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Expatriate Tamils keep the Eelam flame burning in London

Murali Krishnan in London

Selvakumar, a 47-year-old Sri Lankan Tamil exile, is a self-made wealthy man. He has prospered since he fled his country 14 years ago at the start of the ethnic clashes that led to civil war.

"I landed here with nothing and have worked all these years," says Selva, as he is known to his English friends. He owns two grocery stores, a big house in London's suburbs and two cars -- a Pathfinder and a BMW.

But despite his material success, he says he is not a happy man. "I will be the happiest person only when the dream of our independent homeland, Eelam, is reality," he exclaims.

The sentiment is shared by many of the expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils in Britain, numbering close to 50,000. Most of them arrived in the '80s after suffering in some way from the ethnic strife. Some recount shocking tales of grief and destruction.

They include wealthy lawyers, traders and doctors, and a large number of them support the guerrilla war being waged by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for a homeland in the north and east of the island.

The Tigers' war chest is filled by funds raised around the world, and the headquarters of this international network is in London.

Various Tamil organisations in the British capital are thought to raise about 250,000 pounds sterling every month for the LTTE. The worldwide income is believed to be about 1.25 million pounds, much of it collected from the 400,000 Sri Lankan Tamils living in Europe and North America. Some of the money is spent on humanitarian aid, but the lion's share funds the Tigers' formidable war machine.

"Yes, I do donate for our homeland struggle. All of us do, as we sincerely believe in it," said Selva over a Guiness in a London pub.

He refused to disclose how the money was collected or the methods used to dispatch it. There have also been instances of other Tamils, nothing to do with the struggle, harassed to part with contributions.

Ever since Colombo scored a diplomatic coup against the LTTE in October last year, when it persuaded Washington to place the Tigers on a list of terrorist groups barred from organising or fund-raising in the United States, the organisation has been under scrutiny. The Sri Lankan government has been pressing Britain to follow suit, but this may prove difficult and take time.

However, the Labour government is exploring the option of publishing a consultation document for a permanent UK-wide counter terrorism legislation.

"I do not think the British government will bring about such a law. I am confident the political system will not stifle voices like ours," says Anton Rajah, the LTTE's international spokesperson.

He may be right. Once exiles become naturalised British citizens, and provided they do not break the domestic laws -- by committing acts of terrorism here, for instance -- there is little the government can do to stop them organising themselves.

Unlike the US, Britain has no such list of banned organisations, said a government spokesperson. "If an asylum seeker is found to be sending money to support terrorist groups, that could damage his case to remain in Britain," he said.

The International Federation of Tamils, the umbrella body for scores of other Tamil affiliates, is supposedly the biggest fundraiser. A number of fundraising activities are organised in Europe. One such popular event is the annual cricket tournament in London, organised by the Old Boys Tamil Association, which is a huge money-spinner. Last year a sum of 45,000 pounds sterling was collected, half of which was transported to Jaffna.

"Yes, we do send money for humanitarian aid in Jaffna. This is for food, medicines and clothing," said Anton Rajah. He stoutly denied that money was collected for arms.

However, foreign intelligence agencies have evidence that the Tigers trade in narcotics; recent reports suggest that this includes the transportation of heroin on the Tigers' own ships from Myanmar. "Drug profits have financed some of the rebels' most expensive purchases including Sam missiles," said a senior intelligence official.

Besides being a centre for fund raising, London is the nucleus of the Tigers' well-oiled propaganda machine. British-based organisers feed information -- claiming to be more credible than Colombo's accounts of battlefield developments -- to journalists, diplomats and Tamil groups around the world. And despite the official ban announced by the Chandrika Kumaratunga government early this month, it is still business for the Tigers.

"Support for us will not diminish, all the Tamils will rally behind us. The Sri Lankan government cannot crush the desire of a people to be free," maintains Rajah.

After 15 years of war, costing an estimated 55,000 lives, some people might doubt the wisdom of continuing the struggle for Eeelam.

Sinnappu, another Tamil expatriate says, "This is a long drawn-out process. We have held out for so long and will continue to do so."

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