'Tamil group not a threat in Cambodia'
Local and U.S. officials in Phnom Penh have downplayed the threat of
the non-profit Tamil Foundation which allegedly had ties with the LTTE
the Phnom Penh Post reported on Wednesday.
"We got a note from the Treasury (Department of U.S.), and it's
something we are required to distribute to the local Government. It's
just a heads-up. It's not something serious here," the English-language
daily newspaper quoted U.S. Embassy spokesman John Johnson as saying.
The U.S. Government had sent a generic message to all its embassies
indicating that its Treasury Department had designated the Tamil
Foundation, a charity based in U.S., as a terrorist group and frozen its
assets, according to the spokesman.
Meanwhile, Koy Kuong, Secretary of State at the Cambodian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told the paper that "this
is just an exchange of information. We don't have a Tamil Foundation in
Cambodia." "U.S. learned that the Tamil Foundation had established
offices in other countries, so they are seeking international
cooperation, but we haven't heard of this group operating in Cambodia,"
he added.
The paper on Tuesday quoted national police spokesman Keat Chantarith
as saying that "we are looking into the case" of the Tamil Foundation,
under the request of the Foreign Ministry. In February, the Cambodian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation sent a letter
to Interior Minister Sar Kheng, asking him to investigate the actions of
the foundation which allegedly supported the LTTE terrorist organisation.
The Foreign Ministry sent the letter after receiving a diplomatic
notice from the U.S. Embassy warning of the existence of the Tamil
Foundation which had offices in many countries.
PHNOM PENH, Xinhua
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