hat tip_OSINT
Bowling alley in Wales is actually an alley to launder LTTE terrorist funds
say Tamils
(By: Walter Jayawardhana)
http://www.defence. lk/new.asp? fname=20080502_ 03
Sri Lankan Tamil sources in London charged that the State of the Art Bowling
Alley newly opened in Wales at the expense of millions of pounds is actually
an alley established to launder terrorist funds of the Liberation Tigers of
Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The four lane bowling alley, officially managed , by Devika Muraleetharn ,
wife of one LTTE suspect of the three arrested by the anti-terrorist units
of the London and Wales Police in a dawn raid few days ago, was recently
quoted in a local paper as saying, “”We are very excited, we have had a lot
of good feedback from a wide spectrum of people from youngsters up to
70-year-olds. It is brand new for the whole of Mid Wales, there is nothing
else like this in the area,” hyping up the allegedly millions of pounds
worth bowling alley.
Anti-LTTE broadcaster of the London based Tamil Broadcasting Corporation
said on Thursday, (May 1) ” We are carrying a radio political discussion at
8 p.m. tonight to allege that the bowling alley worth at least ten million
pounds has been installed by the Muraleetharans to launder money here in the
United Kingdom.”
He said the discussion will be conducted by him and the station’s political
analyst Vishvalingam Shivalingam during two hours and the alleged money
laundering will their main topic. Their Thursday night political discussion
in Tamil language will be broadcast all over the world through the internet,
he said.
The County Times, a local newspaper of the New Town, where the
Muraleetharans started their new business said, “The new four-lane
state-of-art bowling alley, uStrike, is based on the third floor of
Agricultural House in Newtown (opposite the Pryce Jones building). The
bowling alley is the idea of Devika and Muralee Tharan, who are excited at
the prospect of bringing a new form of entertainment to Mid Wales.”
For bookings at the bowling alley the newspaper requested the readers to
contact the telephone: 01686 622688
The three suspects arrested by the British police will be at the Paddington
Green Police station under interrogation until next Tuesday. Few days ago,
Jegatheeswaran Muraleetharan (46) of New Town in Wales, Vithy Tharan(39) of
Powys, Wales and Murugesu Jegatheeswaran (33) of Mitcham, Surrey of South
West London were arrested by anti-terrorist units of the Metropolitan Police
and Wales Police with the colloboration of the Scotland Yard on suspicion of
engaging in terrorist activities.
_____
Extortion filling Tiger coffers – US State Department
<http://www.defence. lk/img/20080502_ 01.jpg> The LTTE continued to finance
itself with contributions from the Tamil Diaspora in North America, Europe,
and Australia, by imposing local “taxes” on businesses operating in the
areas it dominates and reportedly by extortion operations in
Government-controll ed areas, the US State Department said yesterday.
The Department’s just-released Country Report on Terrorism said the LTTE
also used Tamil charitable organizations as fronts for its fundraising.
“In November, the US Government designated under Executive Order 13224 and
froze the US-held assets of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization, a charity
associated with the LTTE. The LTTE previously used such funds for weapons
purchases on the international black market and also captured arms from Sri
Lankan security forces. The Sri Lankan Navy sunk three LTTE supply ships in
September and another in October,” the report said.
After a period of targeting Sri Lankan military and official personnel
throughout 2007, the LTTE appears to have recently resumed its targeting of
civilians, the Report noted.
It said the Government took effective control of the Eastern Province in
midyear, but the LTTE continued to control much of the north and carried out
attacks throughout the country.
The Sri Lankan Army remained deployed across the country in all areas it
controlled to fight the insurgency.
The Special Task Force (STF) police were deployed both in the East and in
strategic locations in the West.
In late November and December, government forces increased activity against
targets in the North.
“The LTTE and the Karuna faction were charged with forced conscription and
child recruitment. In general, the LTTE did not intentionally target U.S.
citizens or assets, limiting attacks to Sri Lankan security forces,
political figures, civilians, and businesses.
However, attacks occurred within the vicinity of the U.S. embassy and
personnel; the U.S. Ambassador was travelling in a helicopter that came
under mortar fire in February. The LTTE subsequently apologized for the
incident,” the report added.
It recalled that Sri Lankan cooperation with the FBI resulted in arrests of
persons charged with material support to terrorist groups.
The U.S. provided training for relevant Sri Lankan government agencies and
the banking sector. The Government of Sri Lanka cooperated with the United
States to implement both the Container Security Initiative and the Megaports
programme at the port of Colombo.
The report said fighting between the LTTE and the Sri Lanka government
escalated in 2006 and continued through 2007. Political assassinations and
bombings were commonplace tactics prior to the cease-fire and have increased
again since mid-2005.
Courtesy: Daily News
