Sequel to propagating LTTE ideology:

Malaysian police cracks down LTTE suspects

by Manjula Fernando

A Malaysian Deputy Minister said the local police continue to monitor Sri Lankans in Malaysia for possible LTTE links following the arrest of three Sri Lankans last month for propagating LTTE ideology.

The Deputy Home Minister Dr. Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar told Malaysian media last week that currently there were 4,000 Sri Lankans in Malaysia and those with suspected terror links were being investigated by the police.

Since the arrests of Kushanthan, Kirubanandan and Sellathurei on May 15 there have been organised protests by Sri Lankan Tamil groups, attended by Penang Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy and Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran.

The protestors challenged the Malaysian Police Chief to prove that the arrested men were LTTE members.

A senior intelligence officer in Colombo alleged that Ramasamy is an LTTE advisor and Kulasegaran had attended rallies organised in Malaysia in support of the terror outfit in the past. “Their alliance in organising protests are not unusual,” he said.

Deputy Malaysian Home Minister Dr. Jaafar was quoted in the newspapers as saying that he did not believe the locals were involved in LTTE activities or that they have a local support base. However, he said, they have not completely ruled out the possibility.

The officer said the men were arrested on information provided by Nanthagopan, a key LTTE international wing leader who was arrested and deported to Sri Lanka by the Malaysian authorities recently while trying to flee to Europe.

According to Nanthagopan’s statements Kushanthan was one of the founders of the LTTE air wing and was in charge of the Iranamadu airstrip. He and the others had been investigated for many years by the Malaysian authorities on shared intelligence.

It has also been revealed that the Tamil Forum of Malaysia, the alleged successor of World Tamil Relief Fund had covertly collected one million US dollars for the Global Tamil Forum (GTF). The GTF is a designated terrorist entity under the UN Security Council resolution 1373.

The official said the UNHCR should think of reviewing its refugee system in the light of the recent arrests in Malaysia. Two of the three arrested LTTE suspects had UN refugee cards and Nanathagopan’s application was being processed at the time of his arrest.