On 30 and 31 March, Eurojust hosted a tactical meeting on the worldwide criminal activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Delegates from different Member States, non-EU countries including Sri Lanka, and Europol attended the meeting.

The participants were welcomed by Mr José Luís Lopes da Mota, President of Eurojust and National Member for Portugal. The European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator, Mr Gilles de Kerchove, also attended the opening of the meeting. 

A keynote address was given by HE Mr Ravinatha P. Aryasinha, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union: “The LTTE is not a Sri Lankan problem alone”, he said. “It remains a fundamental problem that all nations, big and small, developed and developing, rich and poor, militarily powerful and weak, in all corners of the world have to confront, if we are to succeed in what is referred to as the fight against terrorism.” 

The objectives of the meeting were outlined by Ms Michèle Coninsx, Vice-President of Eurojust and National Member for Belgium, who chaired the meeting. A Eurojust/Europol joint presentation on the LTTE and its criminal activities informed the participants on the current state of affairs. 

Presentations on the topic were also given by several delegations, followed by workshops on best practice and lessons learned from criminal investigations and prosecutions, and on the best approach to address this type of terrorism. 

After the meeting, Ms Coninsx commented: “The fight against terrorism worldwide is of vital importance: innocent victims are killed for terrorist purposes. With the exchange of experience, lessons learned and best practice as we did today, we gain more expertise and insight into the matter. And so, we can be more successful in the fight against terrorists and at the same time save lives of innocent people.”

Courtesy: eurojust.europe.eu