Rajapaksa accuses UK of double standards on terrorism

London, June 13 (PTI) Ruling out any talks with the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (L.T.T.E.) till the outlawed
outfit agreed to disarm, Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa has accused Britain of double standards in dealing
with the global menace of terrorism.
The President, who was here to attend the
'mini-summit' of the Commonwealth this week, asked the British
government to take effective steps to prevent the L.T.T.E.
from raising funds in the U.K. which are sent back home for
buying weapons.
Indirectly accusing the British government of adopting
double standards, Rajapaksa said: "You can't have two
different attitudes towards terrorism. I don't agree that
there are good terrorists and bad terrorists. There is only
one kind of terrorist."
There are about 150,000 Tamils living in Britain,
mostly in North London. The Sri Lankans estimate that 70
million pounds is sent home every year.
"These are not voluntary contributions. The money is
taken by force usually a percentage of their income. The money
is sent back to buy weapons. London is not the only place,
money is also sent from Europe, Canada and other places,"
Rajapaksa told The Times newspaper.
Rajapaksa said that he was taking steps to protect
human rights. He blamed his government's poor international
reputation on "clever propaganda" by the Tamil Tigers.
"We have failed in the propaganda war," he confessed.
Rajapaksa insisted that in spite of the cost in lives
and damage inflicted to Sri Lanka's tourist trade he would not
resume peace talks with the Tamil Tigers until the
organisation agreed to disarm.
"When they are weak they call on the international
community to arrange a ceasefire. During this period they
train and rearm and then fight back. This time if they want to
talk they should disarm first," Rajapaksa said.
Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa described the L.T.T.E.
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his coterie as blood-thirsty
killers.
"This man and the three or four henchmen around him
are blood-thirsty killers. They have no feelings. It is very
difficult to deal with them."
At least 70,000 people have been killed in the civil
war that the L.T.T.E. has fought since 1983 for a separate
state for the Tamils in the island nation, alleging
marginalisation of the minority community for decades by
successive governments dominated by the Sinhalese.
Reports of fighting in the country have increased in
recent months amid government's declaration to crush the
L.T.T.E. by the end of the year.
Fighting, which has escalated in the past two years,
further flared after the government in January pulled out of
the 2002 cease-fire pact with the rebels.