Australia Wednesday played down a suggestion that it was a major source of funds for Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers, after two local businessmen were charged with channelling money to the rebels. The two Melbourne men have been accused of sending cash raised under the guise of tsunami relief to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have waged a bloody separatist war for 35 years.
Sri Lanka's secretary of foreign affairs Palitha Kohona said Wednesday that up to 30 percent of the Tamil Tigers' external funding was raised in Australia.
"In Australia there is a very well-made network of fundraisers who are supporting the LTTE terrorists' activities in Sri Lanka," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
He estimated the Tigers raised 10-30 million US dollars a month throughout the world, adding: "Approximately 20-30 percent of that comes from Australia."
But Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer dismissed the figure.
"I think that's probably an exaggeration," he told reporters.
"But we have been, for a long time, concerned that finance for the Tamil Tigers, some of it comes from Australia — probably nothing like 30 percent — but small amounts do come from Australia."
It was difficult to collect evidence that money raised in Australia for "so-called 'Tamil Welfare Causes'" was paid directly to the Tamil Tigers, he said.
The two Melbourne businessmen, Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, 32, and Sivarajah Yathavan, 36, were arrested after a series of raids in Melbourne and Sydney.
Melbourne Magistrates' Court was told the pair faced three charges each of being a member of a terrorist organisation, providing support or resources to a terrorist organisation and making funds available to a terrorist organisation.
They face a maximum of 25 years in jail.
The Tamil Tigers have waged a 35-year battle for independence that has claimed more than 60,000 lives in Sri Lanka.
