The Sri Lankan government consistently claimed the LTTE was active in South Africa after the end of the island’s armed conflict in 2009, despite findings by the South African intelligence agency which denied this, reports Al Jazeera.
In a set of secret intelligence cables obtained by Al Jazeera’s investigative unit, the State Security Agency of South Africa said “ongoing allegations have been made since 1998 by amongst others, Sri Lankan government officials and some Sri Lankan academics that Tamil organizations in South Africa are providing the LTTE and some of their supporters with weapons, as well as providing members of the LTTE and Tamil organizations in South Africa with para-military training”.
“Available information does not confirm these allegations,” continued the cable.
The cable went on to add that there were an estimated 700,000 Tamils in the country with many of the groups raising funds “to provide relief to the under-privileged, homeless, disabled, orphans and refugees both in South Africa and Sri Lanka”.
“Most of these organizations, if not all, are supporting a peaceful settlement in Sri Lanka and are, as stated before, voicing their support through peaceful and constitutional means.”
Yet, the Sri Lankan government continued to talk of LTTE activities in South Africa, said Al Jazeera, noting statements by senior officials and military commanders.
Despite multiple efforts by Al Jazeera, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comments and Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera declined to comment on the issue.
See more from Al Jazeera here.