Jeremy Vine in Johannesburg: Sri Lanka given "all kinds of assurances"

The Sri Lankan Government has repeatedly voiced its concern that the Indian community in South Africa may be helping the rebels in their struggle.

New anti-terrorist laws in the UK may force the closure of the current international secretariat of the Tamil Tigers.

The South African Foreign Ministry says it has found out that support groups in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town have offered support for the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

One senior South African Government source said there had even been suggestions of supplying weapons.

However, he said there was no evidence that the rebels were moving to South Africa. He said the South African Government did not allow any group to use the country as a base for terrorism.

Another source said the Sri Lankan Government had complained ten times to the South Africans about a possible Tamil Tiger base.

International struggle

The South African Tamil Federation has asked President Nelson Mandela to help negotiate peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and Tamil Tigers.

Sri Lanka recently rejected an offer by the rebels to restart peace talks on condition of third party mediation.

The Tamil Tigers want a separate state in Sri Lanka. They have been fighting the Sinhalese majority in a bloody civil war for more than 30 years.