By Lanka Page

Austalia’s largest selling newspapers, the Herald Sun and the Age published news reports that that two prominent Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) leaders in Australia have been arrested by the Australian Federal police for using Tsunami relief charity money collected for the victims of the devastated Tamil areas for terrorist activities in Sri Lanka.

The two have been identified as Sivaraj Yathevan (36), the Tiger agent in charge of Eela Murasu, a Tamil community paper, and Arooran Vignanamoorthy (32), the righ-hand man of Yathevan and produced before a magistrate court in Melbourne, Australia.

The federal police told the Age more arrests are to come following these and the two Tamils of Sri lankan origin were arrested at the conclusion of two year long investigation after public complaints.

The middle level LTTE leaders are believed to have operated the terrorist funding and siphoning off of the charity money for terrorist purposes under other senior leaders. Arooran was working as a manager of a restaurant in Glen Waverley. After arriving in Australia as a refugee he is beieved to have been made the manager of the restaurant that had been bought over with LTTE funds. Yathevan came as a student and is suspected of being the arm-twisting tough man of the LTTE outfit in Australia. They were working under other senior leaders of the outfit.

The herald Sun said:- “The men were charged with terror offences after raids this morning on homes and businesses across Melbourne eastern suburbs by Federal and State police. According to the charge sheet they were also charged with providing support to a terrorist organization, and intentionally receiving funds from or making funds available to a terrorist organisation, knowing the organisation is a terrorist organisation, contrary to sections 102.7 and 102.6(1) of the Criminal Code Act 1995.

“A Mt Waverley man, 32, and a Vermont South man, 36, were both charged on three counts of being members of a terror organisation and providing money to a terror group” said the Sun newspaper. It did not identify them by name.

The herald Sun further said, “Police will allege the two men are members of the Sri Lankan separatists group Tamil Tigers, and face a maximum of 25 years in jail under the Criminal Code Act 1995.

“Federal police counter terrorism spokesman Frank Prendergast said they would allege the men were supporting the overseas terror group.

“It will be alleged in court that these men are members of an organisation engaging in terror activities overseas, and they have been providing active, material support to that group,” Assistant Commission Prendergast said. “He alleged the men had duped Australians who thought they were donating money to Tsunami victims in Sri Lanka, as well as other charities.

“Police would not reveal how much money had been siphoned from charities to the terror group nor what type of material support they had provided to the Tamil Tigers.

“But Assistant Commissioiner Prendergast stressed there was no evidence that the men planned to carry out any terrorist attacks in Australia.

“The Australian Federal Police and Victorian Police joint police counter terrorism team operation raided eight homes and business in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs including Mt Waverley, Vermont South, Burwood East, Dandenong and Glen Waverley.

“Victoria Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the arrests followed a tip-off from the public.

“We regard these offences as extremely serious,” Deputy Commissioner Walshe said.

”Police would allege that the men actively raised funds with the knowledge some of the money would go towards “operational activity” by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

“Properties in the Sydney suburbs of Toongabbie and Paramatta were also raided as part of the investigation.

“The investigation follows Australian Federal Police raids in 2005 in which documents and computers were seized at several Melbourne properties but so far it is unclear if today’s arrests are linked to those earlier warrants.

“Assistant Commissioner Prendergast did confirm the raids were the result of an investigation launched in January 2005 and showed a high degree of cooperation between Federal and State authorities.

“He also stressed the value of public information in tracking down possible terror suspects.

“The Tamil Tiger group operates in Sri Lanka and is seeking a separate state there.”

Meanwhile the Age newspaper said:- “Police are refusing to rule out further arrests after apprehending two Melbourne men accused of raising money for a terrorist organisation via a tsunami relief charity.

“Officers have charged a Mount Waverley man, 32, and a Vermont South man, 36,with three offences relating to being a member of a terrorist organisation and making funds available to a terrorist organisation. They are expected to face court this afternoon.

“The arrests followed raids today across Melbourne and in Sydney as part of a two-year joint investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police into claims charity groups were raising funds for Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam — or Tamil Tigers.

“Police conducted 10 raids on premises in Melbourne’s east — at Vermont, Glen Waverley, Mount Waverley, Dandenong, East Burwood — and in the Sydney suburbs of Toongabbie and Parramatta.

“Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said the men were accused of running tsunami relief appeal to raise funds for the Tamil Tigers, allegedly duping people out of a substantial amount of money.

“He said police would allege the men actively raised funds with the knowledge some of the money would be diverted to the Tamil Tigers to conduct operations in Sri Lanka.

“If found guilty, the men face a maximum of 25 years in jail.

“AFP National Counter Terrorism Manager Frank Prendergast said there was no evidence the men were planning terrorism activities in Australia.

“It will be alleged in court that these men are members of an organisation engaging in terrorist activity overseas and they have been providing active, material support to that group,” he said.

“He refused to rule out making further arrests following today’s raids.

Commissioner Prendergast said the investigation began in January 2005 after police received information from the public.

“The Tamil Tigers have been waging a bloody secessionist campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s.

“Since 1983, there has been an on-off civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the government, which it’s estimated has killed around 64,000 people and displaced 1 million. The origins of the current violence go back to the island’s independence from Britain in 1948.”