Skip Navigation
UPDATED: 08 Feb 2008 GMT
Skip Left Section Navigation

Latest Embassy News

Letters and Speeches

Statement by Ambassador Robert Blake on the TRO at a press Conference at the American Center - November 16, 2007.

I want to welcome all of you today to the American Center. 

The purpose of this press conference is to explain in more detail the announcement yesterday by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that it is freezing the assets of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization because the TRO acts as a front to facilitate fundraising as well as arms and other procurement for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

As you all know, the United States in 1997 designated the LTTE as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

Since then, it has been a felony under U.S. law to provide material support or resources to the LTTE.

In August 2006 and April 2007, the FBI arrested a total of 9 people who the U.S. Department of Justice subsequently charged with various crimes, including conspiracy to provide material support and resources to the LTTE.

3 of those arrested have pled guilty to Conspiracy to Provide Material Support to a Foreign Terrorist Organization.  3 more have pled guilty to bribery charges related to alien smuggling.  Prosecution continues against the others, and the overall investigation is continuing.

Those arrests made clear once again that the United States is committed to enforcing its laws against support for designated terrorist groups wherever they may operate.

Those arrests also led to discovery of operational and financial links between the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization and the LTTE. 

The TRO, as you all are well aware, is a charitable organization with offices here in Sri Lanka and in a number of countries abroad.

The U.S. Government has concluded that, in the United States, the TRO has raised funds on behalf of the LTTE through a network of individual representatives.  According to sources within the TRO, the TRO is the preferred conduit of funds from the United States to the LTTE in Sri Lanka.

The TRO also has facilitated LTTE procurement operations in the United States.  Those operations included the purchase of munitions, equipment, communication devices, and other technology for the LTTE.

The LTTE oversees the activities of the TRO and other LTTE-linked organizations in Sri Lanka and abroad.  Directives issued by the LTTE suggest that LTTE-affiliated branch representatives are expected to coordinate their efforts with the respective TRO representatives in their locations and report all activity to the LTTE.

That is the extent of what I have to say about TRO links to the LTTE, but as you can see those are very serious charges.

It was on the basis of these links that the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Washington DC yesterday designated the TRO under Executive Order 13224, which is aimed at financially isolating terrorist groups and their support networks.

Designations like this are an important tool to not only block illicit assets, but also shut down channels used by terrorists and other dangerous groups to raise, move and store money.

Upon designation, any assets of the designees held under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen and U.S. persons are prohibited from dealing with the designees.

I would like to emphasize that this designation is an action against the LTTE, not against the Tamil people.

The United States continues to support a just, negotiated political settlement to the conflict that meets the aspirations of all communities, including Sri Lanka's Tamils. 

The U.S. will continue to support efforts to stop human rights violations against Tamils.

The United States also believes that a solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka and respect for the rights of the Tamil people can only be found through peaceful negotiations.

That concludes my remarks.   I would be pleased to take your questions.

First let me introduce two of my colleagues who are here with me today. They will help answer any questions that I have. First is Robert Gabor, who is our Economic Counselor. And the second is Rebecca Cohn, who is the Head of the U.S. Agency for International Development here. And with that I would be pleased to take any questions that you have.

Question: (Associated Press) Will there be any prosecutions of TRO employees, those who are found to have links, as you say, with the members of the network?

Ambassador Blake: No. At this point we are only freezing the assets of the TRO in the United States. And I do not want to speculate on future activities.

Question: (ART TV) (Inaudible)…LTTE was banned in 1997. Why did the U.S. Government wait for almost 11 years to act against TRO?

Ambassador Blake: As I said in my opening remarks, the action that was taken yesterday by the Department of the Treasury is the result of investigations that grew out of the arrests last year that began in August of 2006. So it was in the conduct of the investigation after those arrests that some links to the TRO emerged – between the TRO and the LTTE. So we have been working ever since to pursue that investigation and it eventually culminated in the announcement that was made by the Department of the Treasury.

Question: (Rupavahini) LTTE, which is a terror group, although there are laws, can conduct their fund raising activities (inaudible). Are there measures taken by the U.S. to track them?

Ambassador Blake: Very much so. The United States has been a leader around the world in trying to stop the financing of terrorist organizations, including the LTTE. As you mentioned they use a variety of different mechanisms to do so. All financial transactions are already prohibited between American persons and the LTTE, because they are a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The addition today is that we are freezing the assets of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization, which previously had not been affected by our earlier announcement in 1997.

Question: (Deepam TV) Mr. Ambassador, can you tell us the quantum that has been frozen?…(Inaudible)

Ambassador Blake: I can’t. We don’t release that kind of information.

Question: (Deepam TV) About the TNA statement that (inaudible) the U.S. is supporting the Sri Lankan government’s military agenda (inaudible)?

Ambassador Blake: Obviously I disagree with that. This is an action that is taken to stop financing to a terrorist organization, the LTTE. And as I said in my remarks, we remain strongly committed to a negotiated settlement, and we do not believe that a military solution is possible to this conflict.

Question: (Rupavahini) (Inaudible)…the international community to press the LTTE to go for any negotiated settlement?

Ambassador Blake: Many of you saw that I went to Trincomalee last week and we announced the transfer of radars and also of unarmed small boats to the Sri Lanka Navy. The purpose of that was to help stop the import of arms by the LTTE.

The larger purpose of all of our activities is to send a message to the LTTE that now is the time for them to negotiate. As you mentioned, there are many people in the south who say that the LTTE will never negotiate in good faith, and that they have previously used the intervals afforded by peace negotiations to re-arm and re-equip themselves. What we would like to say is that now is the time to negotiate. Now is the time for the LTTE to renounce violence, to renounce terrorism. And they should not believe that it is going to be easier for them in the future to import arms and other things to carry on their violent struggle. It is not going to be easier. I think that the international community is taking an increasing number of steps to stop them from doing that. And so, the lesson for the LTTE is that they are never going to get a better deal, and now is the time to try to negotiate.

But it is also, therefore, incumbent upon the Government itself to come forward with a very strong devolution proposal in the All Parties Representatives Committee. So we are also strongly urging the Government to come up with such a package that will be acceptable to the majority of Tamils in this country.

Question: (ART TV) Does this include seizure of physical assets as well?

Ambassador Blake: Yes, Robert confirms that it includes the seizure of assets as well.

Question: (Deepam TV) (Inaudible)…Hilary Clinton said that you can’t put every terrorist organization under one label. How do you (inaudible)?

Ambassador Blake: Well, I think she subsequently recanted a lot of what she said. So I do not really want to comment on that. All I would like to say is that the United States Government under the administration of President George Bush takes a very strong stand against all terrorists around the world. And we do not try to differentiate between one terrorist group and another. We are seeking to stop all of their activities.

Counselor for Economic Affairs Robert Gabor adds: I would just clarify on the physical assets. It is not a seizure of physical assets, it is a freeze. Those assets cannot be sold. You cannot do anything with those assets now. But the U.S. Government has not actually taken control of those assets and is not doing anything with them. They are frozen.

Ambassador Blake: All right. Thank you all very much for coming. We appreciate your time.

Thank you.