Monday, May 5, 2008

Gota to UN: Check LTTE infiltration

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday called for stringent measures to prevent the LTTE from using what he called UN cover to mount operations in the South.

As troops step up pressure on the LTTE on four fronts in the Vanni theatre, the enemy would resort to hit and run attacks in the South, he said, a UN employee apprehended south of Vavuniya could have been on a special mission to destabilise the the souther parts of the country.

"There is no option but to take all precautions to thwart the LTTE’s plan," the Defence Secretary told The Island yesterday asserting the enemy wouldn’t hesitate to manipulate the UN or any other foreign NGO to achieve its targets.

HE said the government wanted all agencies to immediately scrutinise their local employees as there could be LTTE agents on their payroll. "I have repeatedly warned of the LTTE taking refuge in NGOs and using their cover to facilitate clandestine operations but unfortunately they turned a blind eye," he said. He said last Wednesday’s arrest of a Kilinochchi-based LTTE assassin on the payroll of the UN must prompt a thorough investigation.

The Defence Secretary said the on-going UN investigation targeting the suspect Thiagaraja Prabhakaran, a resident of Batticaloa would reveal the real extent of the LTTE infiltration of the organisation. Police took him into custody at Iratteperiyakulam, south of Vavuniya on Wednesday afternoon.

Read more,
http://www.island.lk/2008/05/05/news1.html

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