Reports of extortion specifically of Tamils living in Sri Lanka who have relatives living in the West could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, some sources indicated that extortion has continued to occur despite the signing of the ceasefire agreement in February 2002 (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Intro.; ISN 4 Aug. 2005; NRC 1 Sept. 2005), which provides that "'[p]arties shall in accordance with international law abstain from hostile acts against the civilian population, including such acts as torture, intimidation, abduction, extortion and harassment'" (NRC 1 Sept. 2005, 26).
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) raises funds by means of extortion (Freedom House 2005, 594; see also Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Intro.), and according to the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), this practice appeared to be widespread, particularly in the northeast, where many displaced persons had returned (NRC 1 Sept. 2005, 133).
According to The Globe and Mail, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, Tamils who had received funding to rebuild their businesses following the December 2004 tsunami complained of extortion attempts by the LTTE (12 Dec. 2005). One hotel owner said LTTE representatives asked that he make a LKR3,500,000 (CAN$40,000) donation or "'something bad would happen to [his] guests'" (The Globe and Mail 12 Dec. 2005). Aid organizations working in the region corroborated the complaints of the business owners, The Globe and Mail reported (ibid.). Further information on LTTE extortion efforts targeting Tamil business owners during 2005 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Reports of extortion by the LTTE are numerous for the year following the 2002 ceasefire agreement (The Globe and Mail 12 Dec. 2005; NRC 17 Jan. 2003, 10; The Economist 10 July 2003; AP 26 Dec. 2002; AFP 10 July 2002; ibid. 10 Feb. 2002; Indian Express 27 July 2002; AP 8 July 2002; HRW July 2002; Daily News 11 Mar. 2003). The Economist explains that the LTTE runs "a shadow Tamil statelet which [it] call[s] an Eelam, in the areas under [its] control in the north and east" (10 July 2003). The LTTE imposes taxes, an act which the government has identified as extortion (The Economist 10 July 2003; IPCS n.d., 3; Daily News 11 Mar. 2003; Sunday Observer 16 Mar. 2003; AFP 10 Feb. 2002). The Press Trust of India reported in 2002 that LTTE militants,
... allowed to move freely in government-controlled areas after the signing of the truce accord, were now going to the houses of civil servants and professionals with demands for money, or summoning citizens to their "financial office" to get them to pay "taxes" or make "donations."
The LTTE ... denied charges of extortion and abduction, but claimed that it had a right to collect taxes in areas under its control. It has promised to formalize the taxation arrangements as soon as it gains control of an interim administration for the north-east (25 Apr. 2002; see also Daily News 11 Mar. 2003).
The government publicly announced that the LTTE was not authorized to collect such "taxes" (PTI 10 July 2002).
During efforts to broker the 2002 ceasefire, government officials, including military sources, accused the LTTE of increased extortion of civilians (AFP 10 Feb. 2002; ibid. 8 Feb. 2002). One rights group noted in spring 2002 that LTTE extortion was "rampant" (PTI 25 Apr. 2002) while another group, the University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna, reported that abductions and extortion by the LTTE, such as in Batticaloa in eastern Sri Lanka, was on the rise (IPS 21 June 2002). But while in 2003 the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) received a total of forty complaints of LTTE extortion, in 2004 it reported a total of seven (SLMM 12 Jan. 2004; ibid. 11 May 2005). Between February 2002 and August 2005, the SLMM recorded 96 complaints of extortion by the LTTE, with 35 of those complaints ruled to be violations of the ceasefire agreement (SLMM 6 Sept. 2005).
Aside from the LTTE, the Sri Lankan government and the Sri Lankan Army have also reportedly been responsible for extortion of civilians (TamilNet 22 Jan. 2003; ibid. 15 Feb. 2002; ISN 4 Aug. 2005). The SLMM reported that between February and December 2002, there were 13 complaints of extortion filed with the SLMM against government forces (TamilNet 22 Jan. 2003). However, in 2003 and 2004, there were no complaints of government extortion reported to the SLMM (SLMM 12 Jan. 2004; ibid. 11 May 2005).
During a 2002 fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka, the executive director of the non-governmental organization INFORM told the Research Directorate and the Danish Immigration Service that the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) was involved in extortion in Colombo's Tamil neighbourhoods while the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE) was responsible for extortion in the Vavuniya region in the northeast (Canada/Denmark May 2002, Sec. 1.4). Further information on extortion specifically by government forces and other organizations besides the LTTE could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
Some articles published in 2002 indicated that extortion was being committed against Tamils (IPS 21 June 2002; ibid. 3 June 2002; PTI 25 Apr. 2002), while other reports indicated that extortion was also taking place against Muslims (AFP 10 July 2002; BBC 28 June 2002; HRW July 2002), although in 2004 incidents of extortion against Muslims reportedly "lessened" (Country Reports 2004 28 Feb. 2005, Sec. 2c). Additional information on victims of extortion could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
According to a 2006 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on extortion of members of the Tamil diaspora, Tamil expatriates who returned to visit relatives in northern Sri Lanka complained of being targeted by the LTTE, which pressured them into making financial contributions to the organization (HRW 15 Mar. 2006, 2; ibid., 35). The LTTE reportedly told visitors that they could not leave the country unless the extorted sum was paid (ibid., 2; ibid., 38) or, in some cases, that their passports would be confiscated pending payment (ibid., 2). In an interview with HRW, a Toronto lawyer related that Tamil clients who had made return trips to Sri Lanka reported the LTTE would visit them on several occasions to demand payment, which raised fears among their host relatives that refusal to pay "'will create a problem for us'" (ibid., 38). Further information on the LTTE's extraction of funds from Tamils visiting Sri Lanka could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
The United States (US) Department of State indicated in its 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism report that the LTTE "exploits large Tamil communities in North America, Europe, and Asia to obtain funds and supplies for its fighters in Sri Lanka" (29 Apr. 2004). The previously cited 2006 HRW report details efforts of the LTTE to raise funds from the Tamil diaspora in Canada, the United Kingdom (UK) and other parts of Europe through the use of "intimidation, extortion and physical violence" (HRW 15 Mar. 2006, 1). These efforts included a "massive fundraising drive" in late 2005 and early 2006 in Canada and Europe "pressuring" members of Tamil communities to contribute to the LTTE's activities in Sri Lanka, to what it calls the "'final war'" (ibid., 1-2; see also The Globe and Mail 12 Dec. 2005). In Toronto, home to the largest overseas Sri Lankan Tamil community (Mackenzie Institute May 2003), local Tamils charged that members of the LTTE were asking families to contribute CAN$2,500 each or else be prevented from travelling through LTTE-controlled areas of Sri Lanka on future visits (CBC 30 Nov. 2005; The Globe and Mail 12 Dec. 2005). Similar reports of extortion in late 2005 were being investigated in Australia (ibid.). However, members of the Tamil community who spoke at a press conference organized by the Canadian Tamil Congress after the release of the HRW report argued that the allegations of fundraising activities by the LTTE in Canada were untrue (The Toronto Star 16 Mar. 2006). The LTTE retains a large number of "front" organizations such as "'development agencies'" and "'human rights organizations'" as well as a criminal network overseas to raise funds, procure weapons and lobby on its own behalf (Mackenzie Institute May 2003; see also SATP n.d.). Besides Canada, countries where the LTTE networks are well established include the US, the UK, Australia and Switzerland (ibid.). In Canada, the World Tamil Movement and the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils are among the most prominent LTTE organizations (Mackenzie Institute May 2003; see also National Post 18 Apr. 2006). According to the Mackenzie Institute, which produced a report on overseas terrorism in Canada, LTTE members involved in criminal groups outside of Sri Lanka have been involved in various activities, including extortion rings used to extract funds for LTTE operations in Sri Lanka (ibid.). In late 2002, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) indicated that "'LTTE members in Canada [were] involved in extortion'," and "maintain[ed] an iron grip on the Tamil community" in Canada (National Post 5 June 2003). Estimates of the total amount of money raised by the LTTE in Canada range from CAN$1 million to CAN$22 million yearly (HRW 7 Feb. 2005).
On 10 April 2006, the Canadian government announced that it listed the LTTE as a terrorist organization under the country's Anti-Terrorism Act (The Globe and Mail 10 Apr. 2006; see also The Toronto Star 11 Apr. 2006; The Christian Science Monitor 3 May 2006). According to the Criminal Code, it is illegal to provide or raise funds for a terrorist organization and to support or participate in its activities (The Globe and Mail 10 Apr. 2006). In the days following the government announcement, police raided the Toronto and Montreal offices of the World Tamil Movement, though the organization denied any involvement in raising funds for LTTE activities in Sri Lanka (National Post 18 Apr. 2006; ibid., 24 Apr. 2006). The LTTE was declared a foreign terrorist organization by the US in 1997 (US 29 Apr. 2004), while in 2005 the European Union (EU) imposed a travel ban on the group and was said to be considering designating the LTTE as a banned terrorist organization (BBC Sinhala 27 Sept. 2005; Daily News 28 Sept. 2005). The EU also agreed that member states should further curtail fundraising and "propaganda" activities by the LTTE in their jurisdiction (ibid.; BBC Sinhala 27 Sept. 2005).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Agence France-Presse (AFP). 10 July 2002. "Ethnic Clashes in Sri Lanka Weakened Peace Process: President." (Factiva)
_____. 10 February 2002. Amal Jaysinghe. "Sri Lanka Truce Hits Signature Snag as Norway Brokers Peace." (NEXIS)
_____. 8 February 2002. "Sri Lanka Tigers Abduct Muslim Farmers' Goats: Military." (NEXIS)
Associated Press (AP). 26 December 2002. Dilip Ganguly. "Former Tamil Rebel Group Accuses Tamil Tigers of Murdering One of Their Leaders." (NEXIS)
_____. 8 July 2002. Shimali Senanayake. "No Risk to Cease-Fire Accord in Sri Lanka, Says Monitor." (NEXIS)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Sinhala. 27 September 2005. "EU Gets Tough on Tigers." <http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2005/09/printable/050927_eultte.shtml> [Accessed 29 Nov. 2005]
_____. 28 June 2002. "Curfew After Sri Lanka Unrest." <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2071648.stm> [Accessed 22 Sept. 2005]
Canada/Denmark. May 2002. Danish Immigration Service and Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board. "Security and Human Rights Situation, Entry and Exit Procedures and Personal Documentation: Report on Joint Fact-Finding Mission to Sri Lanka, 1-12 October 2001." <http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/research/publications/index_e.htm?docid= 156&cid=133&sec=CH01#1> [Accessed 22 Sept. 2005]
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). 30 November 2005. "Tamil Tigers Illegally Fundraising in Toronto: Community Member." <http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/11/30/tamil051130.html> [Accessed 30 Nov. 2005]
The Christian Science Monitor [Boston]. 3 May 2006. Rebecca Cook Dube. "Canada Pinches Tamil Tigers' Pocketbooks; It Labeled the Sri Lankan Rebels 'Terrorists' to Stem Coerced Fundraising among Tamil Expatriates." (Factiva)
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004. 28 February 2005. "Sri Lanka." United States Department of State. Washington, DC. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41744.htm> [Accessed 14 Sept. 2005]
Daily News [Colombo]. 28 September 2005. Manjula Fernando. "EU Travel Ban on LTTE." <http://www.dailynews.lk/2005/09/28/sec01.htm> [Accessed 28 Sept. 2005]
_____. 22 Feb. 2005. "Canadian Homeland Security Chief Hints Ottawa May Outlaw LTTE." <http://origin.dailynews.lk> [Accessed 22 Feb. 2005]
_____. 11 March 2003. Martha Ann Overland. "Fighting for Human Rights." <http://origin.dailynews.lk> [Accessed 11 Mar. 2003]
The Economist. 10 July 2003. "Resucing the Peace." <http://economist.com/world/asia/displayStory.cfm?story_id=1911886> [Accessed 16 Sept. 2005]
Freedom House. 2005. "Sri Lanka." Freedom in the World 2005. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/research/freeworld/2005/Spain-Zimbabwe.pdf> [Accessed 14 Sept. 2005]
The Globe and Mail [Toronto]. 10 April 2006. Terry Weber. "Ottawa Adds Tamil Tigers to Terror List." (Factiva)
_____. 12 December 2005. Doug Saunders. "Preying Tigers Eye Aid; A Year after Tsunami Hit, Sri Lankans Face Another Threat, Doug Saunders Writes." (Factiva)
Human Rights Watch (HRW). 15 March 2006. Vol. 18, No. 1(c). Funding the "Final War": LTTE Intimidation and Extortion in the Tamil Diaspora. <http://hrw.org/reports/2006/ltte0306/ltte0306sumandrecs.pdf>
_____. 7 February 2005. "Letter to Prime Minister Martin." <http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/02/07/slanka10147_txt.htm> [Accessed 29 Nov. 2005]
_____. July 2002. "Sri Lanka: Human Rights and the Peace Process." <http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/asia/srilanka/index.htm> [Accessed 14 Sept. 2005]
The Indian Express [Delhi]. 27 July 2002. "Ceasefire, but Hands Are Still on the Trigger." (Factiva)
Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies (IPCS). N.d. N. Manoharan. "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)." <http://www.ipcs.org/agdb07-LTTE.pdf> [Accessed 16 Sept. 2005]
International Relations and Security Network (ISN). 4 August 2005. "Sri Lanka: Taking Stock of the LTTE." <http://www.isn.ethz.ch/news/sw/details.cfm?ID=12338> [Accessed 16 Sept. 2005]
Inter Press Service (IPS). 21 June 2002. Marwaan Macan-Markar. "Sri Lanka - Politics: Tamil Tigers Faulted on Human Rights." (NEXIS)
_____. 3 June 2002. Kumudini Hettiarachchi. "Rights - Sri Lanka: Peace Comes at a Price in War-Torn East." (NEXIS)
The Mackenzie Institute. May 2003. John C. Thompson and Joe Turlej. "Other People's Wars: A Review of Overseas Terrorism in Canada." <http://www.mackenzieinstitute.com/2003/other_peoples_wars3.htm> [Accessed 30 Nov. 2005]
National Post [Toronto]. 24 April 2006. Stewart Bell. "RCMP Raids Tamil Support Agency in East-End Toronto: World Tamil Movement." (Factiva)
_____. 18 April 2006. Stewart Bell and Adrian Humphreys. "Tigers Use Canadian Charities as 'Fronts': Montreal Tamil Office Raided; Files, CDs, Flag Seized." (Factiva)
_____. 5 June 2003. Stewart Bell. "Passports of Killed Rebels Recycled: Illegal Aliens Sold ID of Tamil-Canadians Fighting in Sri Lanka." (Factiva)
Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). 1 September 2005. Global IDP Project. Profile of Internal Displacement: Sri Lanka. <http://www.db.idpproject.org> [Accessed 14 Sept. 2005]
_____. 17 January 2003. Global IDP Project. Profile of Internal Displacement: Sri Lanka. <http://www.ecoi.net/pub/ds252_02431srl.pdf> [Accessed 14 Sept. 2005]
Press Trust of India (PTI). 10 July 2002. K. Venkataramanan. "Kumaratunga Says LTTE Extortion Weakening Peace Process." (Factiva)
_____. 25 April 2002. "LTTE Accused of Abduction, Exortion in the East." (Factiva)
South Asia Terrorism Portal. N.d. "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)." <http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/shrilanka/terroristoutfits/LTTE.HTM> [Accessed 30 Nov. 2005]
Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM). 6 September 2005. "Summary of Recorded Complaints and Violations from All Districts: Period Listed: 01-02/2002 - 31/08/2005." <http://www.slmm.lk/> [Accessed 26 Sept. 2005]
_____. 11 May 2005. "Summary of Recorded Complaints and Violations from All Districts: Period Listed: 01/01/2004 - 31/12/2004." <http://www.slmm.lk/> [Accessed 26 Sept. 2005]
_____. 12 January 2004. "Summary of Recorded Complaints and Violations from All Districts: Period Listed: 01.01.2003 - 31.12.2003." <http://www.slmm.lk/OperationsMatter/complaints/2003_All%20Districts.pdf> [Accessed 26 Sept. 2005]
Sunday Observer [Colombo]. 16 March 2003. "Batticaloa ... Life Without War." <http://www.sundayobserver.lk/> [Accessed 17 Mar. 2003]
TamilNet. 22 January 2003. "Downward Trend in Ceasefire Violations Seen - SLMM." <http://www.tamilnet.com/print.html?artid=8208&catid=13> [Accessed 16 Sept. 2005]
_____. 15 February 2002. "Tamil Paramilitaries' Extortion Under Scrutiny." <http://www.tamilnet.com/print.html?artid=6705&catid=13> [Accessed 16 Sept. 2005]
The Toronto Star. 11 April 2006. Michelle Shephard. "Separatist Tamil Tigers Outlawed in Canada; Ottawa Lists Them as Terrorist Group; Move Long Overdue, Conservatives Say." (Factiva)
_____. 16 March 2006. Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Shephard. "Tamil Leaders Deny Report; Say Extortion Allegation is Unfounded; Claim of Guerrillas' Fundraising in Toronto Rejected." (Factiva)
United States (US). 29 April 2004. Department of State. "Sri Lanka." Patterns of Global Terrorism 2003. <http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003/31711.htm> [Accessed 30 Nov. 2005]
Additional Sources Consulted
Internet sources, including: Amnesty International (AI), European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG), Tamilnation.org, United Kingdom Home Office, World News Connection (WNC).