Officials: Tamil group not a threat in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Local and U.S. officials in Phnom Penh have downplayed the threat of the non-profit Tamil Foundation, which allegedly had ties with Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tigers, the Phnom Penh Post reported on Wednesday.

"We got a note from the Treasury (Department of U.S.), and it's something we are required to distribute to the local government. It's just a heads-up. It's not something serious here," the English-language daily newspaper quoted U.S. Embassy spokesman John Johnson as saying.

The U.S. government had sent a generic message to all its embassies indicating that its Treasury Department had designated the Tamil Foundation, a charity based in U.S., as a terrorist group and frozen its assets, according to the spokesman.

Meanwhile, Koy Kuong, secretary of state at the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, told the paper "this is just an exchange of information. We don't have a Tamil Foundation in Cambodia."

.
"U.S. learned that the Tamil Foundation had established offices in other countries, so they are seeking international cooperation, but we haven't heard of this group operating in Cambodia," he added.

The paper on Tuesday quoted national police spokesman Keat Chantarith as saying that "we are looking into the case" of the Tamil Foundation, under the request of the foreign ministry.

In February, the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation sent a letter to Interior Minister Sar Kheng, asking him to investigate the actions of the foundation which allegedly supported the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The foreign ministry sent the letter after receiving a diplomatic notice from the U.S. Embassy warning of the existence of the Tamil Foundation, which had offices in many countries.