"We have collected about $1 1/2 million since the
tsunami and 97 percent of that money has been spent in north and
east Sri Lanka. Some of it went to New Orleans for Katrina
relief." Acknowledging that the Tigers exercise control in north
and east Sri Lanka, Ranjithan said that TRO is required to deal
with the controlling group in order to get relief to the war and
tsunami victims there."If Sri Lanka doesn't send any relief, if
the Red Cross doesn't send relief, who will try to help the
people out? I see this as a moral problem for me. The
authorities would like to see us silenced and stop our
organization. I have seen the suffering and I try to do what I
can to help.TRO has been under federal scrutiny for at least a
year and a half or two - which is OK - they have to impose their
laws. ..A group called
Charity Navigator evaluated us the last two years and gave
us a four-star rating both years for sound fiscal management....
To say we are giving money to people to buy arms, I don't know
where that comes from... e are visible, transparent and have
been put through more scrutiny than most charitable
organizations"
As a leading physician in the Queen City for the past 30 years,
Dr. Nagaratnam Ranjithan is used to dealing with the unexpected.
When a team of FBI agents arrived at his home before dawn Tuesday he
may have been surprised but he was not shocked.
|
 Dr.
Nagaratnam Ranjithan talks about his
encounter with FBI agents from Baltimore and New Jersey.
Steve Bittner / Cumberland Times-News |
It was Ranjithan's role as president of the
Tamil Rehabilitation
Organization - a relief organization that helps war and tsunami
victims in his home country of Sri Lanka - that drew the attention
of federal investigators. "I gave them some papers that I had in my
home and then I took the agents to my office. At least 10 agents
were there. They searched for four hours. They took my computer and
promised to have it back in 24 hours but I haven't seen it yet,"
said the board-certified nephrologist late Tuesday morning.
Court documents, according to The New York Times, identified the TRO
as a "suspected front for a Tamil Tigers fund-raising organization."
Ranjithan said TRO, which has its headquarters in Sri Lanka, was
founded before civil war broke out in that island country more than
two decades ago.
"There has been a lot of pressure from the Sri Lankan government on
the U.S. government to stop TRO from functioning because they are
convinced that TRO is a front organization for the Tamil Tigers.
That view is public knowledge on a lot of Web sites.
"TRO is a relief organization and is mandated to do relief work in
north and east of Sri Lanka where the people receive no relief from
the government. TRO is the primary relief organization in north and
east of Sri Lanka for the last 10 to 15 years for up to a million
and a half people," said Ranjithan.
Just days after returning from a TRO fund-raising trip to
California, Ranjithan sat re-laxed in his Oldtown Road medical
office talking about his encounter with FBI agents from Baltimore
and New Jersey.
"We have collected about $1 1/2 million since the tsunami and 97
percent of that money has been spent in north and east Sri Lanka.
Some of it went to New Orleans for Katrina relief," said Ranjithan,
who joined the Western Maryland Health System medical staff in 1976.
Acknowledging that the Tigers exercise control in north and east Sri
Lanka, Ranjithan said that TRO is required to deal with the
controlling group in order to get relief to the war and tsunami
victims there.
"If Sri Lanka doesn't send any relief, if the Red Cross doesn't send
relief, who will try to help the people out? I see this as a
moral problem for me. The authorities would like to see us silenced
and stop our organization. I have seen the suffering and I try to do
what I can to help.
"TRO has been under federal scrutiny for at least a year and a half
or two - which is OK - they have to impose their laws. But please
understand we are trying to help these people, which we feel we must
do.It's easy for the Sri Lankan government to accuse us, but we
would not be functioning if there was not a need and Sri Lanka took
care of the people. Then I could live my life like everyone else.
TRO only deals with the Tigers in relief activities and the Sri
Lankan government recognized TRO in Sri Lanka for tsunami relief. A
group called
Charity Navigator evaluated us the last two years and gave us a
four-star rating both years for sound fiscal management. Any
connection with the Tigers is more imagined than real."
TRO has to work with the Tigers' officials to identify the people
that need relief," he said while admitting that his role with TRO
may now have an adverse effect. "There are rumors and they have a
way of snowballing. It will make my life harder, I guess. I am
having to pay a price for doing something good. "If they had any
evidence, I am sure they would have arrested and charged me by now.
"I have been in this country 30 years and I feel saddened that it is
so easy to destroy someone's reputation. I don't think this is the
way the system of government is to work. I am very happy that I have
spent 12 years of my life helping people back home. I don't think
every man gets a chance like that. I feel a little bit humiliated
and a little saddened that in democracy accusations be-come facts
and destroy a person's reputation. You feel saddened that is the way
the world operates. Fear should not take us away from sensible
things. We have to find all the facts and then make a judgment. To
say we are giving money to people to buy arms, I don't know where
that comes from."
Ranjithan said that TRO has no overhead. "I pay for my own
fund-raising trips and expenses to make sure we don't give room to
people to criticize us for being selfish or dictatorial," said
Ranjithan.
"They can go through what we have done for the past 12 years. We are
visible, transparent and have been put through more scrutiny than
most charitable organizations," said Ranjithan before leaving his
office to visit his patients at nearby Memorial Hospital.
"My actions speak louder than words," he said.
Robert Nardoza, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern
District of New York, said late Tuesday morning that the
investigation that included the search of Ranjithan's office is
continuing. He declined to comment on whether any charges would be
filed against Ranjithan.
Jeff Alderton can be reached at
[email protected]
. |
