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Danish
TV exposes Tiger fund raising At the interview last week a Sri Lankan Tamil Vathaanan Kumarathurai, working as a software engineer in Aalborg said “They call us traitors and claim that we are working against our own people”. In addition to the two Kumarathurai brothers, yet another Tamil citizen of Denmark, who preferred to remain anonymous citing security concerns said, “I and my family received threats back in Sri Lanka, so I can’t speak openly. I think the LTTE is using this situation to extort money from Tamils, especially because there is no room for opposition. The LTTE is trying to be a part of all occasions where Tamils congregate in Denmark”. Currently more that 11,000 Tamil families reside in Denmark and although many Tamils willingly contribute money to the LTTE, many others do so because they feel they have little choice, states Human Rights Watch (HRW), an independent NGO that defends human rights throughout the world. Tamils here claim that every Tamil family in Denmark is forced to contribute up to Rs. 335,518 (20,000 Danish kroner) annually, towards the LTTE fund. One of the LTTE’s leading fund raisers in Denmark, Robin Nichilapillai has said he collects Rs. 167,767 (8-10,000 kroner) on average, per day. HRW states that the LTTE collects funds from more than 800,000 Tamils across the world. The LTTE’s fund raising activity in Denmark is carried out by an organisation by the name of the Tamil Cooperation Committee (TCC) which has its headquarters in Herning, in the north of Denmark. The TCC operates 28 Tamil language schools around the country which receive funding from the respective City Councils. The TCC works under the guise of organizing peaceful activities/events exclusively for Tamil people. Last year it organized an event for the Tamil youth in the area but footage now shows that the LTTE flag was displayed over the entrance of the hall. Herning City Councillor and former TCC chairman Arulanantharajah Thillainadarasa, who up until this week, was also a member of the Social Democrat Party, was removed from the party on the basis of his association with an armed militant group. Social Democrats Secretary General Jens Christensen said the party was compelled to remove Mr. Thillainadarasa as it was against party policy for its members to have affiliations with any armed groups. Mr.
Thillainadarasa, however, denied all claims of both his and the
TCC’s connection to the LTTE. On being shown more video footage
of him addressing a gathering at a school function in Aarhus, where
he had apparently introduced the TCC as being a sub-division of
the LTTE, he had been exposed. Meanwhile, an online forum (www.denunge.dk) has been created in Danish by Vathaanan Kumarathurai and a colleague, for people to voice their opinions or raise questions regarding this situation. TV
station explains Once adequate evidence, comprising footage taken by the students and interviews conducted with Tamil residents in Denmark, a Tamil fund raiser for the LTTE and Mr. Kumarathurai and his brother were completed, it was decided to air the story last Sunday night, he said. The story was further validated by the independent NGO, Human Rights Watch on Wednesday, he added. “We also received many letters from Tamils residing in Denmark saying that although the LTTE does raise funds here, many of them were contributing voluntarily. Some even alleged that the Kumarathurai brothers may be members of the Karuna faction and therefore having their own hidden agendas behind speaking openly about the LTTE’s activities,” said Mr. Klovborg. “If somebody can provide adequate documentation or evidence to prove this allegation, our station would gladly follow it up as well, he said. However, the station had also received letters from Tamil residents here, confirming their story, he added. Add
LTTE to terror list: Danish Govt. ally “The LTTE has been banned both by the USA and UK, so why shouldn’t it be banned here as well,” he said. This has not been the first time this type of story has been highlighted in the Danish media, he said adding that there were similar stories regarding the LTTE forcing Tamil communities to contribute funds towards its cause, in the press a few years ago, the most recent of which was highlighted even last autumn. In response to whether Denmark’s reluctance to proscribe the LTTE had any connection with its interest in the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka, he said that he’s not sure if there could be any connection as the Danish Government wasn’t directly involved with the peace process, even though it was in full support of Norway’s work in the peace process. In addition to lobbying for the LTTE to be proscribed by the EU, there are two other issues the DPP is concerned about, he said. “We’ve asked the Education Minister to investigate the authenticity of the 28 schools operated by the Tamil Cooperation Committee (TCC) as well, because the schools are funded by the City Councils in their respective regions,” Mr. Skaarup said. If it’s found that the schools are in fact supporting the LTTE, they may even have to be closed down, as it’s the tax payers money that is helping to run these schools, he said. The DPP has also raised the issue of the need for the Government to provide protection and support to the Tamil families residing here, who have been intimidated or threatened by the LTTE to extort money from them. |
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