Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National party (UNP) has welcomed the government’s decision to ban the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO), the Daily Mirror reported Friday. The UNP echoed the stance of the ultra-Sinhala nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Perumana (JVP) with senior UNP official, Lakshman Kiriella, also telling a news conference that the government had failed to pursue the matter with commitment. Earlier this week, there was applause in Sri Lanka’s parliament as the government promised to consider banning the TRO and also the LTTE
Mr. Kiriella also claimed the decision by the government of Mahinda Rajapakse to ban the charity followed a TRO member confessing in USA that some funds were given to the Tamil Tigers by the organization.
Earlier this week the JVP had called for the banning of the TRO.
JVP parliamentary group leader Wimal Weerawansa called for the LTTE also to be banned.
“The two organizations are not banned in Sri Lanka. Both are functioning in Sri Lanka in accordance with the law,” he is reported to have said in parliament.
Mr. Weerawansa also protested that former President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Rajapakse’s predecessor, had commended TRO and given it an award for its post-tsunami reconstruction work.
Agreeing with Mr. Weerawansa, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said that there is indeed a question as to why the two organizations are not banned in the country.
The government would look into this, he promised, to applause from the House, the website Lankadissent.com reported.
Two days later, the government banned the TRO.
The government’s move was encouraged by the United States which a few days earlier also banned the TRO, accusing it of being a front for the LTTE.
