The Hague, 18 May, (Asiantribune.com): In the second such attack on the Sri Lanka Embassy in the Dutch capital, the Hague within a week, operatives of the LTTE international terror network struck again in the early hours of today(16th May), when a group of men tried to set fire to the Embassy building , by hurling a petrol bomb at the building. According to the Police who have been placed on 24-hour duty at the Embassy, following the earlier attack on the mission last Monday(11th May), the incident happened within seconds and they could not catch the culprits.
The Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Netherlands, Mrs Grace Asirwatham who visited the Embassy immediately upon being informed of the incident by the Police, contacted the Foreign Ministry in the Hague and lodged a strong protest on the failure of the authorities to prevent the attack, notwithstanding the presence of two unarmed policemen on guard duty, which had not deterred the assailants to approach the Chancery building unchallenged and carrying out the attack and escaping. The Ambassador has reminded the Foreign Ministry of the binding obligation of the Dutch government under International Law to protect the inviolability of diplomatic premises on its territory.
Following the second attack on the Embassy in the space of less than a week, the Dutch authorities have assured the Sri Lankan government that security for the Chancery, Residence of the Ambassador, as well as for the Sri Lankan staff of the mission, would be put in place at the highest level in order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future. Clearly, the present security arrangements have been grossly inadequate to deal with the threat posed by LTTE elements operating freely on Dutch soil, to plan and execute their terror acts on the Embassy.
This attack on the Sri Lankan mission in the Hague should serve as a wake up call for all governments, particularly of countries which have granted asylum to LTTE elements and have generally adopted an indulgent attitude to their unlawful activities, such as illegal street demonstrations and blockading of highways in major cities, where LTTE flags and other insignia have been brazenly displayed, notwithstanding the LTTE being a proscribed entity under their own laws. Unless these governments begin cracking down on the LTTE and the plethora of front organizations operating in their territories with impunity.
At this time, when the Government of Sri Lanka has finally reached the point of militarily vanquishing the LTTE from every square inch of its territory, eternal vigilance has to be maintained by foreign governments to prevent the overseas cells of the LTTE from becoming a threat to their own societies.
- Asian Tribune -
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