Tigers procured aircraft, weapons from Australia, says terrorism expert

Sandra O’MALLEY

AUSTRALIA: The Federal Government has been accused of turning a blind eye to LTTE activities in Australia, allowing the separatist group to build up its air wing.

Singapore-based terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna says the Tigers have been procuring aircraft, arms, explosives and other technological devices from Australia for more than a decade.

Gunaratna, head of the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, says the Tigers were buying light aircraft from local manufacturers in the mid-1990s and as recently as last year bought remote control devices to detonate bombs in Sri Lanka.

The Australian Government is considering whether to list the group as a terrorist organisation.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer admitted yesterday the Government had been aware for some time that money raised in Australia was being siphoned to the Tigers in Sri Lanka.

But Dr Gunaratna says Australia’s involvement extends beyond just fundraising.

He says countries like Australia have played a significant role in equipping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), better known as the Tigers.

“It started in the mid-1990s but the procurement activities continued as far as last year in Australia,” he said.

“The last items they purchased were remote control devices which have now been uncovered in Sri Lanka with Australian markings (on the devices).”

He believed Governments had been slow to act because they had been so focused on stopping Muslim extremists.

“Within the intelligence community now it’s very well established that because Governments turned a blind eye to this today there are light aircraft the Tigers are using to mount attacks in Sri Lanka,” Dr Gunaratna said.

Dr. Gunaratna said Australian authorities had been aware of the problem for many years but had only begun to take the problem more seriously about two years ago.

“For Australia, it was never a priority to curb the non-Islamist terrorist groups operating in Australia,” he said. Intelligence agencies had been collecting information on procurement and fundraising activities for many years, Dr Gunaratna said.

“But the law enforcement side has been very weak,” he said. Justice Minister David Johnston was not immediately available for comment. (News.com.au)