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Arrest significant: Colombo

COLOMBO: Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament the arrest of Sri Lankan-born U.S. business tycoon Raja Rajaratnam as a “significant development in the area of the LTTE’s financing network”.

He said investigations on the activities and support of Mr. Rajaratnam to LTTE were continuing, particularly in relation to the funding allegedly provided by him to the LTTE front Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation.

Meanwhile, Deputy Finance Minister Sarath Amunugama told Parliament that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directly told the International Monetary Fund that New Delhi would give Sri Lanka $2.6 billion if the IMF did not approve the standby facility requested by the country.

He was quoted in the local media as saying that this was the type of friendship Sri Lanka had nurtured especially with its regional neighbours and that the country would never forget the assistance received from countries like India and Pakistan. “I want to place this on record. Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee telephoned the Indian representatives of the IMF and asked them to canvass for the approval of this loan to Sri Lanka,” he said.

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