Below is a broadcast from People & Power on Al Jazeera, subject is Tiger Tax.

Press the play-button on left bottom to watch the video and alter the volume level via the volume-button on the right bottom.

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Tiger Tax (People & Power, Al Jazeera)

Up to 70,000 people have been killed during the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil separatist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The LTTE's armed struggle for an independent homeland, 'Tamil Eelam', began in the late 1970s. Many of the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka felt that they had been discriminated against by the government since the country's independence from the British in 1948.

A photo of the LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is held up at an event in London

The LTTE has become notorious for their use of suicide bombers and recruitment of child soldiers. However, the Sri Lankan government has also been heavily criticised for brutal human rights violations during the conflict.

Despite a ceasefire which was brokered in 2002, with help from Norway, tensions have escalated again since late 2005.Bloodshed on both sides has brought the country close to all out war once again.

Twenty years of conflict prompted huge numbers of Tamils to leave Sri Lanka, creating a Tamil diaspora which numbers up to 800,000 worldwide. This diaspora community became one of the critical sources of financial support for the LTTE. The UK was one of the countries in which the LTTE set up organisations to collect funds from Tamil householdsto send back to Sri Lanka.

The UK government banned the LTTE in 2001, labelling it a 'terrorist' organisation.However, the ban has not been heavily enforced and the LTTE has continued its fundraising activities in the UK.The situation is similar in a number of other Western countries.Nevertheless a number of Tamils feel that they are unable to publicly express their support for the LTTE in the UK, for fear of breaking the law by 'glorifying terrorism'.

Many diaspora Tamils willingly give money to the LTTE. However, Human Rights Watch, the international watchdog, says that others have been subject to intimidation, extortion and physical violence as the LTTE seeks to suppress criticism of its human rights abuses and to ensure a steady flow of income.

People & Power investigates the massive fundraising drive allegedly launched by the LTTE in London and elsewhere from late 2005 onwards, as violence intensified in the North and East of Sri Lanka. The programme speaks with Tamils in London who the LTTE has tried to pressurise into providing funding for the 'final war'.

The programme also speaks with Tamils in London who are beginning to publicly criticise the LTTE. They are calling upon the Metropolitan Police to clamp down on the LTTE's activities in the UK. However, they say that even in London they are not immune from repercussions for speaking out against the LTTE. People & Power reporter, Juliana Ruhfus, investigates.

Source: People & Power: Tiger Tax (Al Jazeera)