Het Verstrekken Van Subsidies En Het Verlenen Van Vergunningen Aan L.T.T.E

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Het Verstrekken Van Subsidies En Het Verlenen Van Vergunningen Aan L.T.T.E KLPD –Nationale Recherche Rapportage: Het verstrekken van subsidies en het verlenen van vergunningen aan L.T.T.E. gerelateerde organisaties Februari 2011 - 1 - Onderwerp: Rapportage ten aanzien van het verstrekken van subsidies en het verlenen van vergunningen aan L.T.T.E. gerelateerde organisaties Ten behoeve van: Vereniging Nederlandse gemeenten. Datum: maart 2011 Auteurs: Korps landelijke politie diensten de Dienst Nationale Recherche E.Wierdsma en S.Heekelaar Landelijk Parket Schiphol Officieren van justitie mr.W.N. Ferdinandusse en M. Nieuwenhuis - 2 - Inhoudsopgave: 1. Inleiding 2. Fenomeen onderzoek 3. Opsporingsonderzoek “Koninck”. 4. “Handboek” 5. Middelen van Frontorganisaties 5.1 Frontorganisaties 5.2 Collectes 5.3 Loterijen 5.4 Bijeenkomsten 5.5 Herdenkingsdagen 5.6 Maveerar Naal 5.7 Demonstraties 5.8 Sportieve activiteiten 5.9 Tamilscholen 6. Vergunningen / Subsidiestromen 7. Achtergrond informatie/ Bijlagen - 3 - 1. Inleiding De dienst Nationale Recherche van het Korps landelijke politiediensten heeft onder leiding van het landelijk parket een strafrechtelijk onderzoek verricht naar de Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) en hun activiteiten in Nederland. Dit onderzoek draagt de naam “Koninck”. Op 29 mei 2006 is de LTTE geplaatst op de EU lijst van terroristische organisaties. Gedragingen strekkende tot (directe of indirecte) financiële of economische ondersteuning van op de EU-lijst geplaatste organisaties zijn verboden ingevolge Verordening 2580/2001 op grond van de Sanctieregeling terrorisme 2002. Overtreding van dit verbod is strafbaar gesteld als economisch delict middels de Sanctiewet 1977 jo. artikel 1 onder 1 Wet op de economische delicten. Op grond van de onderzoeksresultaten kan worden gesteld dat er in Nederland meerdere aan de LTTE gerelateerde organisaties en personen actief zijn en dat deze organisaties en personen onder andere fondsen werven voor de LTTE. Uit de bevindingen blijkt dat in meerdere gemeenten vergunningen en/of subsidies zijn verstrekt en activiteiten worden ontplooid ten voordele van organisaties die gelieerd zijn aan de LTTE. Zo zijn ondermeer in meerdere gemeenten kansspelen georganiseerd zonder vereiste vergunningen. Tevens blijkt uit een aangetroffen financiele administratie dat er “ondersteuningsgeld“ van gemeenten is ontvangen. Aan te nemen valt dat met dit “ondersteuningsgeld”, subsidie wordt bedoeld. Ook is het onderzoeksteam gestuit op een netwerk van Tamilscholen in Nederland die onder invloed lijken te staan van de LTTE, waarbij in ieder geval het gedachtegoed van de LTTE, het strijden voor een eigen staat langs de weg van de gewapende strijd, verheerlijkt wordt. Ook is gebleken dat in diverse gemeenten demonstraties op de openbare weg zijn gehouden. Hierbij werden de LTTE vlag en afbeeldingen van Velupillai Pirabaharan gebruikt. Het doel van deze rapportage is het informeren van gemeenten betreffende de belangrijkste bevindingen uit het strafrechtelijk onderzoek naar de LTTE en haar frontorganisaties. De resultaten van het onderzoek “Koninck” zijn op dit moment onder de rechter. Een definitieve uitspraak van de rechter is er dus nog niet. Niet alleen in Nederland maar ook in diverse andere Europese landen en in Canada en Amerika zijn strafrechtelijke onderzoeken geweest naar de LTTE. Uit deze strafrechtelijke onderzoeken zijn reeds veroordelingen voortgekomen. - 4 - 2. Achtergrond informatie L.T.T.E. Binnen het onderzoek Koninck is onderzoek gedaan naar de achtergrond van de L.T.T.E. Hiervoor is informatie ingewonnen uit een groot aantal bronnen o.a. media in de vorm van dag- en weekbladen, al of niet digitaal, publieke data zoals overheidspublicaties, persberichten, hoorzittingen maar ook publicaties van wetenschappelijke instanties zoals universiteiten en internationale denktanks. De aangehaalde bronnen zijn gebaseerd op diverse onafhankelijke deskundigen die vanuit een objectieve blik de genoemde rapportages hebben opgesteld. Uit deze bronnen kan een objectief /duidelijk beeld worden geschetst van de aard en de ernst van de door de LTTE gepleegde misdrijven. Zo wordt de LTTE geschetst als een separatistische organisatie die tot doel heeft een zelfstandige, onafhankelijke staat te stichten die de noordelijke en oostelijke provincies van Sri Lanka omvat. Aan de bron van dit streven lag een reeks van discriminatoire regels ten opzichte van de Tamil minderheid op Sri Lanka vanaf de jaren ’50 van de vorige eeuw. Een in de jaren ’80 door de LTTE gepubliceerd politiek programma maakt duidelijk dat een belangrijk middel om een onafhankelijke Tamil staat te bereiken bestaat uit de gewapende strijd. Vreedzame middelen om dit doel te bereiken zouden hebben gefaald. De gewapende strijd is tot aan de nederlaag van de LTTE in mei 2009 bepalend geweest. In de loop der jaren heeft de LTTE een reeks van activiteiten ontplooid om de gewapende strijd op Sri Lanka te kunnen voeren. Daaronder vallen verschillende vormen van misdrijven, zoals afpersing van Sri Lankaanse Tamils in de diaspora, de rekrutering en de inzet van kinderen in het gewapende conflict op Sri Lanka en het plegen van aanslagen met een terroristisch oogmerk op Sri Lanka. De oprichting van de LTTE in 1976 was het gevolg van een groeiend sentiment onder de Tamil minderheid in de jaren ’60 en ’70 dat zij werd achtergesteld ten opzichte van de Singalese meerderheid op Sri Lanka. In reactie op deze discriminatie verenigde een aantal politieke partijen zich in het Tamil United Front (TUF), met als doel om langs politieke weg de belangen van de Tamils beter te behartigen. Vanaf eind jaren ’70 werd de toon steeds radicaler en de overtuiging (groeide )dat verzoening en vreedzaam samenleven met de Singalese bevolking geen optie meer was. Dit resulteerde bij een aantal Tamil groeperingen in de jaren ’70 in het verlangen tot een eigen onafhankelijke staat in het noorden en oosten van het eiland. Een van deze groeperingen was de LTTE, met als leider Velupillai Pirabaharan. In 1976 veranderde ook het TUF zijn naam in TULF. Het Tamil United Liberation Front. Hoewel de LTTE zich in eerste instantie had geschaard achter de TULF, distantieerde de beweging zich in 1978 van de TULF. Volgens Anton Balasingham, jarenlang de ideoloog van de LTTE werd op 25 april 1978 voor het eerst verantwoordelijkheid opgeëist door de LTTE voor een aantal moorden op politiefunctionarissen en ‘Tamil informanten’. Hiermee kwam de LTTE in de publiciteit en presenteerde de organisatie zich aan de wereld als de gewapende verzetsbeweging van de Tamils, die zich inzette voor nationale bevrijding door middel van de gewapende strijd. In de daaropvolgende jaren richtte de organisatie zich op het ontwikkelen van de guerrilla infrastructuur, op het organiseren van een internationaal netwerk en op het ontwikkelen van een politiek programma. Binnen de LTTE organisatie is een onderverdeling te maken tussen een tak op Sri Lanka en één in het buitenland. Op het eiland zelf ontving de LTTE tot haar militaire nederlaag in mei 2009 inkomsten uit het heffen van belasting in de gebieden onder haar controle zoals die op inkomen, op consumptiegoederen en op handelsactiviteiten. Ook werd geld verkregen via een aantal (internationale) non-gouvernementele organisaties (NGO’s), waarvan de Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) de grootste was en die zowel op Sri Lanka als overzee actief waren. Het overzeese internationale netwerk van de LTTE genereerde inkomsten uit verschillende bronnen. Zo waren daar allereerst de directe contributies uit Tamil migrantengemeenschappen en fondsen die werden afgetapt van NGO’s, liefdadigheidsinstellingen en andere frontorganisaties die onder meer Tamil sociale diensten en rehabilitatieprogramma’s op Sri Lanka financierden. De andere bron bestond uit een reeks van criminele activiteiten en een laatste bron vormden opbrengsten uit investeringen in (Tamil) commerciële bedrijven en beleggingen. Vanaf de jaren 80 stimuleerde en exploiteerde de LTTE de uittocht van Tamils richting het Westen om ook daar fondsen te genereren. Deze Tamil diaspora groeide in de loop der jaren uit tot de ruggengraat van de fondsenwerving van de LTTE. En de LTTE groeide mee en heeft momenteel in zo’n 54 landen vestigingen. Contributie van individuele leden van de Tamilgemeenschappen in de diverse landen vormden de - 5 - belangrijkste bron van inkomsten van de LTTE waarmee militaire uitrusting kon worden aangeschaft. De contributies van individuele Sri Lankaanse Tamils in westerse landen werd door de Tamils geïnstitutionaliseerd in de vorm van periodieke overdrachten. Een deel van deze contributies werden en worden gegeven op vrijwillige basis. Vooral Sri Lankaanse Tamils die vanaf het begin van de burgeroorlog in 1983 waren gevlucht en die persoonlijk vervolging en geweld hadden meegemaakt, droegen de LTTE een warm hart toe en steunden de organisatie actief. De LTTE zag zichzelf als de enige vertegenwoordiger van de Sri Lankaanse Tamils die zorgde voor bescherming en ondersteuning. In ruil daarvoor verlangde de organisatie steun voor de LTTE-opvatting en invulling van het streven naar een zelfstandige staat. Haar strategie was er ook op gericht deze situatie in stand te houden zodat er geen interne concurrenten konden opkomen die een deel van bijvoorbeeld de inkomsten konden wegkapen. Afwijkende opvattingen werden bestreden. De LTTE gebruikte haar overwicht om drie kernactiviteiten te ontplooien: a) Publiciteit, propaganda en lobbying om het LTTE-standpunt te promoten; b) Netwerken voor haar commerciële activiteiten, haar wapenaankopen en de verscheping ervan; c) Fondsenwerving.
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