Colombo: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) obtained high-tech broadcasting equipment through the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo in November to expand its unapproved radio station, a report said on December 8.

The government granted approval to the rebels to clear a container with six tonnes of equipment in the Colombo port on November 26, and it was transported by road to the rebel-held area in the North, the weekly 'Sunday Times' newspaper said.

The equipment had been consigned to the Norwegian Embassy, which, in turn, "gifted" it to the LTTE, and the government pitched in with a duty waiver, the newspaper said.

The consignment contained a frequency mode (FM) transmitter, back-up transmitter, generator, antennae, headphones, patch panels, speakers, microphones, recorders, compact disc players and cables.

A police party took it beyond the last Army checkpoint at Omanthai, North of Vavuniya, with the help of a letter from Defence secretary Austin Fernando to avoid examination by military personnel.

A team of communication experts had examined the equipment in the port itself and concluded that it was sufficient only for broadcasting on FM to a limited area.

However, the paper said other technical sources were of the view that the range could be enhanced with the help of boosters to reach areas outside Sri Lanka.

The paper said the LTTE was preparing to expand the reach of its 'Voice of Tigers', a clandestine radio that can be heard only in the Northern rebel-held Vanni region until now, to southern India and Singapore.

A delegation from the Opposition Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which visited New Delhi last week, apprised India about the "security implications" of broadcasts by the LTTE to South India, and also complained about Norway's role in helping the Tigers set up communication facilities.

PTI