Five Sri Lankan men go on trial tomorrow in The Hague accused of supporting the separatist Tamil Tigers, or LTTE. The indictees are accused of being members of a criminal organisation with terrorist intentions and of raising funds for it.
A Dutch police-investigation team monitored Tamil meetings in The Netherlands. In its subsequent report, entitled ‘Operation Koninck’, it describes how certain Tamils raised funds for their ‘ultimate war’ with its goal of a free Tamil state in Sri Lanka known as Tamil Eelam. This remains no more than a dream following the death of the LTTE’s leader Villupilai Prabhakaran [sic] and the end of the military struggle in the Spring of 2009. Operation Koninck eventually led to the arrest of several Dutch Tamils, five of whom are now being prosecuted in a specialist war crimes chamber in The Hague.
One of the accused is 46 year old Srirangam R. from The Hague. He fled to The Netherlands over two decades ago and is believed to head the Dutch division of the Tamil Tigers.
Victor Koppe, Srirangam’s defence counsel, has recently applied to the European Court of Justice to have the LTTE removed from the EU’s list of banned terror organisations. (RadioNetherlands)
