Chinese military official, Lieutenant General Niu Zhizhong, right, speaking with Sri Lankan chief of defence staff, General Jagath Jayasuriya, in Colombo yesterday. The Chinese military official is in Sri Lanka as part of a goodwill visit at a time when the two countries are strengthening their economic, political and military ties.

 

IANS/Colombo

The Sri Lankan government yesterday called for decisive action against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations following an attack on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan.

A statement by the external affairs ministry said that the Sri Lankan government unequivocally condemned the terrorist attack on the Indian consulate in Herat province in western Afghanistan earlier in the day,
Xinhua reported.

“The targeting of a diplomatic mission is a matter of serious concern that should draw the attention of the wider international community, and underscores Sri Lanka’s consistent call for concerted and decisive action to combat the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the external affairs ministry said.

The ministry noted that it was fortuitous that there were no casualties among the consulate staff following the attack in
Afghanistan.

India said that its personnel “are safe” after its consulate in the Afghan city of Herat had been attacked by gunmen.

The attack came as Afghan President Hamid Karzai accepted Indian prime minister-elect Narendra Modi’s invitation to attend his oath taking ceremony on Monday.

A Sri Lankan nationalist party yesterday asked Norway to immediately hand over an Oslo-based LTTE leader to face a criminal trial in the country.

In a letter written to the Norwegian Ambassador in Colombo, Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) also known as National Heritage Party accused Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan of conducting terrorist activities against Sri Lanka.

“We urge Norway to immediately handover Nediyavan to Sri Lankan authorities so that he can be tried for all his many crimes against the state of Sri Lanka and the people of Sri Lanka,” JHU chief Champika Ranawaka wrote in the letter.

According to JHU leader, Nediyavan, LTTE’s top military leader, lives freely in Oslo, the capital of Norway. Ranawaka accused Nediyavan of conducting terrorist activities against Sri Lanka despite an Interpol arrest warrant against him.

He said that recent investigations have confirmed Nediyavan’s involvement in attempts to revive the LTTE.

Ranawaka is also a minister in the government headed by President Mahinda Rajapakse. The Sri Lankan government had last month designated around 16 organisations and 422 individuals as terrorists and some of them were Norway based.

The Sri Lankan defence establishment has been saying that foreign governments would soon be alerted on the list for appropriate action.