Sunday, 06th July 2014
By Arthur Wamanan and Sandun Jayawardana
International expert on terrorism Prof Rohan Gunaratna states that while Malaysia has a zero tolerance level for terrorism and terrorist activities, Tamil Nadu has once again emerged as a hub for LTTE
The recent arrests in Malaysia, where seven out of 14 LTTE suspects arrested were holding United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards, indicated that the majority who applied for and received refugee status were not genuine, stated by International expert on terrorism, Prof. Rohan Gunaratna.
Prof Gunaratna called on UNHCR to implement a robust mechanism to screen those who seek asylum in various countries. “The UN should review existing criteria and build a robust system,” he told The Nation in an email interview. “Both terrorists and criminals violate the existing UN system originally designed for genuine asylum seekers,” he stressed.
In addition, he also called the Sri Lankan Government to upgrade its Immigration Department to a ‘powerful’ border control agency with a proper database, and coordinate with foreign counterparts to identify and nab those involved in human smuggling.
Further, he stated that while Malaysia had a zero tolerance level for terrorism and terrorist activities, Tamil Nadu had once again emerged as a hub for LTTE. “The terrorists in Tamil Nadu are using Malaysia as a point of transit to move to destination countries,” he said.
“Although much of the Southeast Asian network was dismantled after the arrest of KP, the terrorists and criminals in Tamil Nadu use the Malaysian route to move LTTE leaders, members and their families. As the LTTE operates in strength in the West, countries like Canada, the EU and Australia are their favorite destinations,” he added.
Prof Gunaratna’s observations came in the wake of Malaysian authorities arresting four suspected leaders of the LTTE on July 3 (Thursday). The men were arrested by Malaysia’s Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism Division following raids in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted in international media stating that one of the suspects was a bomb expert holding the UNHCR refugee card while another was suspected of being involved in the attempt to assassinate former Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in 1999. The third suspect was an accomplice in an earlier thwarted terror attack in India, while the fourth was in charge of collecting and disseminating information among the LTTE network,” according to the IGP.
Abu Bakar had said terrorists were strengthening their operations by exploiting UNHCR cards to avoid arrest. Malaysian authorities had also confiscated a cache of counterfeit passports of multiple nations, as well as counterfeited rubber stamps of the Immigration Department and foreign embassies during the operations
Police Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said they would be contacting Malaysian law enforcement authorities through diplomatic channels in order to know more about the latest arrests.
He said police knew the names of those who had been detained, but were still in the process of verifying details regarding the suspects’ connections to the LTTE.
According to statistics released by Malaysian authorities yesterday, there are currently 4,280 Sri Lankan refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia. They comprise about 3% of the 145,025 foreigners who have UNHCR cards as of May.
When contacted, a UNHCR Spokesperson in Malaysia, on July 4 (Friday), sent a statement via email that the organization was unable to comment on the matter “particularly as it is our policy worldwide to not publicly comment on individual cases involving asylum-seekers and refugees.”
UNHCR said in principle, refugee protection was for those who are in genuine need of international protection when they have been forced to flee their countries due to armed conflict, persecution, and serious human rights abuses. “Refugee protection is not extended to individuals who have committed very serious crimes, or acts contrary to the purposes of the United Nations.”
The statement further said any enquiry into refugee status requires a careful assessment of all the relevant facts, through a fair and due process, to decide whether protection is required or whether exclusion is justified in any given case.
Meanwhile, The Australian yesterday identified the man who Malaysian police claim is an LTTE ‘bomb expert’ as Sornalingam Puvaneswaran alias Eesan. He had reportedly fled Sri Lanka in early 2009 and was granted permanent residency in Australia after being assessed by Australian immigration authorities.
He had been living and working in a Melbourne suburb while lobbying for his wife and two children to join him on a family reunion visa. Puvaneswaran’s family had moved to Malaysia several weeks ago and he had reportedly travelled to Kuala Lumpar last month to visit them. His family has denied accusations he had any LTTE links and friends in Australia described him as a family man and an active member of the Tamil refugee community, the paper reported.
