Govt.'s ties with Slovakia irks LTTE

Appreciating the move taken by Slovakia to protect the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka while combating one of the most ruthless terrorist outfits in the world, war experts and political analysts say that the LTTE leadership in Vanni is in absolute panic over the recent arms deal between Slovakia and Sri Lanka.

Opposing the arms trade agreement between Slovakia and Sri Lanka, the British based LTTE front organization, British Tamil Forum (BTF) protested in front of the Slovakian Embassy in London yesterday (15), foreign media sources said.

"A letter was handed over to Slovakian Diplomatic staff by Mr. Ivan Pedropillai a senior figure within the LTTE hierarchy in the UK and one of the LTTE's main fundraisers who has generously funded most of the meetings organized by the British Tamil Forum (BTF)," sources said.

Recently the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) designated LTTE as the most dangerous and deadly extremist organization in the world. The terrorist outfit is banned in USA, Canada, UK and EU member states.

The demonstration itself is reported to have been a flop compared to previous such protest events. There has been a marked decline in the support that the terrorist outfit has received over the past two years, with more and more Tamil expatriates and Tamil organizations becoming vocal in their criticism and rejection of the LTTE.

Meanwhile, political analysts expressed concerns regarding British authorities permitting such a demonstration in the first place, given the history and current practices of the LTTE and most importantly the strong stand that Britain has taken on the issue of terrorism. It was pointed out that this demonstration by an organization fronting for the LTTE shows how free the LTTE is to operate within Britain regardless of the fact that it has been proscribed in that country.