LTTE's flourishing shipping network

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LTTE's flourishing shipping network

By V. Jayanth
>From the Hindu (New Delhi)
March 29, 2000

The publication by the 'Lloyds's List' of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam's (LTTE) profitable and strategic shipping operations out of
Southeast Asia, may at best be a documentation of a well-known network.

The LTTE has been functioning out of different parts of Southeast Asia
for over a decade now. It provided ready platform to shift most of its
operations after India signed the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement in 1987.

Analysts and police sources tracking the LTTE operations say "Singapore
was the first choice of the Tamil Tigers, but they also realised that
operating out of that City State involved a lot of restraint and
regulations. But in 1992- 93, the Singapore Government cracked down on
the LTTE and it was forced to shift the bulk of its operations to other
centres".

Apparently, the Tamil Tigers found a congenial setting in both Myanmar
and Thailand. The availability of a number of tiny islands between these
two countries, some of them uninhabited, provided a convenient base for
the LTTE to function.

The sources explain that Mr. K. Pathmanathan (better known as KP)
enjoyed such a 'clout' in the region that he managed to put together a
fleet of small and medium vessels. They were mostly registered in Latin
America and the nearby islands, but operated out of Bangkok. Quite
often, they were refurbished and re-registered in Thailand to avoid
detection or familiarity.

Initially, the LTTE preferred a tie-up with the military junta in
Myanmar and made use of the country's port as well as islands for its
trade and transshipment. Following reports form that region, the Sri
Lankan Government took it up with Yangon, which must have conveyed its
own message to the LTTE.

That was also the period when the Tamil Tigers were smuggling in a lot
of weapons from the former Soviet Union States and procuring some form
Cambodia and Thailand. The group had close links to the Khmer Rouge, the
Cambodian army and the Government in Phnom Penh. It bought arms and
ammunition from all three channels, because all of them were facing a
resource crunch. The visa-on-arrival facility, the high level of
corruption and the French connection that Cambodia provided were all
advantageous to the Tamil Tigers.

When Myanmar applied some pressure on the LTTE to move out of its
territory, the Tigers took refugee in small islands off Thailand, near
Phuket. This provided a much more convenient link, because Phuket also
had a fairly well-connected airport.

The Sri Lankan Government has been frequently taking up this issue with
both Myanmar and Thailand, besides briefing the Governments of Sigapore
and Malaysia.

Sources say "except for financial transactions, the LTTE does not want
to register its presence in Singapore. It faces hostility in Kuala
Lumpur and the Malaysian Government has consistently put down all forms
of Pro-LTTE activity there.

According to analysts, a base in Southeast Asia offers several
advantages to the LTTE. Given the extensive network of Sri Lankan Tamils
living abroad, thousand of them becoming economic refugees, a lot of
funds are also being collected around the world ? from Canada and
Australia to South Africa, Europe and the U.K.

Channeling these funds, providing logistic support to the LTTE in
eastern Sri Lanka and earning some profits out of the fleet of vessels
that its 'front' organisation owns, have been some of the tasks assigned
to 'KP'. But intelligence sources believe that Mr. Pathmanathan has
"retired" and installed a deputy in his place to take change of the
shipping operations. He continues to "advice and guide". There was an
interesting experience for the State Trading Corporation (STC) a couple
of years ago. One of its shipments of rice went "missing" in Southeast
Asia. The ship itself could not be traced. Finally, an advertisement in
a Singapore paper of an auction of rice led to the unraveling of the
mystery. A refurbished ship from Bangkok was caught with the rice and
impounded.

As the Sri Lankan Government must have realised by now, it may be
difficult to contain the LTTE's operations globally. Some of its
commercial activities may even be legal and very profitable and the host
Government may not be able to halt them. Unless there is evidence to
show that these agencies are linked to the LTTE or carry on illegal,
contraband trade, it becomes difficult to crack down on such operations.
The same may be true about the fund raising activities of the LTTE,
because they are ostensibly meant to help refugees seeking a new lease
of life.