Sri Lanka Targets Tamil Tigers' Overseas Support Network

by lalith | June 11, 2009 at 01:54 am

459 views | 15 Recommendations | 25 comments

By PETER WONACOTT
COLOMBO -- After routing the Tamil Tigers at home, the Sri Lankan government has set its sights on destroying the group's network overseas -- an effort that involves working closely with countries that were critical of Sri Lanka's tough tactics during the war.

In recent weeks, Sri Lankan officials have been sifting through computer files, business cards and daily schedules taken from Tamil Tiger offices in the country's north during this year's military offensive. The intelligence haul, officials say, is helping pinpoint sources of financial support and weapons that flowed to the separatist rebels from overseas.

That supply network appears in some disarray after Tiger leaders in Sri Lanka, including chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, were killed, say two Sri Lankan officials involved in the investigations. Now, top members of the Tamil diaspora are jockeying to take the reins of the movement, the officials say. "Everything will be focused on the international arena," said one Ministry of Defense official. "They are losing control of their activities."

So many will agree that this is a gargantuan task undertaken by the Sri Lanka Government. But, this operation had to start somewhere. There are approximately 1.2 million Sri Lankan Tamils living outside Sri Lanka, out of which, most of them do not support the LTTE or terrorism. However, it is a difficult task for anybody to try to sift out out the bad, especially in foreign lands, without the help of those Governments.

K. Pathmanathan, a gun runner and a financial controller of the LTTE who is wanted by India and the Interpol, spoke freely to many European politicians during the last days of the war in Sri Lanka, and yet, none of these people even thought of reporting such instances of contact to the Interpol. Therefore, the serious involvement of all countries is important.

The Sri Lanka Government has many leads from captured documents, accounts books and phones, both satellite and mobile. With the information obtained from the satellite phones, I am sure names of a good number of 'big ones' are in their possession.

In 2007, French antiterrorist police agents detained 17 people in Paris and neighboring areas suspected of funneling cash to the Tamil Tiger rebels. Sri Lankan officials are also monitoring satellite television programs that they believe help the Tamil diaspora raise money and enlist support of human-rights activists, who in turn put pressure on the government in Colombo.

A number of such satellite channels have been set up -- and abruptly shut down -- in countries including France and Serbia, according to a Sri Lankan government report. A Sri Lankan official says the Tamil Tigers were able to access satellite links to broadcast from Paris. Intelsat Ltd., a satellite-service provider, said in a 2007 statement that the Tigers used one of its satellites without permission before the company said it acted to halt transmissions.

The Tamil Tiger network around the world is vast. Not being intimidated by its size and wherte its tentacles are the Sri Lanka Government must start somewhere. Start small and grow especially because the Government does not possess yet, " the manpower and diplomatic muscle to track Tamil Tigers and persuade other countries to make arrests, unlike the U.S. in its hunt for al Qaeda operatives".

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ShriCU

at 03:18 on June 11th, 2009

"I am sure names of a good number of 'big ones' are in their possession."

This is a good news.

Hiranya Malwatta

at 04:05 on June 11th, 2009

Good news indeed. The ones you find this way are the real culprits, not the low level LTTE cadre nor the suicide bomber who became victims of the big ones.

sathyajith

at 04:10 on June 11th, 2009

This will be a difficult move to realise, but the correctway

lalith

at 06:33 on June 11th, 2009

Where do KTTEs and Eels fit in?

B12N

at 05:04 on June 11th, 2009

Indeed, this will be a difficult task for Sri Lanka. If these people were in Sri Lanka they would have been killed already without any proper inquiry or prosecution.

If you are a Tamil, the slightest doubt of being a LTTE supporter or family is enough to get killed!

Sri Lanka now has to play by rules like law, humanity, prosecutions, evidences and proper investigations which are very new for them! Wonder how they are going to cope with it.

Watcher of the Skiez

at 09:24 on June 11th, 2009

they cope with this in their usual ways, putting a curtain over the tamil struggle and wash away evidence, but this time there were a lot of witnesses who managed to speak with reliable media like the BBC and Channel4 and Times News, who revealed that U.N. officials mentioned over a 20.000 civilians massacred during Fonseka's final onslaught! Tamil police, politicians and administration were killed by the SLA while surrendering according exactly to directions given to them from Kohona and Basil Rajapakse, they came with a white flag and were gunned down even after Nadesan's wife, who was sinhalese, shouted in sinhalese that they were surrendering, she too was gunned down immediately! These are warcrimes known by U.S. the U.K., Norway and may other countries who took part in these negotiations for surrendering noncombatants and their families! there are US think tanks now looking into these warcrimes and people like Feinn and Boyle are most important in this matter.

SRI LANKA CAN NEVER HIDE GENOCIDE!

Hiranya Malwatta

at 09:44 on June 11th, 2009

politicians? :-D

CeeGee

at 07:01 on June 13th, 2009

This sky gazer is truly in his own fantasy land.

He probably sees new constellations there!

Tamil Police? XD

What a comedian!

Look at the last 2 threads of hope in his list, FAINT & BOIL. XD

GENOCIDE? WHAT GENOCODE?

Here are some more words for you.

FRATRICIDE, SOROROCIDE, AVANCULICIDE, PARRICIDE, POLICIDE & LIBERTICIDE as practiced by the LTTE.

So, the Sri Lankan forces had to carry out TYRANNICIDE

lalith

at 10:28 on June 13th, 2009

What about TERROCIDE?

lalith

at 06:32 on June 11th, 2009

They will find a way. Don't worry too much about it.

I strongly advice that you hide your account book too.

israeli.agent

at 08:24 on June 11th, 2009

For starter, refer Operation Wrath of God. Highly recommended.

.Agent.

CeeGee

at 07:29 on June 13th, 2009

Very elucidating israeli.agent. Thank you.

This must be given some serious thought.

sivakaran

at 08:34 on June 11th, 2009

If that is the case, I strongly recommend you hide your ties to Sri Lankan government, so you don't have to go along with Rajapaksa brothers to for war crime trails.

israeli.agent

at 08:45 on June 11th, 2009

Only after you, Shiva, only after you. Who are already hiding , will go first.

War crime? What war crime? Where was war?

.Agent.

sivakaran

at 10:01 on June 11th, 2009

ah, here you are at the 8th stage of the genocide:

http://www.genocidewatch.org/8stages.htm

The denial, it always follows the genocide.

lalith

at 11:10 on June 11th, 2009

Prabhakaran WAS the master of war crimes. Remember Prabhakaran??

Don't worry about the Rajapaksas.

Just hide your accounts book and close your Bank accounts.

lalith

at 10:30 on June 13th, 2009

So, what does Bruce Fein say now? He gets paid much more than the KTTEs.

Watcher of the Skiez

at 09:09 on June 11th, 2009

I think it's time we arrest all the warcriminals in sri lanka, to begin with Karuna and Douglas N. from the EPDP as soon as they take one step outside sri lanka!

come and get me then because you must consider me a terrorist too as I support those who are being massacred, killed, abducted, raped and tortured in sinhalese built concentration camps and torture chambers like the one in kilinochchi!

rajapakshe sold his soul and country to the red army and pakistan in order to avoid U.N. demanded probes into suspected warcrimes and genocide in mullaithivu!

That tells enough about sri lanka's sincerity and respect of international law for human rights!

Killing in the name of buddha is very sad!

israeli.agent

at 09:39 on June 11th, 2009

Who said anything about arresting you? Sri Lankan cannot afford to arrest you. The food stocks will not last long if they arrest KTTEs.

If any KTTE is too fond of getting arrested, please arrange one ship for each one of them before coming to Sri Lanka.

Freedom ends where free food starts. This is applicable only for terrorists.

Getting killed in the name of Buddha is much more sad.

.Agent.

Hiranya Malwatta

at 09:40 on June 11th, 2009

tch tch tch very sad indeed..........

"you must consider me a terrorist too as I support ........"

Oh but didn't you just join NowPublic and wrote your very first comment here today? How can we possibly know what you support?

lalith

at 12:14 on June 11th, 2009

Maybe Second Innings, Hiranya?

CeeGee

at 07:21 on June 13th, 2009

Oh! a Skeleton has replaced Dalai Lama. Thank god for that.

"Killing in the name of buddha is very sad!"

Are you referring to "Karuna and Douglas N." ?

Was it alright when Karuna killed in the name of the LTTE?

lalith

at 10:33 on June 13th, 2009

Wasn't the Sri Maha Bodhi attack done by the LTTE where over 150 devotees, Buddhist monks and one cow was slaughtered.

Killing in the name of LTTE can't be that bad. eh?

Manik (not verified)

at 11:37 on June 11th, 2009

"...they came with a white flag and were gunned down..."

You suddenly made me think of the schoolboys who were returning home by train after a tournament in Kandy, in February 2008 and the young athletes who were getting set to sprint off on a road race, in April 2008.

Oh crikes...I can't stop thinking...it's a long long string, one after the other...

The irony is that none of them would have had a white flag even in their haziest dreams but white flags were put up for them.

lalith

at 12:13 on June 11th, 2009

What about the 33 young Buddhist Monks at Aranthalawa? They didn't have a white flag even if they needed one. Soon their yellow robes turned red and yellow - the LTTE and Eelam colors.