Sri Lanka to protest over Tiger supporters

PHOTO

Sri Lankan soldiers climb from an army vehicle last month in the government's battle against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. [Reuters]

AUDIO

Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona speaks with Radio Australia's Sonja Heydeman

Created: 20/03/2009

Sonja Heydeman

Last Updated: Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:31:00 +1100

Sri Lanka's government says it will lodge strong protests with countries where there have been demonstrations in favour of the island's separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Pro-rebel sympathisers have been holding demonstrations in counties including Australia, Britain, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary, Palitha Kohona, says he is concerned by the demonstrations which featured protesters waving Tamil Elam flags.

"The Tigers are a banned organisation," he said.

"If the flag happened to be a flag that supported al-Qaeda, or the portrait happened to be those of Bin Laden, I think action would have been taken fairly quickly."

Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe says those demonstrating are using Tamil Tiger propaganda.

Mr Samarasinghe says there have also been several pro-Tiger demonstrations in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu.

But the government in Colombo has not taken up the issue with New Delhi because the demonstrators did not display Tamil Tiger flags.

However, the minister says in other countries the demonstrators have draped themselves in Tiger flags.