The Hague, Netherlands: When Tamil Tigers were routed on the battlefield two years ago, the Sri Lankan government believed it had crushed the 25-year rebellion for a separate Tamil homeland.
But evidence surfacing in a courthouse in the Netherlands shows that the cause of Tamil independence is still alive in Europe, and an assessment from counterterrorism authorities says supporters of the defeated rebels remain engaged in extortion, human trafficking and other crimes to raise money for their brethren in Sri Lanka.
With the entire Tamil military leadership dead and the Sri Lankan army in control of former rebel territory, independent experts doubt a revival of an armed uprising is possible soon.
But while the Tigers have been defeated in Sri Lanka, “here in Europe they are very much alive,” Dutch prosecutor Ward Ferdinandusse told The Hague District Court during the trial of five Tamils accused of being members of the outlawed organisation, running illegal lotteries and laundering money.
A USB stick found in a tea cup at the home of one of the defendants revealed him to be the international bookkeeper for the worldwide Tamil diaspora, prosecutors allege.
The data disclosed a financial plan for 2010, and indicate that Tamil exiles remain faithful to the goal of independence in northern Sri Lanka for the country’s Tamil minority, the prosecution claims.
That analysis is echoed by the latest assessments published by Europol, the EU’s police coordination organisation.
In its 2011 “Terrorism Situation and Trend Report,” Europol says Tamil Tigers still extort money from Tamils and are “actively involved in drugs and human trafficking, the facilitation of illegal immigration, credit card skimming, money laundering, and fraud for the purpose of funding terrorist (support) operations.”
The twin assessments by Dutch authorities and Europol raise worrying questions about the possible regrouping of the Tigers, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. The LTTE is still listed as a terror organisation by the European Union, United States and other countries. (PTI)