The Hindu : International : "LTTE is siphoning off Government funds"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 17, 2006

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International

"LTTE is siphoning off Government funds"

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) "siphons off" 10 to 20 per cent of the Sri Lankan Government's development and infrastructure funds allocated for the territory in the north and east, the Secretariat for Coordination of Peace Process (SCOPP) has claimed.

Projects to the tune of $1,283 million are currently in progress in the region.

"However, studies reveal that approximately 10-20 per cent of these funds are siphoned off by the LTTE. It is largely from these illegally acquired funds that the LTTE maintains its name-board structures and logistics, trains its child soldiers and places its armed cadres, both men and women, in a perpetual state of war", the SCOPP said in a presentation.

It said for the ongoing projects in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, which include both tsunami and non-tsunami projects, there has been a total allocation of $1,283 million comprising loans of $673.8 million and grants of $609.3 million.

The Secretariat claimed that contrary to widely held misconceptions, the administrative machinery and infrastructure facilities in LTTE controlled areas is funded and maintained "substantially" by the Government.

"This is an aspect that the donor community needs to address while engaging the LTTE. It is an illusion to assume that the LTTE has the capability to provide even the minimum services to the people of the North and the East", the SCOPP said.

It said the Government meets an overwhelmingly substantial part of the "humanitarian and infrastructural needs" of the civilian population living in the North and the East, including the LTTE-controlled areas.

The SCOPP said there are 53 hospitals and 1,848 government-run schools in the north and east.

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