Extortion of Tamil Expatriates Visiting Sri Lanka
Part Seven of the Human Rights Watch Report on LTTE extortion of
Western Tamil Diaspora
THE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam subject Sri Lankan Tamils living
in Canada, the United Kingdom and other Western countries to
intimidation, extortion and even violence to ensure a steady flow of
funds for operations in Sri Lanka and to suppress criticism of human
rights abuses, said Human Rights Watch in a new report released.
The 45-page report, Funding the 'Final War:' LTTE Intimidation and
Extortion in the Tamil Diaspora, details how representatives of the LTTE
and pro-LTTE groups use unlawful pressure among Tamil communities in the
West to secure financial pledges. Last part of the serialised report is
produced today.
REPORT: Since the ceasefire between the Sri Lankan Government and the
LTTE in February 2002, increasing numbers of Tamil expatriates have
taken advantage of the relative peace to visit family and friends who
remained in the North and East of Sri Lanka, areas that are largely
under the control of the LTTE.
Increasingly, these visits have become a source of revenue for the
LTTE as the LTTE has begun to systematically identify visiting
expatriates and pressure them to contribute to the "cause."
Visitors to the North of Sri Lanka may travel by one of two routes:
fly to Jaffna from Colombo, or travel north by bus or car on the main A9
highway that stretches from Kandy in the south to Jaffna at the northern
tip of Sri Lanka.
North of Vavuniya, travellers reach the Omanthai and Muhamalai
crossing points that separate government- and LTTE-held territory.
Leaving Government-held territory, they must exit their vehicles and
show documentation at a Government checkpoint before crossing several
kilometres of no-man's land that is monitored by the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
On the other side, visitors stop again at an LTTE checkpoint where
they must show documentation before proceeding into LTTE-held territory.
At the checkpoint, travellers are directed by signs into separate
queues depending on whether they are Sri Lankan nationals, or whether
they carry foreign passports.
Recent expatriate visitors to the North report that foreign Tamil
visitors are given a pass at the checkpoint, for which they must pay
1,000 rupees (approximately U.S.$10).
They are told that within three days of reaching their destination,
they must take the pass to the local LTTE office in Jaffna or
Kilinochchi.
At the LTTE office, visitors must give detailed personal information,
such as their name, home phone and address, employer, salary
information, whether or not they own their home, and how long they have
lived there. They are also asked for information about their past
contributions to the LTTE.
If visitors cannot verify a history of regular contributions, they
then may be told an amount of money that they "owe" to the LTTE. The
amount varies but is often calculated on the basis of $1, o1 per day,
for each day that they have lived in the West.
For expatriates who have lived in the West for long periods of time,
the amount can be substantial. For example, a Tamil who has lived in
Toronto for twenty years might be expected to pay Cdn $7,300.
Alternatively, they may be pressured to sign a pledge to pay a monthly
amount once they return home.
Priya's Story
Priya (not her real name) left Sri Lanka in the early 1990s and now
lives in the Toronto area. In mid-2005, she made her first visit back to
Sri Lanka in more than ten years, travelling by road from Colombo to
visit a parent and siblings in the North. She told Human Rights Watch:
At the checkpoint, they told me that each family had to get a pass and
pay 1,000 rupees. I was told that was the rule.
Then once you get to [town], within three days you have to go to the
LTTE office and give all your details there. I paid the 1,000 rupees and
gave my name and passport number.
On the second day, I went to the [LTTE] office. They asked how long I
had been living abroad and if I had contributed any money while abroad.
I said I hadn't. I told them I was living on welfare and had children. I
said it was very difficult, so I didn't give money.
The LTTE told me, "When you go back, you should give money. You
should help our struggle. It is your obligation to help us." I agreed
that when I got back I would give money month to month. I felt I had to
agree, because I was in their territory.
I was afraid that if I refused, they would demand the money then.
They asked for $50 per month. I said I couldn't afford $50, but would
pay $30. They finally agreed on $40 a month and said I should pay it to
the World Tamil Movement.
They asked me to fill out a form and sign it. It included my home
address, name, and the amount I had agreed to pay. When I was there [at
the office], for most people, they were demanding money right then, but
in my case, they said paying later would be okay. Maybe it was the way I
was talking to them.
Priya said that at the time, she felt she had little choice but to
report to the LTTE office and sign the pledge.
"If I didn't go to the office, they would have come to look for me.
At the checkpoint they asked me where I would stay. If I had argued with
them and refused to give the money, I might have had problems."
After signing the pledge, the LTTE office put a seal on the pass she
had received at the checkpoint and instructed her to present it when she
left LTTE-controlled territory to return to Colombo.
After returning to Toronto, Priya said that representatives from the
World Tamil Movement started calling her within a week.
"They left three or four messages, but I didn't pick up the phone. If
my children answered, they told them I was at work." Shortly afterward,
a man came to Priya's home. Priya said, "He had all the information,
including my passport number.
He said, 'I'm from the World Tamil Movement. You said in Sri Lanka
that you would give money. I am here to collect it.' He had a printout
and I could see other peoples' names.
It had my name and children's names, my passport number, and my
address."
Priya told the man that she had managed to make the trip to Sri Lanka
by taking out a loan, and that she could not afford to pay any more. "He
said, 'People who only make $6 or $7 an hour are giving, so you have to
give the money.'
I tried to argue with him and ask him to come back after a few
months. I told him I couldn't afford it. He said, 'All these people who
are much worse off than you are giving, so you have to give.'"
Eventually, Priya agreed to pay the amount she had pledged. When she
spoke to Human Rights Watch several months later, she indicated that she
was thinking of stopping the payments, but was afraid that if she
stopped paying, "they would probably come and harass me, and come and
constantly knock on my door."
She was also concerned that if she did not keep up the payments, she
would not be able to return again to Sri Lanka to see her family. "If I
don't pay the money, next time I go, they will demand the entire
[accumulated] amount. I can't afford to pay that much."
When speaking to Human Rights Watch, Priya became visibly upset. She
indicated that one of the reasons why she did not want to give money to
the LTTE was because of their practice of recruiting children as
soldiers.
My brother's children are in the Vanni. The LTTE is collecting money
here and using the money to train children to fight and die with the
[Tiger] army. The people who collect the money here are living a very
good life and drive a nice car.
They don't seem to care that it is the children there who are forced
to fight and die. My children are here. I will never let them join or
fight or die.
Nor would any other Tamils in Canada let their children fight and
die. But there are children there who are being used as fighters. How
can they accept that? I worry about my nephews and nieces.
Common Extortion Methods
Priya's experience is not unique. A lawyer with a Toronto practice
reported that from March through November 2005, he had at least a dozen
clients who had been pressured to pay money while visiting Sri Lanka.He
said, "All of my clients who have been to Jaffna have had the
experience. If they go by land, it is a sure case."
He reported that clients who fly to Jaffna may not immediately be
identified, but that word often spreads quickly in local neighbourhoods
when someone visits from abroad.
Then by the second or third day, someone will come and say, 'You
should go to the Kondavil office [LTTE treasury].' If you try to avoid
him, the man will come again. Then your family says, 'You need to go. If
you don't, you will create a problem for us.'"
According to the attorney's clients, they were required to give
detailed personal information at the LTTE office in Kondavil, a village
near Jaffna town. He said that individuals were often unsure of how much
personal information the LTTE already possessed, so were afraid to give
any false information.
Some of his clients reported that they were told they could not leave
Jaffna until they paid the amount of money requested, and that if they
didn't have the money with them, they should get it from family members
in Canada.
"If they are told not to leave, people don't want to take the risk,
so they get their family to wire the money." He was unaware of anyone
who was forcibly detained, but said, "The mere verbal order is more than
enough to upset them."
Even people who have given contributions while in the West may be
pressured to give when visiting Sri Lanka.
The attorney said, "If you say that you have given, they say they
don't have a record. They ask, 'Do you have a PIN number?' Or they will
enter your name and date of birth in a computer and say, 'No, we
checked, you didn't give money.' You have to give."
In some cases, the LTTE confiscates the passports of visiting Tamils
until they pay the requested amount of money. A reliable source in
London provided information about a Tamil woman with two children, from
another European country, who visited Jaffna in 2005.
They flew to Jaffna from Colombo because they had already heard about
families being pressed for money when passing through the LTTE
checkpoint by road.
When they reached Jaffna, they were told to report to Kondavil. At
the Kondavil office, officials worked out a figure based on the amount
of time they had lived in the West and had not contributed money to the
LTTE.
The woman was told that before they left, they would have to pay
500,000 rupees (approximately o2,800/U.S.$4,800). She only had 100,000
rupees with her, which she paid. The LTTE then took her passport and
informed her that the passport would be returned to her when she
returned with the other 400,000 rupees.
Rather than pay the amount, the woman flew back to Colombo that same
night, and went to her embassy the following day, claiming that she had
lost her passport. After receiving a replacement passport, she quickly
returned to Europe with her children.
In another case, a British Tamil woman visiting the North was asked
at the LTTE checkpoint if she had contributed to the LTTE while living
in the U.K.
She responded that her husband had given o35 a month. She was told
that the amount was "not enough" and was asked for 1.3 million rupees
(approximately o7,300/U.S.$12,600). The LTTE took her passport and
instructed her to visit the LTTE office in Jaffna.
In Jaffna, she was again pressed for money but refused to pay. When
she returned to the checkpoint to retrieve her passport, she was again
pressed for money until she finally signed an agreement to increase the
family's monthly pledge to o50.
Not every expatriate who travels to the North is pressed to give
funds. One Toronto university student who travelled to Jaffna by road in
mid-2005 was told at the checkpoint to visit the Kondavil LTTE office in
Jaffna within three days.
"They said, 'You must go.' I was kind of scared, so I went there.
Some people said if I don't go there will be big trouble. They said I
might not be able to leave."
At the Kondavil office she was asked for personal information. Her
impression of the meeting: "The main idea is that they want the money
from us." She told the LTTE representatives that she was still in
school, had loans, and was not working.
In her case, the LTTE did not press her for immediate funds or a
pledge, but informed her that once she got a job, she should start to
give. She expressed concern that they would continue to monitor her.
"They have my current address, so they can come to my house."
As word of such stories spreads, many Tamil families reportedly have
begun to change their travel plans and even cancel planned trips to
visit Sri Lanka for fear of being forced to pay amounts that they cannot
afford or are not willing to give.
The attorney in Toronto told Human Rights Watch, "Many people have
cancelled plans to go, even if they are strong LTTE supporters. I know
three or four families who have cancelled plans to go visit."
A London Tamil who has lived in the U.K. for more than twenty years
and was approached for money in mid-2005 told Human Rights Watch, "I had
plans last year to visit, but now I have this problem to take the PIN
number and payment."
LTTE extortion in the West: Response of the UK and Canadian
Authorities.
We know that extortion is going on, but this is not a priority for
the British Government. When we look at what we need to concentrate our
resources on, in terms of terrorist groups, we are focusing on Islamic
groups - inspector with the London Metropolitan Police.
Only two of the individuals who spoke to Human Rights Watch about
their experiences of being pressed for money had reported the incident
to the police or other government authorities (see below).
Many expressed fear that filing a complaint would only expose them
further within the Tamil community, and result in further harassment,
intimidation, or worse.
One Toronto Tamil said: People are afraid to come out [publicly]
because the nuisance from police is much worse than from the Tigers.
With the Tigers, if worst comes to worst, you have to pay $2,000. But if
you talk to the police, they could come to your house at anytime.
If police comes to the door, how do you explain that to your
neighbours? I don't want to be identified as an informant to the
community. If police comes to your door, you will be identified as an
informant. You will be isolated, totally isolated from the community.
The Toronto businessman against whose wife and children a threat was
made when he refused to give Cdn$20,000 told Human Rights Watch that he
had considered going to the police, but ultimately changed his mind,
fearing that reporting the incident could bring retaliation from the
LTTE.
He said, "If they [the police] do a big action to get the guys, then
I can help them. But they need to support me, protect me. If they
investigate and nothing happens, it's not good for me." 116 An inspector
with the Metropolitan Police in London indicated that the reluctance of
individual Tamils to make reports limited the police's ability to
respond.
"All we do is get one or two members of the Tamil community [to give
us intelligence], but all of the victims without exception are too
intimidated to make reports, so what we end up with is intelligence
without solid evidence."
The inspector stated that if reports were made, the police would
investigate the allegations and launch an operation against those
responsible.
However, both of the London Tamils who told Human Rights Watch that
they had called the police regarding LTTE visits said that they felt
that their complaints were not taken seriously.
One Tamil living in the London area reported that in December 2005,
the LTTE telephoned him to tell him that they would come to his home
that evening to collect funds for the LTTE. The man said that he then
called the police and asked them to come to his house.
He said, "I told them that they [the LTTE] are going to ask for money
and I won't give it. There may be trouble." He said the police informed
him that if the LTTE had not made direct threats to his life or safety,
they would not send officers to his house.
In another case documented by Human Rights Watch, a Tamil living in
London called the police after being visited twice by men demanding
money for the LTTE.
When the police arrived at the man's house, the man said he gave them
the license number of the visitors' car and pointed out the house where
the men had gone after leaving his home.
He said the police told him that they would take the details of the
incident but that there was "no evidence" of an offense.
One Tamil living in London said, "There is general apathy about the
police at the moment that they do not take up matters complained to them
seriously. . . . The police must create awareness among their forces
that there are serious problems existing and they must be directed
appropriately to deal with the issues."
The inspector with the Metropolitan Police acknowledged that,
generally, the police force has done little to respond to extortion by
the LTTE.
He also indicated that the lack of attention may be due to political
considerations: A few years ago, there seemed to be a policy to
deliberately ignore what was going on.
At the time, the U.K. was trying to support the peace agreement
[between the Government and the LTTE], and did not want to upset the
LTTE. So the Met [Metropolitan Police] was getting information and
intelligence, and the Special Branch, which deals with terrorism, was
denying what was going on.
In Canada, the Tamil community forms a powerful voting bloc, and many
members of Parliament from ridings (electoral districts) in the Toronto
area are dependent on Tamil votes. Some Canadian Tamils suggest that as
a result, many Members of Parliament are reluctant to address LTTE
intimidation.
One Toronto activist told Human Rights Watch, "Vocally denouncing or
acknowledging LTTE activity would be politically costly. The lack of
political will is [also] due to the fact that LTTE extortion is seen as
a Tamil problem, and not a Canadian one."
A detective inspector with the intelligence section of the Toronto
Police confirmed the difficulty of getting formal complaints. "The trick
is to have people with information that we can pursue far enough to
create a criminal investigation."
He identified a major challenge for the police force as establishing
trust and rapport with the Tamil community: "We have to get their trust.
. . . If we can get enough victims to create a bigger pool of
complainants, they will not feel as vulnerable."
When asked if the Toronto police were involved in any current
investigations of extortion within the Tamil community, the detective
inspector indicated he was not at liberty to provide such information.
However, none of the members of the Tamil community in Toronto who
spoke with Human Rights Watch seemed aware of any inquiries made into
the issue by either police or other government authorities. A Tamil in
London told Human Rights Watch that the police should be investigating
the fundraising activity.
"The LTTE is collecting money in broad daylight. Under the Terrorism
Act, it is unlawful to support any terrorist organisation, and the LTTE
is proscribed as a terrorist organization in the U.K."
In Toronto, one Tamil commented, "If the police really wanted to stop
them, they could. They only have to follow the WTM [World Tamil
Movement] employees. I have a few license plate numbers of people who do
the fundraising. If I can get them, the police can get them."
Another individual expressed scepticism that the police understood
the situation well enough to be able to investigate effectively. When
visited by representatives of the World Tamil Movement, he was able to
take the license plate number of the visitors. But he said, "The police
don't know how to handle the situation.
If I approach them, they will say, 'Okay, we will charge this fellow
who owns this car.' But if they do that, then the crank phone calls will
start and my family life will be shattered. I will lose my peace of
mind."
He said that rather than pursue individual complaints, the police
should undertake broader investigations into the fundraising activity of
the LTTE and World Tamil Movement.
Tamils in London also said that the police should undertake more
systematic investigations. One told Human Rights Watch, The problem is
that the police are not making efforts at a national/metropolitan level
to deal with the problem.
The efforts made so far are by individual officers in one specific
police station. These types of efforts are temporary as transfers and
promotions of police officers frustrate continuity of their individual
efforts. What we need is a major government level decision.
The Government is more pre-occupied with Islamic extremism and they
have not channelled resources to deal with the proscribed LTTE
activities. But the government is fully aware of the situation facing
the Tamils.
According to a detective inspector with the intelligence unit of the
Toronto police, Canadian court cases linking the LTTE to terrorist
activity make fundraising for the LTTE a matter of national security,
and it falls under the jurisdiction of the Integrated National Security
Enforcement Team (INSET), a joint initiative that is administered by the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police and involves the police, customs and
immigration, the police intelligence unit, and others.
Incidents of violence or abduction, not surprisingly, have received
greater attention from law enforcement.
For example, both Jayadevan, the U.K. resident who was detained at
length by the LTTE in northern Sri Lanka, and Loganathan, who was
severely beaten in Germany, expressed general satisfaction with the
subsequent investigations by the U.K. and German authorities.
The Loganathan case offers a particularly useful model for police
response. Although authorities were unable to identify the perpetrators
responsible for Loganathan's beating, they made efforts to prevent
additional incidents by seeking out individuals known to be collecting
funds for the LTTE in the Tamil community, and by communicating a clear
message that the authorities were gravely concerned and that any future
incidents would be treated as extremely serious.
The LTTE's use of intimidation, harassment, extortion, and even
physical violence against members of the Tamil diaspora is effectively
stifling Tamil dissent regarding on-going LTTE human rights abuses in
Sri Lanka.
LTTE extortion is also forcing Tamils, including those who do not
support the LTTE, to provide financial support for LTTE operations,
including its continuing pattern of child recruitment and political
killings.
Both intimidation and extortion have significantly limited the
ability of Tamils in the West who do not support the LTTE's pattern of
human rights abuses to effectively speak out and influence LTTE
behaviour.
Western Governments, although obliged to protect their residents and
citizens from such abuses, have done too little in response to the
patterns of intimidation and coercion that victimize members of the
Tamil community.
Governments with a significant Tamil diaspora should take stronger
action to protect members of the community, ensuring their right to
express themselves on issues of vital concern to their community and to
live without fear.
(Concluded) |