Sri Lanka bans Tamil Rehabilitations Organisation
Colombo (PTI): In a move to cripple the LTTE's fund raising activities, Sri Lankan government on Thursday banned the Tamil Rehabilitations Organisation, a charity group considered a front of the Tiger rebels. The LTTE itself is not banned in Sri Lanka as it is felt this would foreclose the option of any direct negotiations with the organisation.
The decision of Sri Lanka government comes days after United States imposed ban on the charity organisation. Welcoming the decision of US treasury to freeze the assets of TRO in the United States last week, Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohita Bogollagama had told Parliament that the government could now expect a "significant decline" in the collections of the LTTE world wide which ranged from USD 20 million to USD 30 million per month.
The outfit has maintained that freezing of the TRO bank accounts by the Government of Sri Lanka and now the US Government will further exacerbate the humanitarian situation and cause untold suffering to the approximately 300,000 people who rely on TRO assistance.
This decision to proscribe the TRO was taken by the Cabinet following the findings of group's links with the LTTE, a Sri Lankan government statement said. The TRO under guise of a charity organisation collected and directed funds to the LTTE for procurement operations. Those operations included the purchase of ammunitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology for the LTTE, it said.
The International Leader of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) Vinayagamurthi and his wife were taken in to custody in the US, the statement said, adding he is believed to be a master mind behind LTTE naval strength.
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