NEW DELHI: Almost a year after Prabhakaran’s death and the decimation of the LTTE, Sri Lankan intelligence agency had requested its South African counterpart to probe whether LTTE cadres, had held a military training camp in their country in May 2010 which was suspected to have been attended by individuals from Australia, Canada and UK.
Interestingly, South African intelligence had rejected it saying the information could not be confirmed while maintaining that such allegations have been made since 1998.
The secret intelligence cable is part of the spy files from intelligence agencies all over the world that were leaked to Al-Jazeera English TV Channel.
The State Security Agency (SSA) of South Africa on June 9, 2010 had told the head of foreign Liaison that “Our service could not confirm information from your service suggesting that a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military training camp was held in South Africa in May 2010 and that Individuals from Australia, Canada and the UK may have attended.”
SSA further praised Tamil Organisations in South Africa, saying “Actively involved in promoting the Tamil Culture and heritage they are continuously involved in organising various cultural and other events.”
“They are involved in various fundraising initiatives such concerts, to raise funds to provide relief to under privileged, homeless, disabled, orphans and refugees both in Sri Lanka and in South Africa.”
South African Intelligence also noted that over the Past year, Tamil Organisations from time to time staged peaceful protest marches, including at major sporting events to voice their opposition at perceived human rights abuses by the Sri Lankan government.
“However, their focus was not solely on Sri Lanka, but also against perceived human rights abuses in other countries,” the cable added.
The South African intelligence, however, noted that “contact between local Tamil organisations in South Africa and similar organisations in other countries, including LTTE has been confirmed in the past, the exact nature and extent of these links and to what extent cooperation is currently taking place remains largely unclear.”