Sri Lanka said that the recent assassination of top Hamas activist, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai underscored the fact that a country fighting terrorism sometimes would have no option but to go flat out against extremists.
Government sources told The Island that the killing carried out by a group of persons allegedly using forged passports revealed to what extent a country would go to stop smuggling of arms. Sources also pointed out the double standard in the way the international community had reacted to the January 19 killing, whereas Sri Lanka was being penalised for finishing off the LTTE.
Sources pointed out that European governments were reluctant to hunt some 26 suspects allegedly involved in the assassination due to the belief that Mossad, the Jewish State’s spy agency had executed the plan. Members of the hit squad are alleged to have operated through Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Sources said that the hit squad would have left a trail, particularly due to the use of credit cards and banking facilities as well as airlines.
Israel has publicly identified al-Mabhouh as one of the men responsible for acquiring arms, ammunition and equipment to cause mayhem in the region. Quoting wire services, sources said that members of the assassination squad were widely believed to have left Dubai for different European destinations, though a manhunt was unlikely due to their relationship with Israel.
Israel has so far declined to comment on the issue.
According to the Dubai police, the killers had allegedly used forged British, German, French, Irish and Australian passports to enter Dubai and leave the country. He was first electrocuted and then smothered with a pillow. The international press said that the Hamas Commander, staying at Al Bustan Rotana hotel, was on his way to China from his base in Syria.
Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that he would not comment on the ‘Dubai hit.’ But it would not be wrong to say that those who had demanded an UN inquiry on Sri Lanka’s war against the LTTE were not keen to investigate the incident. They talked with a forked tongue, he said, adding that Sri Lanka was at the receiving end of a malicious international campaign. He said that it would be interesting to see how they tackled this issue without compromising relationship among major intelligence services.
Sri Lankan agents recently apprehended two top LTTE agents, including Kumaran Padmanathan aka ‘KP’ with the knowledge and tacit support of a friendly country. The arrest of ‘KP’ is believed to have helped intelligence services to unravel clandestine LTTE operations abroad. The Sri Lankan Navy, too, had brought in an LTTE vessel following an intelligence operation. Rajapaksa said that the country had to achieve ‘military objectives’ under extremely difficult conditions due to problems caused by a section of the international community.
SLFP General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday (March 3) said the recent statements attributed to British Foreign Secretary David Miliband revealed their strategy aimed at undermining the Sri Lankan State. Addressing the media at the Mahaweli Centre, he said that a section of the international community was trying to install a puppet administration here, though President Rajapaksa’s government was confident of meeting their challenge. The Minister accused the British of trying to revive separatist sentiments, though the LTTE had been militarily defeated.
by Shamindra Ferdinand
By courtesy of: www.island.lk
Published 04th March, 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment