Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka; think tank on National Security functioning under the aegis of Ministry of Defence, organized “Threat Lens” a closed door discussion under the theme of “Emergence of LTTE activists in front organizations and propaganda” on December 23, 2020 at the main auditorium in the Ministry of Defence.
The Guest Speaker for the event was, Ms. Mahesha Jayawardena, the Deputy Director of International Security and Counter Terrorism Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was graced by the presence of Major General (Retd) J.R. Kulathunga RSP, the Chief of National Intelligence, Ms. C Samanthi Weerasinghe, Additional Secretary, State Ministry for Defence. It was attended by several other experts from the intelligence and operational fields that were invited to attend from other security agencies. The “Threat Lens” discussion was moderated by Admiral (Prof.) Jayanath Colombage RSP VSV USP rcds psc, Director General of the INSSSL and Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The discussion disclosed the emerging threats and challenges caused by the front organizations of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which was a Tamil militant organization based in northeastern Sri Lanka.
When the LTTE was eventually militarily defeated and its leadership killed on 18th May 2009, the remnant LTTE elements within the global Tamil Diaspora under different names have been trying to revive the organization by trying to create various forms of violence within the island.
The speaker explained how such elements use the holocaust tag as a new dimension to discredit the Government of Sri Lanka and various steps taken by the Government in coordination with intelligence agencies against these campaigns conducted by the LTTE front organizations both externally and internally. The discussion ended after obtaining views and comments of other stakeholders present and a brief ‘Q and A’ Session.