No hanky- panky
with Tiger treasury
By Chris
Kamalendran
The financial division of the LTTE is one of the most
powerful arms of the rebel group as it not only draws in a huge
revenue but also monitors every trade transaction within the LTTE-controlled
area.
Consisting
of several departments, the financial division derives its strength
of stability largely from what the rebels call their 'Customs' department,
which is responsible for collection of taxes at entry points.
Travelling
a short distance along the A-9 road from Omanthai, one cannot miss
the LTTE "Customs" office. Neither can anyone enter the
Tiger territory without going through the 'Customs' procedures at
this point.
Lorry loads
of goods are unloaded here and lorry drivers are required to fill
a declaration form. All goods taken for commercial purposes are
unloaded and an LTTE Customs officer imposes a duty after assessing
them.
"Irrespective
of the values the drivers or traders give in the declaration forms,
we make our own assessment and impose a duty," senior LTTE
member in charge of the office said. More than 50 young men and
women clad in white shirts and black pants or skirts are seated
behind their desks on a makeshift platform, which had been once
used to unload goods for checking purposes. Their task is to make
the necessary calculations and impose the tax on the trader.
They run through
the declaration form where the trader of the driver states the quantity
of goods, the weight, the discount he had obtained in the South
when he purchased the goods, the VAT tax paid and other details.
"All these factors are taken into account when we imposed the
duty," the rebels' Customs officer said.
"The law
here is imposed very strictly. We do not allow people to under value
their goods and pay a fine and get away. We confiscate the goods.
A few weeks ago, a trader transporting chocolates valued at Rs.
300,000 had declared the value as Rs. 175,000. The trader was deprived
of the stock and had to return empty handed," he said.
It is not only
the goods, but also the vehicle that brought the goods are seized
if the LTTE Customs detects any foul play.
"If the
value is under declared or items are taken without declaring them,
we confiscate not only the goods but also the lorry if the driver
owns the vehicle. We do not want to give the impression that a person
could get away by paying a fine at this point after being detected
for under valuing the goods or undeclaring the goods. We want to
send a clear warning to all traders that they face the risk of losing
their goods if they try to cheat," the LTTE Customs officer
said. At the entry point, the LTTE handles more than 180 lorries
a day and earns millions of rupees as revenue. The LTTE tax structure
is largely a two-tiered system. Consumer items are taxed ten per
cent of the value while non-essentials are taxed 25 per cent.
Another unit
that is equally strong within the LTTE financial division is the
Tamileelam Bank.
Situated almost
opposite the two state banks -- People's Bank and Bank of Ceylon
-- the "Bank of Tamileelam" draws more customers than
the two state banks do. This is largely because the customers place
more faith in the "Eelam" bank. Another reason is that
the LTTE encourages the people to go to its bank.
"We have
most of the services any other bank could offer. We have fixed deposits,
current accounts, savings accounts and encash foreign currency,"
said the Tamileelam Bank Manager S. Ravindran , an economics graduate
of the Jaffna University. The bank also offers agriculture and housing
loans and is involved in pawning business.
The manager
and the staff are paid employees of the LTTE with the manager drawing
a salary of Rs. 13,000. Salaries of other staff members range from
Rs. 7000 to Rs. 10,000 inclusive of overtime.
Fixed deposits
are taken at rates ranging from 13 to 16%. The interest rate for
a 24-month fixed deposit is 16%, 12 months is 15% and six months
is 13%.
As in any other
bank, monthly statements are posted to customers. The bank also
issues chequebooks to its current account holders.
In addition
to the "Customs" and the "Bank", the LTTE also
has other agencies to collect taxes. For instance, a tax centre
at the market places imposes tax on the vendors.
With the LTTE
facing a cash crunch in the wake of Western nations declaring it
a terrorist organization and restricting its fund raising abroad,
the rebels appear to be determined to fill its coffers through their
"Customs" and the "Tamileelam Bank".
The LTTE defends
its action saying the taxes are imposed to collect money to maintain
the organisation and look after tens of thousands of its cadres.
Taxes add burden
to the people as they cause a price hike. The people of the north
pay more for every item they buy - about 10-25 per cent more than
the price in the rest of the country. Naturally, some people are
not so happy about the rebel tax system.
Sikhs too react
angrily to 'In the name of Buddha'
From Neville
de Silva in London
The Sikh community here is studying the reaction to the
controversial film "In the name of Buddha" which also
insults the Sikhs while offending Buddhists everywhere.
The Sikh community here, a powerful minority, had been alerted to
the incriminating nature of the film following extensive reports
on it by this newspaper.
The film produced
by a Tamil of Sri Lankan origin and an Indian Keralite, falsely
accuses Sri Lankan Buddhists of pursuing the war against Tamils
by fanning the flames of violence.
The Indian
Peace Keeping Force is also accused of anti-Tamil conduct, but it
is the Sikh soldiers in the IPKF who are identified as murderers,
rapists and looters. These soldiers wear the turban, the distinctive
headgear of the Sikh community.
Amarjitsingh
Padda, a committee member of the Sikh Gurdvara, a Sikh Temple here
said that he had alerted the temple committee to this film.
"I have
also informed the Guru Gobalsingh Study Centre, a big Sikh temple
at Southhall and another Sikh organisation called the Sikh Agenda,"
he told The Sunday Times.
Mr. Padda has
also brought the offending film to the notice of a Sikh monthly
titled Sikh Bulletin, published in the United States.
Sikhs in other
countries such as Australia will also be brought into the picture,
the Sunday Times understands.
It might be
recalled that Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated
by her Sikh bodyguards. A major reason was Indira Gandhi's orders
to storm the Golden Temple in Amritsar, perhaps the holiest of places
to the Sikhs around the world.
"We dont
want to be called rapists and murderers as the film does, a Sikh
student Kripal Singh said." The authors of the film must accept
responsibility for their wild accusations".
Meanwhile Sri
Lanka's High Commissioner to Britain, Faisz Mustapha is due to call
on his colleagues from Japan, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia
when he returns from Colombo where he has been for the past three
weeks apparently in connection with the peace talks.
Other High
Commission officials are said to have already brought to the notice
of Britain's department of culture and Britains' Board of Film Classification
that the film not only paints a false picture but insults the adherents
of a world religion.
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