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"Follow the Dutch example," says govt. official - Colombo urges further probes on LTTE fund raising
"Follow the Dutch example," says govt. official - Colombo urges further probes on LTTE fund raisingMay 28, 2011, 12:00 pm
By Shamindra Ferdinando
In the wake of an unprecedented investigation undertaken by the Netherlands targeting LTTE financial networks in the Netherlands, Norway and the US, those who badger Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes should investigate accountability issues on the part of the Tamil diaspora, government sources say.
Officials of the External Affairs and Defence Ministries and the Intelligence Services say that the Dutch, through their investigation, had pointed to the LTTE financial networks funding acquisition of arms, ammunition and equipment.
They say the investigation couldn’t have come at a better time as an influential section of the international community continued to facilitate operations by the diaspora targeting post-war Sri Lanka.
They said the US and 27-nation EU should take serious note of the Dutch investigation and initiate action to put an end to diaspora operations.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday (May 27) lashed out at the LTTE rump/ Tamil diaspora at the second anniversary celebrations of Sri Lanka’s victory over the LTTE.
He alleged that they were still trying to destroy the country in spite of his efforts to move forward in the wake of restoration of peace.
Sources say due to the failure of the international community to crack down on illegal fund raising, the LTTE continued to find money even after the war ended on May 19, 2009.
Responding to a query by The Sunday Island, sources pointed out that the Netherlands had received Norway’s blessings to investigate LTTE activity in the country. It would be interesting to see whether Norway initiated an inquiry of its own and take punitive action at least now. According to a recent Radio Netherlands report Dutch authorities are currently negotiating with Sri Lankan Attorney General Mohan Peiris for permission to interrogate 13 witnesses, including Prabhakaran’s successor, Kumaran Pathmanathan, or KP, now in the protective custody of the government of Sri Lanka.
Radio Netherlands revealed that a combined Dutch team would travel to the US to interrogate, among others, Pratheepan Thavaraja, who managed a plea bargain deal with the US by admitting that he had purchased weapons for the LTTE.
Intelligence sources said that Thavaraja had been one of the key overseas operatives of the LTTE responsible for procurement of arms, ammunition and equipment.
Citing a US investigation concluded in June 2009, sources said Thavaraja had been a senior procurement agent for the LTTE involved in the purchase of improvised explosive devices, missiles, machine guns, artillery, radar, and other equipment and technology from countries around the world, including the United States.
According to US investigators, a single spreadsheet of "priority" items to purchase, which was found in Pratheepan’s laptop computer, totaled $20 million worth of arms and equipment.
It included, among others six "25mm Anti Aircraft Gun[s]" at $160,000 each, six "30 mm Twin Barrel Mounted Naval Gun[s] Type 69 (with base)" at $30,000 each, thousands of automatic rifles, millions of rounds of ammunition, grenade launchers, 50 tons of C4 explosive, five tons of "Phlegmatized RDX" explosive, 50 tons of NT — based on Chinese specification," and 50 tons of Tritonal explosive.
Pratheepan and his US based colleague Murugesu Vinayagamoorthy were also involved in the attempted bribery of purported U.S. State Department officials to remove the LTTE from the list of designated foreign terrorist organizations.
In addition, Vinayagamoorthy participated in laundering LTTE money through a Swiss bank account to covertly fund a U.S. Congressman’s trip to LTTE-controlled territory in Sri Lanka.
Sources said that Thavaraja’s lap top had revealed his relationship with the Netherlands-based Ramachandran and alleged involvement in procurement of arms.
Ramachandran is categorized by the Dutch as one of the two LTTE operatives now in their custody, with the other identified as Srirangam. The Dutch have so far questioned about 100 persons, the vast majority of them non-Sri Lankan passport holders for their involvement in fund raising operations.