Sri Lanka is urging Australia to ban the militant group the Tamil Tigers and strike a clear distinction between genuine refugees and economic opportunists. Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry secretary Romesh Jayasinghe says the legal status of the LTTE was also a significant issue for Colombo
"The LTTE in the form it was known is no more," Mr Jayasinghe said.
"But there are sinister elements that are endeavouring to try to re-stoke the cinders of secessionism. It is necessary to be vigilant and prevent such attempts.
"That's the position that was presented quite clearly by our side to our Australian guests."
At a press conference on Monday, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama explicitly linked the Tamil Tigers with people-smuggling: "Sri Lanka's stand has always remained, that people-smuggling has been part of terrorist activities - it has previously been associated with LTTE activities."
The Tamil Tigers are a banned terrorist organisation in the US and Europe but have never been proscribed in Australia. (The Australian)
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