshake; zoom out to them leaving
STORYLINE:
The international community should ban Tamil Tiger rebel supporters from raising funds and look for ways to stem their flow of financial support from abroad, Sri Lanka''s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Speaking on a visit to India, Samaraveera said the most effective way to get the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to return to peace talks with the Sri Lankan government was to sever their financial sources.
Sri Lanka wants Western countries to keep a closer eye on individuals who support the rebels'' cause, restrict their travel, and stop their ability to raise money, he said.
The Tamil Tigers are banned in the United States, Britain, India, Canada and Australia.
But rebel front organisations raise money for the group''s activities, as well as for the humanitarian needs of Sri Lanka''s ethnic minority Tamils affected by the 23-year-old conflict.
The Tigers have fought the government since 1983 to create a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka''s north and east, accusing the majority Sinhalese-dominated state of discrimination.
More than 65,000 people have died in the civil war.
A recent heightening of violence has cost more than 150 lives since April this year.
Both sides met for talks in Geneva in February, the first time in three years, and agreed to meet again in April.
But relations between the government and rebels have recently soured because of an upsurge in violence.
Last month, the insurgent group refused to participate in further talks, citing violence against the guerrillas and their supporters.

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