No more terrorist threat in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka insisted on Tuesday that there was no more terrorist threat in the country after the Sri Lankan military defeated Tamil Tiger rebels over two years ago. The Sri Lankan defence ministry quoted the defence secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa as saying that local communities were no more under threat from any terrorist group. Rajapaksa, the brother of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, also said that there was a conducive atmosphere in the country for the business community to operate without any fear. Sri Lanka recently lifted emergency laws which were in place during the 30-year war against the rebels who were fighting for a separate Tamil state. However with the removal of the emergency laws the Sri Lankan government implemented anti-terror act which drew criticism from human rights groups. Gotabaya Rajapaksa said the Sri Lankan police, which had carried out several arrests using emergency laws during the war, will now only carry out normal police duties. "We have introduced a new concept called community policing through which very close cooperation would be built between the public and the police," the Sri Lankan defence ministry quoted Rajapaksa as saying. He said that the Sri Lankan capital Colombo is undergoing a massive development with the end of the conflict in May 2009 and since then the country has seen a surge in tourist arrivals and investments.