Citing an incident with a Tamil refugee seeking asylum in Australia, The Australian stated the Australian security authorities had to reject their application as they pose a security risk to Australia.

Last October an official of the Australian Federation of Tamil Associations was reported as saying he is "certain" there are Tigers among the asylum-seekers arriving in Australia.

"The official's original observation stands to reason," The Australian said. The defeat of the LTTE last year prompted an exodus of refugees. A Tamil politician was reported saying that "hard-core LTTE cadres had escaped the camps and fled the country". Australia is the closest Western country to Sri Lanka, and among the few nations that has not outlawed the LTTE. Australia is relatively easily to reach by boat via Indonesia, the report added.

In an interview with a group of Tamil asylum-seekers, an Indonesian community worker said, they confessed that they are members of the Tamil Tiger guerilla fighters. They left their country to seek political asylum in Australia, The Jakarta Globe reported.

The LTTE's involvement in people-smuggling is well documented, including in the UNHCR guidelines on Sri Lankan asylum-seekers issued on July 5.

The UNHCR guidelines state, while security in Sri Lanka has improved sufficiently since the war. Therefore, Tamils no longer require automatic protection.

Australia is in a minority among Western countries in not outlawing the LTTE, which is designated as a terrorist group in the US, Canada, Britain and the European Union.

The FBI describes the Tamil Tigers as "among the most dangerous and deadly extremists in the world". It lists their achievements as including perfecting the use of suicide bombers, inventing the suicide belt, pioneering the use of women in suicide attacks, murdering about 4000 people in the past two years alone, and assassinating two world leaders - the only terrorist organisation to do so.

The FBI on its website said that the LTTE "placed operatives" in countries such as the US to raise money for its "bloody terrorist campaign" overseas, including the purchases of weapons and explosives.

In March three Tamil community leaders in Melbourne pleaded guilty to sending $1.03m to the LTTE, along with 500 electronic components that were capable of being made into bomb detonators. Even though the LTTE is not banned in Australia, it is an offence to give it funds as it is proscribed by the UN.

Security Analyst, Sergie DeSilva-Ranasinghe stated, despite the LTTE's military defeat, it still poses a threat. "There's an element in the Tamil Tigers trying to revive terrorism. So the question for Australia is will these fund-raising activities contribute to the revival of LTTE terrorism?"

In the surge of boat arrivals since the beginning of last year, 1129 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers have arrived in Australia. 85 have been denied visas and sent home, 329 have been given refugee status and settled in the community, while the remaining approx. 700 are still being processed.