http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Threat_from_LTTE_terrorism_has_not_completely_died_Defence Secy_20120322_01

Threat from LTTE terrorism has not completely died - Defence Secy
There were thousands of LTTE cadres still at large with caches
of arms and explosives dumps hidden in the former war zone and, therefore, the
threat of terrorism persisted to some extent, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa said.
Speaking to heads of media institutions and newspaper editors
yesterday at the Defence Ministry yesterday, the Defence Secretary said some
people mistakenly believed that simply because the LTTE had been defeated and
Prabhakaran killed, terrorism was over. Several attempts to revive the LTTE
since the conclusion of the war had been foiled, he said.
However, people should not panic as the situation was under
control and the security forces were ready to meet any eventuality, the Defence
Secretary said.
About 11,000 LTTE cadres who either surrendered to the security
forces or were captured during the war had been rehabilitated and reunited with
their families and about 3,800 out of 4,000 LTTE detainees had been released;
about 4,000 LTTE members who had escaped were still at large, the Defence
Secretary said.
The government had lifted Emergency and done away with high
security zones and checkpoints in spite of security risks. Anyone could travel
to and from the former war zone without undergoing checks. The houses taken over
by the military had been handed over to their owners, he said.
There were no armed groups other than the members of the
security forces in the North and the crime rate in that part of the country was
much lower than that in other areas, the Defence Secretary said. "We have
information that about 20,000 Sri Lankan expatriates have visited those areas
since the end of the war."
Commenting on the allegation that the military targeted no-fire
zones after asking civilians to move there, the Defence Secretary said the
government had not declared separate areas as no-fire zones. The places where
the LTTE forcibly took civilians as a human shield had been designated as such.
He said the LTTE had prevented the people from moving into the army-held areas
and neither the UN nor the NGOs that were levelling unsubstantiated war crimes
charges against the military and the government had asked the LTTE to let go of
civilians without exposing them to danger.
Commenting on Indo-Lanka relations the Defence Secretary said
Sri Lanka's ties with India will remain cordial as they have been at all times.
"We have to understand the domestic political compulsions for
the Indian government," he said referring to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's statement in Lok Sabha that India was "inclined" to support the
resolution.