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CONDOLEEZA RICE SAYS LTTES MANY INNOVATIONS OF TERRORISM HAVE BEEN COPIED BY OTHER TERRORIST GROUPSBy Walter JayawardhanaIn its Country Reports on Terrorism submitted to the US Congress
the US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the Sri Lankan
terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) led other
terrorist groups in the world by giving them many innovative ideas.
U.S. law requires the Secretary of State to provide Congress, by
April 30 of each year, a full and complete report on terrorism with
regard to those countries and groups meeting criteria set forth in
the legislation. This annual report is entitled Country Reports on
Terrorism. Beginning with the report for 2004, it replaced the previously
published Patterns of Global Terrorism. In its South and Central Asian section the report said, while the
Maosists in Nepal signed a peace agreement in contrast the LTTE continued
with its terrorist attacks. In Nepal and Sri Lanka, terrorism
carried out by the Maoists and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) posed a severe challenge to those governments, the report
said. The report said, On an encouraging note, in November, the Maoists
signed a peace agreement with the Government of Nepal that provided,
under certain disarmament conditions, that the Maoists could be admitted
into an interim government. In Sri Lanka, the LTTE continued attacks
including targeted assassinations against political and military opponents. The Secretary of State told the Congress that, the LTTE financed
itself with contributions from the Tamil Diaspora in North America,
Europe, and Australia, and by imposing local "taxes" on
businesses operating in the areas of Sri Lanka under its control.
Using this money, LTTE weapons were purchased on the international
black market or captured from the Sri Lankan Army. The following is the full report in the Sri Lanka section: The
2002 cease-fire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,
continued to erode amidst numerous violations and escalating military
engagement between the LTTE and government security forces. The Sri
Lankan Army remained deployed across the country to fight the insurgency.
The paramilitary Special Task Force (STF) police were deployed both
in the east and in strategic locations in the west. The LTTE conducted a campaign of targeted assassinations against
political and military opponents. This included the April assassination
attempt of Sri Lanka Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka and the
assassination of the Army Third-in-Command; the August 12 assassination
of the Government of Sri Lanka's Secretariat for the Coordination
of the Peace Process, Deputy Director Keteshwaran Loganathan;
and the December 1 suicide bomber's attempt on the life of Defense
Secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, the President's brother. The Karuna
faction, a dissident faction of the LTTE, conducted its own assassination
campaign against the LTTE and pro-LTTE civilians in the east. Following the assassination of Foreign Minister Kadirgamar
in August 2005, the government enacted emergency regulations giving
arrest power to members of the armed forces, who were required to
turn suspects over to the police within 24 hours. Individuals arrested
under the emergency regulations may be detained for up to one year.
Under these regulations, 148 persons were arrested; most have already
been released. A revised Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), enacted
in December, strengthened these powers. The LTTE financed itself with contributions from the Tamil
Diaspora in North America, Europe, and Australia, and by imposing
local "taxes" on businesses operating in the areas of Sri
Lanka under its control. Using this money, LTTE weapons were purchased
on the international black market or captured from the Sri Lankan
Army. Many LTTE innovations, such as explosive belts, vests, and bras,
using female suicide bombers, and waterborne suicide attacks against
ships, have been copied by other terrorist groups. In general, the LTTE did not target U.S. citizens or assets, limiting
attacks to Sri Lankan security forces, political figures, civilians,
and businesses. However, two suicide bomb attacks on VIP motorcades
in Colombo occurred within half a mile of the U.S. embassy on roads
frequently traveled by Embassy employees. Sri Lankan cooperation with the FBI has resulted in arrests of persons charged with material support to terrorist groups. The Sri Lankan government cooperated with U.S. efforts to track terrorist financing, although no assets were identified. The United States also provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and the banking sector. The government cooperated with the United States to implement both the Container Security Initiative and the Megaports program at the port of Colombo. |
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