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E.U. to freeze LTTE assets

V.S. Sambandan

Tigers do not represent all the Tamils, says resolution

COLOMBO: The European Parliament this week called upon its member-states "to freeze the assets" of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and wanted steps to be taken to stop the "forced taxation" by the rebels across Europe.

These were part of a 19-point Resolution passed by Parliament. Another significant point made in the resolution is the denial of the Tigers' self-proclaimed status of a "sole representative" of the Tamils. The LTTE "does not represent all the Tamil peoples of Sri Lanka," the resolution said. It wanted the LTTE to "allow for political pluralism and alternate democratic voices" in Sri Lanka's north-east "which would secure the interests of all peoples and communities."

Sharp escalation

The E.U.'s resolution is against the immediate backdrop of a sharp escalation in violence in Sri Lanka, placing the death toll at "over 300" since January.

In the debate that preceded the vote on the resolution, Neena Gill, MEP and President of the European Parliament Delegation to SAARC and South Asian countries, urged the Commission to "be more pro-active" in their dealing with Sri Lanka, her office said.

The operative part of the resolution, which was released by Ms. Gill's office, calls for the assets-freeze says Parliament "calls on the Commission and the Member States to freeze the assets of the LTTE-associated bank accounts, holdings, companies or undertakings."

The resolution was sharply critical of the LTTE. It condemned the LTTE's "unilateral refusal" to participate in the second round of ceasefire implementation talks in Geneva, its "renewed campaign of attacks," and "deplored" the "gross violations of the ceasefire agreement." It also expressed its condemnation at the "appalling abuse of children through recruitment of child soldiers, which is a war crime."

It wanted both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to "ensure the security of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission."

The E.U. also condemned the "particular repression against Tamil language press and Tamil organisations," and called for a "thorough investigation" into the murders of two journalists — Mayilvaganam Nimalarajan and Dharmeratnam Sivaram and two employees of a Tamil newspaper Uthayan.

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