Sri Lanka urges Britain to act against Tamil Tigers
05:58 a.m. Apr 16, 1998 Eastern

LONDON, April 16 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's foreign minister has appealed to Britain to crack down on Tamil Tiger guerrillas who he said were organising and funding their campaign of violence from London.

In a speech to the Royal Institute of International Affairs on Wednesday night, Lakshaman Kadirgamar urged the British government to live up to its commitments under a new U.N. convention on the suppression of terrorism.

He said that, when Sri Lanka complained to Britain about the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), it received a standard reply that the government could only act against organisations that broke British law or were involved in guerrilla activity in Northern Ireland.

``The response from the United Kingdom has been less than we would expect from a close friend,'' Kadirgamar said, adding that the LTTE raised funds and issued threats to international shipping with impunity from its London international secretariat.

``I don't say that the United Kingdom government connives at or condones what happens at 211, Catherine Road,'' he said, citing the LTTE's address. ``But I do say there is a degree of passivity...which causes great distress to the people of Sri Lanka.''

A British Foreign Office official said the government was committed to introducing legislation to make it an offence to conspire to commit terrorist acts abroad. A government consultation document due out soon on revising anti-terrorist legislation would also deal with the issue of fundraising.

LTTE guerrillas have been fighting government troops since 1983 for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east. The Colombo government says more than 50,000 people have been killed in the conflict, but the LTTE put the toll higher.

Kadirgamar is on a private visit to Britain and officials said there were no plans for him to meet British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook.

Sri Lanka is not alone in accusing Britain of harbouring militants involved in organising or abetting violence in their home countries.

Algeria and Egypt have both protested to Britain over the granting of asylum to wanted Islamic activists. REUTERS