<b>Sri Lankan President Slams LTTE on Taxation<b>

Agencies

Colombo, July 10: The LTTE’s purported taxation system in Sri Lanka’s north and east is weakening efforts to usher in peace, President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s spokesman said today.

“The President’s office will not refer to this extortion as taxation, as the LTTE is not in any way authorised to collect this,” presidential spokesman Harim Peiris told reporters here.

Besides being a violation of the normal laws of the land, such extortion also violates the ceasefire agreement between the government and the rebels, as it amounts to harassment of civilians, he said.

“This extortion weakens the peace process,” Peiris said, adding the Defence Minister and Interior Minister should look into it.

He said extortion of Muslim traders was one of the causes behind the recent communal violence involving Muslims and Tamils in the east.

Asked if Chandrika would direct the armed forces to take action against the extortion, he said she could instruct the Defence and Interior ministers to take action, but did not want to jeopardise the peace process. The issue could be dealt with by engaging the rebels in talks, Peiris said.

The LTTE, which has long been collecting ad hoc “taxes” from people living in territory controlled by it, has now formally started collecting ad valorem “customs duty” at entry points, besides taxes from traders and shop-keepers. (Agencies)