Norway, Main Venue For LTTE Terror Revival

(By Camelia Nathaniel)

After a hiatus of four years, an attempt to revive the LTTE was spearheaded by the group of Nediyawan-Irumporai. From its safe haven in Norway, a traditional base for LTTE operations, the Nediyawan-Irumporai Group is determined to plunge Sri Lanka back to conflict.

Although enabled by two other factions – the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) in the UK and the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) in the US – Nediyawan-Irumporai Group and the Headquarters Group in France want a return to violence. Of the four LTTE factions, Nediyawan-Irumporai Group is the largest and the most resourceful. It is ironic but true that the Nediyawan-Irumporai Group is partially subsidized by the Norwegian government.

With its headquarters in the heart of Europe, Nediyawan inherited the massive LTTE global network that hitherto supported the violence in Sri Lanka.

Together with his deputy Nanthagopan, Nediyawan united many of the disparate structures under Castro’s LTTE International Secretariat from Canada to Australia. Clandestinely, Nediyawan is working with two of his associates – Irumporai now in Germany and Arivu now in Canada. However, despite the arrest of his deputy Nanthagopan in Iran and his subsequent deportation from Malaysia to Sri Lanka in March of 2014, Nediyawan was able to sustain the LTTE.

Until his arrest, Nanthagopan worked with a New Zealand citizen, Irumporai, who married a girl from Germany and directed the LTTE lobbying in Geneva during the UNHRC meeting.

One of the wealthiest by inheriting LTTE assets, Arivu relocated to Canada on board a LTTE organized ship, MV Sun Sea. Arivu received assistance from LTTE Canada, and is marking time in classic LTTE-style to obtain Canadian papers before surfacing to lead LTTE North American operations.

After the defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka and the arrest of K.P., Prabhakaran’s successor, paved the way for Nediyawan’s rise. From the Norwegian village of Eidsvag outside Oslo, a ‘tall man’ called Nediyawan today coordinates LTTE international activities to revive the group.

He was supported by Sivagowri, a professional physiotherapist. Nediyawan saw her when she was a guest announcer at Thainilam (Motherland), the Oslo studio of TTN, the LTTE TV station. Sivagowri’s father Shanthamohan’s brother was Ranjanlal Gnanendramohan alias Lala Ranjan, a well known LTTE pioneer. Although they were from different castes, Prabhakaran proposed the marriage.

However when the war ended, the Norwegian authorities visited and demanded that Nediyawan stop his activities, but he was unrelenting. Evading the Norwegian law, Nediyawan created an LTTE front, the Tamil Eelam Peoples Assembly (TEPA: Makkal Peravai), recently designated under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373. Today, four factions of the LTTE suffer from infighting but on common issues they work together. On fund raising, still quite lucrative, they work independently but on lobbying human rights bodies, they work in parallel.

While Vinayagam’s Head Quarters Group collaborates with Rudrakumaran’s TGTE, Nediyawan collaborates with GTF’s Fr. Emmanuel. Although GTF has no dedicated office in Norway, the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) is a GTF member.

The core strength of Nediyawan-Irumporai Group is Noway where 325 LTTE activists serve full time. While LTTE activists run schools, offices, and businesses, only 20 are LTTE cadres. The cadres control the entire network, issue directives, and brutally punish those who oppose them. The LTTE Norway annual income is derived from the public (bank to bank monthly transfer, event collection, and door to door fundraising) businesses, and government grants. During the war, the LTTE Norway raised 20 million kroner per annum.

Today, the public collection is estimated at 5 million Kroner or USD one million. They collect from the Tamil community, (previously for war and now under the pretext of ‘for war affected’), and maintain permanent investments (TV and radio through subscription and advertisement, entertainment shows, night clubs, supermarkets, travel agencies and other businesses).

The LTTE’s biggest source of income is from the Government of Norway where 55 of its cultural organizations receive grants. According to LTTE audit report, LTTE schools received 13.5 million Kroner or USD 2.4 million per year from 2008-2012 from the Norwegian government.

The LTTE and its constituent units are legally registered under the Norwegian constitution.

The Functional and Regional structures of LTTE in Norway are among the best organized LTTE infrastructure. Although the LTTE has established a strong presence in Canada, UK, France, and Australia, the difference is that serving LTTE cadres openly run the operations in Norway.

Another unique feature of the Norwegian LTTE is that its operations are heavily subsidized by the Norwegian government. The LTTE has effectively penetrated the Norwegian educational, social and political system. As most expatriate Sri Lankans live in Oslo and Bergen, the LTTE influence is strongest in these two areas.

An elaborate organization, the LTTE Norway is divided into several branches.

They include the Administrative Wing, Tamil Coordinating Committee (TCC) and the supreme body for administering the entire organization both in Norway and overseas. TCC operates throughout Norway through its network of schools. The TCC name board is only seen in Oslo, where the LTTE HQ is located, and also in Bergen.

The human resource wing, Tamil Foundation Resources and Information Centre, is located in the same premises as TCC.

The political wing, Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) funded by TCC is attempting to control and influence the lives of all Tamils and lobby Norwegian opinion on Sri Lanka.

NCET has also applied for government grants, and the international wing, International Council of Eelam Tamils (ICET), is lobbying at UNHRC and other overseas events.

The financial wing, Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) operates in Norway despite being the main LTTE vehicle to fund violence including terrorism.

The women’s wing, Tamil Womens Organization (TWO) was controlled by Tamilini, head of the LTTE women’s wing in Wanni.
The Health wing, Norwegian Tamil Health Organisation (NTHO), the LTTE health unit in Norway, funded and technically supported the main LTTE Ponnambalam hospital and trained LTTE medics.

The Intelligence wing, with links to cadres of the defunct LTTE Military intelligence led by Ratnam Master and National Intelligence Pottu Amman.

The Media wing (TamilNet, Tamil Murasam, Theepan TV, Global Media Investment, and Global Media Entertainment) propagate the LTTE ideology and keep alive the dream of a separate state.

Meanwhile the Educational Wing operates through 12 Annai Poopathy schools in different districts to indoctrinate children with extremist ideas and views. They are registered with government to qualify and receive government grants.
The Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) militarize the Tamil youth by mentoring them to become like LTTE leaders. During and after indoctrination, they join, participate, and promote LTTE activities.

The Military wing operates clandestinely but the numbers have dwindled since the defeat of the LTTE. After NATO military training in Norway, the most committed TYO members supported the LTTE including its military wing.

As leaders of Tamil Eelam Peoples Assembly, Nediyawan-Irumporai runs a network to promote separatism, extremism, and terrorism worldwide. Their favoured platform are the TCCs in different countries – for example, in Canada, they operate through the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT) led by Ranjan Sri Ranjan. Ranjan was the President of the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), another designated terrorist entity.

The LTTE Norway is managed by Nediyawan through 12 regional committees led by heads and deputy heads. The LTTE HQ operates through TCC Norway in Oslo and one regional office in Bergan. The LTTE operates throughout Norway under the cover of a network of schools. The schools named after Poopathy Kanapathipillu known as Annai Poopathy (Mother Poopathy) socialize the children and their parents to embrace the LTTE culture of violence. A hunger striker Poopathy fasted to death on April 19, 1988 when the LTTE was fighting the Indian Peace Keeping Force. To secure grants from the Norwegian government, the schools are registered as cultural centres – ‘ANNAI POOPATHI TAMILSK KULTURSENTER’ – where the LTTE receives from Norwegian tax payers several million dollars every year.

All LTTE schools are money spinners. While 12 schools are in rented buildings, the three story headquarters of nearly 5,000 square feet is worth 60 million kroner. Using money the LTTE received from Norwegian government to run a school, the LTTE purchased it. The schools turn terrorists to heroes and children celebrate Thileepan day, Balraj day, Kittu day, Tamilchelvam day, Annai Poopathy day, and Mullivaikkal day. Nearly 3,000 children study in the LTTE school over the weekends and evenings. Parents send them to learn language and culture especially respect for parents and children. They participate in hero remembrances day where they stage dramas, propaganda dances, and deliver pro-LTTE speeches. As in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province the education level is caste ridden and competitive. They have no opportunity to come to the stage in Jaffna. However, in Norway, they can come to the stage, with honour. After graduating from high school, a percentage of students obtain training with the Norwegian/NATO forces.

Oslo

In Oslo, the LTTE maintains two offices. The TCC HQ, located in Tronheimsveien Oslo, and is responsible for administration, media and political work. The Oslo LTTE chief is Aran, the first global head of TYO. After studying at the Annai Poopathy school, he engaged in youth activity in Norway. Handpicked for leadership responsibilities, he was sent to Sri Lanka where he received training in Wanni, and married an LTTE cadre in 2005. As a result of injury sustained during fighting, he had lost one hand. Meanwhile, the other committee members are Sanukanth Paramsothy, Sumathi Wijeyaraj, Robert Ignatius Jeyananthan, Sriskantharajah Rajagopal, Thavapalan Pathmanathan, Kirupa Sivasothy, Sivanesan Ponnampalam, Thevakan Paramanantham, Priyanka Rajakumar and Anton Pious Benjamin Rajah Philip. As he was not on a watch list, Juwachim Jeyanayagam Reginold, the former head of TCC Oslo, travelled to Wanni before 2009 and afterwards to Colombo.

The Annai Poopathy school, located in Nedrerommen Oslo is responsible for both running the school and conducting LTTE remembrance days, heroes day, sports-meets and other community events. The heads of the Annai Poopathy school are Nirmalan Selvarajah and Arulnithi Radhakrishnan, the administrative director. Nirmalan is a Norwegian/NATO military trained former TYO member who went to Wanni to receive LTTE terrorist training. He was also editor of Notam, official LTTE Norwegian language newspaper, that ceased to function in May 2009.

Other committee members are Arulnithy Radhakrishnan, Rajaratnam Veluppillai, Nirmalan Selvarajah, Nirujan Garithas, Parthipan Arulampalam, Jathusicka alias Yathusika, Jenny Kesavan, Aravinth Sriskantharajah, Thujijanthan Thavanathan, and Abiramy Sivasubramaniam. Aravinth Sriskantharajah engaged in violence against the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission in Oslo and maintained liaison with Tamil Nadu extremist groups that fund violence. Thujijanthan Thavanathan, a TYO member was Norwegian military/NATO trained. Rajaratnam Veluppillai, designated under UNSCR 1373, is LTTE propaganda chief. In addition to approving all campaign material, Veluppillai is responsible for producing CDs, calendars, leaflets, and other paraphernalia.

(1) Bergen

In Bergen, the LTTE maintains two offices. TCC, Bergen, the LTTE branch office in Bergen, is registered under Sivaganesh Thillayampalam. Official head of TCC Bergen, he is a dentist, who trained LTTE medics in Wanni and supported the creation of Ponnambalam Hospital, the main LTTE hospital. Prabhakaran himself was treated in that hospital including the removal of a nasal polyp. NORAD and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway supported NTHO projects implemented by Thileepan Medics, an LTTE medical unit. Furthermore, the Norwegian Council of Eelam Tamils (NCET) is registered in the name of Sivaganesh Thillayampalam, also a committee member.

Annai Poopathy school’s committee members are Dayalan Velaudapillai, Hemachandran Markandu, Thevendran Partheepan, Lawton Ramkumaran Lawrance, Balasundaram Kumaralingam, Charles Thevanand Sebastianpillai, Nalayani Sakthimithiran, and Katherina Packiyarajah. While Dayalan Velaudapillai engages in propaganda activities with LTTE political committee member Yogarajah Balasingham, who lives in Oslo, most committee members raise funds for TCC Bergen.

(2) Sunnmore

The LTTE office registered as the Annai Poopathy School in Sunnmore is run by Sajanthan Ramachandran alias Sayanthan and Selva Ananthakumar. The five committee members that run the office are Senthilkumar Poothapillai, Wathsala Senthilkumar, Manjula Vamadevan and Sivasangaran Sangaralingam.

(3) Veitvet

The LTTE office registered as the Annai Poopathy school in Veitvet is run by Valarmathy Devananthan, and Pathmanathan Jayakumar. Their committee members Dineshkumar Kathiravel, Niranjan Garidas, former TYO Norwegian military NATO trained, Edina Rodney, Sanukanth Paramsothy, former TYO Norwegian military NATO trained, Mary Suhendirarasa. Previously, Valarmathy was in charge of TTN TV station in Norway where Swagowri, the wife of Nediywan, was a guest TV announcer. Sanukanth Paramsothy works in the LTTE official radio Tamilmurasam in Oslo. His wife’s brother was an LTTE pilot.

(4) Toyen

The LTTE office registered as the Annai Poopathy school in Toyen is run by Nahuleswarathas Thangarajah and Rosanthani Kanagalingam. The other ommittee, Premakanth Thangavelaudasamy, Gunaraj Valluvan (former TYO member), Mylvaganam Kantheepan (former TYO member), Sri Skantharajah Rajagopal, Mathivathani Sathiyananthan, and Gajendran Rajendran. A toilet cleaner Sri Skantharajah Rajagopal alias Sinnavan attacked the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo in 2009 and travelled to India in 2013 to give money to Nedumaran, an LTTE supporter and a fanatical admirer of Prabhakaran . Sinnavan is listed under UNSCR 1373. Both his father and son accompanied him to Tamil Nadu. His son Aravinth Sriskantharajah, runs the LTTE office called Annai Poopathy office in Mortensrud. They have come to the attention of the Indian authorities for their links to extremist activity in India.

(5) Rommen

The LTTE office registered as the Annai Poopathy school in Rommen is run by Arulnithy Radhakrishnan, Nirmalan Selvarajah and Juwachim Jeyanayagam Regionld. The head of LTTE Anna Poopathy School, Arulnithy Radhakrishnan is a military engineer, working in Norwegian military headquarters. She married another engineer, Mr Rathakrishnan and has children. Although she never travelled to the Wanni, she is a prominent LTTE activist. Others in the committee are Francis Mareyampillai, Kalaivani Naguleswaran, Ganeshathasan Nadarajah, Sritharan Rajadurai, Sathiakeerthy Sangarapillai, Parthipan Arulampalam alias Partheepan (Norwegian military/NATO trained), Thavapalan Pathmanathan, Brindha Sivakumar, and Vethalingam Sampanthar.

(6) (devil) Mortensrud

The LTTE Annai Poopathy school is run by Manoraj Rajasekharam. Other committee members are Sriskantharajah Aravinth, Sree Renganathansellathurai, Kumaranathan Ariyarathnam.

(7) Aukra

The LTTE Annai Poopathy school is run by Nadamohan Gurusamy. The other committee members are Arulchelvam Rasiah, Baskaran Vinayagamoorthy, Bothini Varnakulanathan, and Karthika Udayakumaran.

(music) Stavanger

The LTTE Annai Poopathy school is run by Thevathasan Tharcious and Aloysius Chandrakumar Jesudasan. Other committee members are Shan Gnanavel, Mary James, Senduraselvi Sinnathurai.

(9) Drammen

The LTTE Annai Poopathy school is run by Anantharajah Selvarajah and Gopalakrishna Viswalingam. Other committee members are Balasingham Suppiah, Uma Gunaratnam, Maheswaran Paramalingam, and Chandrawatti Paramasivam. A previous TELO supporter, Anantharajah, studied with Castro. His son Babu Anantharajah alias Thamil Maran, a TYO member received training in the Nowegian military. As the son took drugs, the father sent him to Wanni to join LTTE. The LTTE trained him and he participated in a number of attacks. He surrendered at the end of the war and claimed that he was on holiday to meet his relatives. The Nowegian Ambassador intervened to seek the release of Babu from the Government of Sri Lanka.

Anantharajah Selvarajah travelled to Colombo to receive his son from President Mahinda Rajapaksa who gave him an amnesty. However, upon Babu’s return to Norway he rejoined the LTTE Norway and today works with the father in TCC. ‘Cocaine Tiger’ is nickname given to Babu by those who despise the LTTE. While the father works for a local branch, the son works for the main LTTE branch, the supreme branch, with Nediyawan.

(10) Molde

The LTTE Annai Poopathy school is run by Uvakanth Paramsothi and Krishnakumar Sivasubramanium. Other committee members in this rural part of Norway are Shiamala Manokaran, Parimaladevi Sritharan, and Sulakshana Pathmanathan.

(11) Lorenskog

The Annai Poopathy school is run by Sivasundaram Sivapathasundaram and Armugathas Thambirasa. Those in the committee are Varatharajan Naguleswaran, Sivasundaram Sivapathasundaram, Shanmugathas Asaippillai, Shanthiny Umapalan, Mawnisha Jegatheeswaran, Shanthasoruby Kethurangan and Rajendhram Ponnuthurai.

(12) Asker Barum

The Annai Poopathy school is run by Kannan Nagendram and Seevaratnam Egalanathan. Kannan is a former TYO member, Norwegian/NATO trained. He is also cousin of Jayachandran Gopinath, who runs TamilNet, the LTTE English language propaganda organ. In addition to being committee member of TamilNet, Kannan is also a committee member of NCET. Those in the Annai Poopathy school committee are Jayananthan Somasekaram Pillai, Raguna Puvitharan, Kannan Nagendram, Kamaladas Kanagasabapathy, Shanthini Mohanathas, Thilagarani Raveenthiran, and Yogarasasingam Nadarajah.

Norway will remain an important venue for the revival of the LTTE. In addition to nurturing a new generation of Tamil children and youth, Nediyawan-Irumporai Group will also control the global network of the LTTE. Nediyawan-Irumporai controls or influenced 430 LTTE fronts and pro LTTE organisations mostly registered as NGOs overseas in 40 countries. Although UNSCR 1373 lists 16 Norwegians for their involvement with terrorism, especially financing, there are a few hundred LTTE activists in Norway. They belong to Nediyawan-Irumporai, Rudrakumaran and Vinayagam factions. They are likely to be listed as some have travelled back and forth to Sri Lanka to collect intelligence. For example former TRO leader in Norway Theivendram Kandasamy travelled to Colombo after the war.

There are also significant attempts by the LTTE to penetrate the political and military system of Norway. Mary Prijita Wasanthi Francis a.k.a Wasanthi runs the Women’s wing, Tamil Women Organization (TWO) was controlled by Tamilini in Wanni. Using Norwegian funds, LTTE women cadres travelled from Sri Lanka to participate in women conferences overseas spreading their ideas and recruiting supporters. Wasanthi is the daughter of Pon Thiyakam, LTTE martyr’s office in charge of cemetery chief in northeast Sri Lanka. Other WTO committee members, Santhiramala Jeyanthiran, Mary Regina Jeyanathan. Wasanthi works with Sumathi Wijeyarajah, a local councillor of the Labour Party. Sumathi (now in the opposition) said if elected she will campaign for Tamil Eelam. Her husband Abraham Wijeyarajah works as an office assistant in a local council in Oslo but runs Tamil Solidarity Group registered in the TCC head office address. TWO committee members include Arulnithi Rathakrishnan, who works inside Norwegian Army Head Quarters as a military engineer.

Norway hosts TamilNet, the main LTTE propaganda organ. TamilNet’s committee members are led by Gokulan Valaudapillai and Jayachandran Gopinath. The TamilNet manager Jayachandran Gopinath has classes for TCC members in Annai Poopathy school in Oslo. Others in the committee are Elavarasi Deenadayalan, Anbuchelvan Mahesan (previously TYO leader Noway) and Kannan Nagendram, a directing figure of the LTTE. During the peace talks, the LTTE deceived Norway by using Norway to build a massive infrastructure. The LTTE fooled Norwegian officials by killing opponents including the Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. The LTTE was not honest with Norway.

Abusing and misusing the Norwegian visa system, they dispatched over 100 operatives to Europe. Nearly 100 cadres got Shengan visa issued by the Government of Norway, most remained in Europe and claimed asylum. Today, they run a global network from Norway threatening to revive violence in Sri Lanka.