Think tank spotlights Tiger-al Qaeda business link

The LTTE’s possible commercial link with al- Qaeda, the organisation held responsible for the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington over six years ago, is highlighted once again by a prestigious London-based think tank. In its latest publication “Military Balance 2008” released last week the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) not only repeats what it said three years ago about the LTTE’s al-Qaeda link but also accuses it of breaking last year the 2002 cease-fire.

The IISS was the first to spotlight over six years ago the LTTE’s possession of two Robinson 44 helicopters and two light aircraft. It was also the first international think-tank to link the LTTE with al-Qaeda though it did not make a definite statement linking the two. The IISS continues to list the World Tamil Movement and the World Tamil Association as either front organisations of the LTTE or those connected to it.

Colonel Christopher Langton, former editor of “Military Balance” and now director, Armed Conflict and Defence Diplomacy of IISS described as “tragic” the steady collapse of the CFA. Speaking to The Sunday Times after the launch of the publication, Col Langton said that the return to civil war raised several questions.

He said that the international community had thought that the Tigers were ready to talk but that had not happened. The other question that raised serious concerns was how the situation returned to the present position. How was it that it went back to “civil war?”

He said that there were factions within the LTTE leadership and some were not happy with the cease-fire agreement. That was why there were cease-fire violations by the Tigers.“The return of suicide bombing is a frightening aspect. It has not increased the chances for a dialogue.”

He said that with the Tigers back to suicide bombings, it is necessary for the LTTE to state its position because the current crop of bombings seems to reject the opinion of those who want peace. In its description of the situation in Sri Lanka, the IISS publication says there was a “marked deterioration of political stability” and that the “24-year old conflict between the Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam |(LTTE) shifted from low-intensity warfare to near full-fledged undeclared conventional warfare.”

It says a key concern for the Sri Lanka Government is the LTTE’s new- found light air power. “In a daring move on 26 March 2007, two light aircraft of the Air Tigers attacked an air force base near Colombo. The two adapted Czech Morovan ZLIN-143 aircraft capable of carrying four bombs each attacked the Katunayake air force base adjacent to the country’s sole international airport.”

The report said that subsequently Air Tiger planes carried out two more the following month.