Sri Lanka warns of action over LTTE commemoration

Colombo: The Sri Lankan Police on Thursday warned that it will take legal action against anyone who publicly shows support to the now vanquished Tamil Tigers.

The warning came as some groups in the Tamil dominated north of the country prepared to commemorate the birth anniversary of slain Tamil Tiger leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, Xinhua news agency reported.

Prabhakaran, killed by the military in 2009, was born on this day in 1954.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) remains an outlawed outfit in Sri Lanka. Some groups have in the past held events in support of the rebels despite the ban.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said since the Tigers were still banned, public events cannot be held in support of its leaders.

Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council member M.K. Sivajilingham said the public had been urged to commemorate the Tamil Tiger members on Friday — to mark an annual commemoration week for the rebels.

He said anyone had a right to commemorate those killed during the war even if they were Tamil Tigers.

Sivajilingham, however, said he had urged the public to mark the event in a peaceful manner.
IANS