April 14

Indiscriminate Attacks strengthens case for Tamil self-rule- Aussie MP

[TamilNet, May 05, 2006 10:10 GMT]
"Whatever the provocation, targeting Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Government clearly demonstrates that it does not regard the Tamil people to be part of its population. It thus strengthens, in my view, the Tamil people's case for self determination," said Australian parliamentarion John Murphy, Member for the Federal State of Lowe, in a media release issued Friday.

Full text of the media release follows:

"In my view, the spiraling violence in Sri Lanka can only be brought to an end by implementing the Cease-Fire Agreement entered between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in February 2002.

Media reports of air strikes by the Sri Lankan regime on 25th and the 26th April are appalling in that they have resulted in the deaths of at least 15 civilians and displacement of well over 15,000 people. The air strike was claimed by the Sri Lankan Government to be retaliatory attacks mounted to avenge the bombing at the Military High Command in Colombo. Whatever the provocation, targeting Tamil civilians by the Sri Lankan Government clearly demonstrates that it does not regard the Tamil people to be part of its population. It thus strengthens, in my view, the Tamil people's case for self determination.

The failure to implement vital clauses in the Cease-Fire Agreement is, in my view, the direct cause for the spiraling violence.

In my opinion, had the Government of Sri Lanka at least implemented the Joint Mechanisms agreed between the parties to address the damage caused by the war and the damage caused by tsunami, the negotiations could have resumed. These were agreements that were reached between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE during the 4 year Cease-Fire. They had the potential to rebuild trust between the Sinhala and Tamil people.

I refer to the observations by the Canadian Liberal party parliamentarian, Hon. Maria Minna, following her fact finding mission to Sri Lanka in March 2005: “To be honest with you, I am not terribly positive about the possibility of getting back to peace discussions if they can’t agree on the reconstruction from the tsunami because that should be an easier one”

The implementation of the Cease-Fire Agreement is vital and the Australian Government needs to do more and use its influence with the Sri Lankan Government to end the spiraling violence.

Sri Lanka could then begin negotiations with the Tamil leadership to find an enduring political solution based on the Tamil people's right to self determination.

All of us want to see a peaceful and just resolution to the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Thursday, May 4, 2006
Dear Mr. Jesuthasan,
I am forwarding this reply on behalf of Bob Hepburn, the editorial page editor.
Sharon Burnside, Public Editor

May 4, 2006
Dear A. Jesuthasan,
Your recent complaint to the Ontario Press Council has been referred to me.
You expressed concern about a paragraph in a letter written by Mr. V. Thangavelu, President of Thamil Creative Writers Association, dated April 30, 2006 and addressed to the Editor, Toronto Star, that said: "You will recall that when I wrote a letter to the Editor, I got a reply in raw filth from your editorial office".

You expressed shock that the Toronto Star would send a reply of this nature, and asked that action be taken.
I can assure you the message was sent in error, it was never intended for Mr. Thangavelu, I apologized to him as soon as I realized what had happened. The Public Editor has also apologized in response to a recent letter from Mr. Thangavelu, offering a more detailed explanation than I was able to give him at the time.

On the day that Mr. Thangavelu sent his letter, a private note from a staff member to a friend, quoting a bit of movie dialogue that included some offensive language, was accidentally attached to the reply. We feel very badly that Mr. Thangavelu received this message by mistake and about any offence caused.

I trust this addresses your concern.
Yours truly,
Bob Hepburn,
Editorial Page Editor
cc Mel Sufrin, Ontario Press Council
     V. Thangavelu, Thamil Creative Writers Association

Anthonypillai Jesuthasanj:
Thank you for your e-mail.
The constitution of the Ontario Press Council requires that the newspaper be given a further opportunity to respond to, and possibly redress, the complaint before the council decides whether to adjudicate it. Accordingly, this correspondence is copies to the Toronto Star. Please let me know whether its response redresses the complaint.

Mel Sufrin, Executive Secretary

Original Message -----
From: Anthonypillai Jesuthasan <mailto:ajselvams@yahoo.ca>
To: info@ontpress.com <mailto:info@ontpress.com>
Cc: athangav@sympatico.ca <mailto:athangav@sympatico.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 6:58 PM
Subject: Toronto Star smear campaign against the LTTE and WTM
CANADIAN ORGANIZATION FOR PEACE AND EQUALITY IN SRI LANKA
(COPE-SL)
May 03, 2006.
The Chairman,
The Ontario Press Council,
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706,
Toronto, Ontario,
M5B 1J3.
Dear Sir,
Reference the letter from Mr. V. Thangavelu, President of Thamil Creative Writers Association dated April 30, 2006 addressed to the Editor, Toronto Star with copy to you.

Your attention is drawn especially to the paragraph therein, highlighted and given in quotes as follows :
"You will recall that when I wrote a letter to the Editor, I got a reply in raw filth from your editorial office".
We are shocked with disbelief that the editorial office of a responsible newspaper like Toronto Star would indulge in sending replies to readers in foul and unparliamentary language of scum and street urchins !

We have no doubt that you would have taken serious view of this indiscretion on the part of your staff and taken necessary and suitable action that would act as a deterrent for future.

We shall be glad to be informed of your action in this regard.
Thanking you.
Yours faithfully
A. Jesuthasan
Joint Convenor, COPE-SL
5703, Passion Flower Blvd.,
Mississauga, ON L5M 7E7.
Tel: 905 826 9445
c.c. Mr. V. Thangavelu

Toronto

May 9, 2006

News editor

CTV

Organized crime gangs aiding terrorists: RCMP

Dear Sir,

You are talking through your hat when you say "Also known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the Tigers were listed as a terrorist group by the United Nations ………. "

For your information the LTTE is not a banned organization by the United Nations and United Nations is not in the business of banning organizations.

The Toronto Star published a similar story on April 09, 2006 and repeated it in its editorial on 11th April, 2006, but it has since published an apology in its issue dated April 19, 2006 at page 2. It reads as follows-

Toronto Star
April 19, 2006
Page: A2

"Tamil Tigers not listed as terrorists by UN

The United Nations has not designated the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, as
a terrorist organization. A story published Sunday, April 9 and
an editorial printed Tuesday, April 11 erroneously said the UN
had listed the group. The Star regrets the error."

Sincerely,
Deborah Jessop

Public Editor's Office
Toronto Star
One Yonge St.
Toronto ON
Canada M5E 1E6

Tel: 416-869-4949

I urge a similar retraction by the CTV for the slanderous story published forthwith.

May I also inform you that the statement "Sri Lanka 's Tamil Tigers have also used proceeds of crime to finance politically motivated violence" attributed to John Thompson of the Toronto-based one-man Mackenzie Institute is a figment of his imagination? He has been pedaling this type of inflammatory and Gobbelsian propaganda through the columns of neo-fascist newspapers and magazines in Canada without producing a shred of evidence to prove the charge. I challenge this so-called expert on "terrorism" to produce tangible evidence prove his charge.

I have also taken a mental note of Minister Stockwell Day's assertion that "It's one of the reasons we took steps and initiatives against the Tamil Tigers to protect, certainly, the good people in the Tamil     community and all Canadians." Suffice to say Thamil Canadians appreciate the Minister's sense of good humour!

Yours truly,

V.Thangavelu

President

Toronto Tamils protest raid

By NATALIE PONA, TORONTO SUN

Nish Vel never thought Tamil students living in Canada would be the target of police raids.

"Canada is known for being up on human rights ... this raid is completely contradictory to what I know about Canada," said Vel, 17, who was one of a few hundred Tamils gathered at Mel Lastman Square on Yonge St. for a rally last night.

The gathering was organized to protest a police raid April 22 at the Tamil Academy of Culture and Technology.

"I didn't think this would happen here," Vel said, adding such events happen "on a daily basis" in Sri Lanka.

Vel said his family escaped persecution in his homeland by coming to Canada in 1994, so "I'm really disappointed and saddened" this happened here, he said.

The rally was put on by the Canadian Tamil Students Association (CTSA). It was also in protest of what the CTSA is calling "discriminatory policies" by the Canadian government, which in April condemned the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as a terrorist group.

The CTSA wants the Canadian government to hold consultations with local Tamils before making policy decisions, to get involved in the Sri Lankan peace process and reconsider its decision to put the LTTE on the terror list.

Students waved black flags and chanted along with a rap group who sang about freedom of expression.

"We're being targeted and discriminated against," said Senthooran Uruthiralingam, a student at the rally.

He said all Tamil groups are being portrayed as terrorists.

"We're not," he said.

Canada’s proscription comes under heavy criticism as Solidarity Week is lauched
Source: Canadian Tamil Congress - May 10, 2006

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) yesterday launched “Solidarity Week for Peace” at the Delta Toronto East Hotel in Toronto, Canada. Piragal Thiru of the Canadian Tamil Congress said that because of the recent rise in violence, “Tamil Canadians are deeply concerned about the safety of the lives of their families and loved ones in the North & East of Sri Lanka.”

The focus of the evening shifted to the recent decision by the Government of Canada to proscribe the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as speaker after speaker denounced the decision. Ms. Barbara Jackman a prominent immigration lawyer said that the Canadian Government’s decision “sends a message to Canadians that you should not be supporting any, even the political objectives of the Tamil cause to self-determination.”

According to Ms. Jackman, the decision by the Canadian Government changes the dynamics in Sri Lanka. “What it does especially at this time of the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka - it gives the Sri Lankan government an upper edge,” Ms. Jackman said.

“Tamils need to educate others on the oppression taken against Tamils and increasing series of violence since the 50s. It is clear that the Conservative Government does not know much about the Tamil community - does not understand the conflict in Sri Lanka,” Ms. Jackman added.

Marlys Edwardh, a prominent criminal lawyer in Canada a partner of Edwardh & Ruby said, “The Government of Canada made a – what has been a very political choice to list the LTTE as a terrorist organization under Canadian Law.” Speaking on the culture of fear that has gripped the community since the series of raids that followed Canada’s decision, Edwardh said, “We need to look more closely into this legislation and understand the impact on the community in order to reduce uncertainty and fear to act and speak freely.”

“What was taken and why? Why would [RCMP] officers take subscriptions list to a community newspaper? Why would they make it difficult for an independent newspaper to function? Whose voice are they trying to silence?” Edwardh asked in a series of penetrating questions to the audience.

Tarek Fatah of the Muslim Canadian Congress said, “You cannot sanctify, legitimize, politify these whims at [parliament] hill with impunity. You send your super sonic jet fighters to bombard Tamil villages and then accuse the victims of that bombardment as terrorists and leave the government that bombed the people as law-bidding.” “Those who fight for freedom cannot be stigmatized as terrorists,” Mr. Fatah further observed.

Community activist Gary Anandasangaree said, “This is not the Canada we are familiar with.”

Mr. Anandasangaree announced that a “Tamil Canadian Legal Defense Fund” will be established to protect Tamil Canadians and hotline will be made available and cases of rights violations in Canada will be documented.

Observations for Solidarity Week for Peace will continue until the 14th of the month.

Dear Veluppillai Thangavelu,

Thank you for your letter of April 30, 2006. It was forwarded to me.

We are still looking into the question you raised about the World Tamil Movement.

However I would like to address two other things that you mentioned in your letter.

First, I made inquiries when I saw the sentence in your letter that said: "You will recall that when I wrote a letter to the editor, I got a reply in raw filth from your editorial office. "

I would like to apologize on behalf of the Star and explain. It is my understanding that you received an apology from Editorial Page Editor Bob Hepburn in April, but I have more information now than he did at the time.

On the day that you emailed your letter to the Star, a staff member was writing a friend about a quote from a movie. The staff member copied a paragraph of dialogue from the movie script, then accidentally attached this paragraph to the reply that went to you. Unfortunately, there were offensive references in the movie quote.

I apologize for any offence that we caused as a result of this mistake. The person who made the mistake feels terrible about it. When Mr. Hepburn was in touch, he didn't know how this had happened because the staff member was on vacation.

Secondly, I want to address your request for an apology in regards to our mistake about the United Nations.

The Star did apologize for its error. The published correction said:

Toronto Star
Pubdate:April 19, 2006	Page: A2	Section:News	Edition:MET	Length:56
Tamil Tigers not listed as terrorists by UN
The United Nations has not designated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, as a terrorist organization. A story published Sunday, April 9 and an editorial printed Tuesday, April 11 erroneously said the UN had listed the group. The Star regrets the error.

As you know, the situation in regards to the standing of the LTTE is complicated.

Canada has responded to the United Nations Suppression of Terrorism Regulations, concerns raised in the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, and concerns raised in a recent Human Rights Watch report, by listing the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam "(also known among other names as the Tamil Tigers, the Eellalan Force, the Ellalan Force, the Tiger Movement, the Sangilian Force, the Air Tigers, the Black Tigers (Karum Puligal), the Sea Tigers, the Tiger Organization Security Intelligence Service and the Women's Combat Force of Liberation Tigers)" as a terrorist organization. Fundraising for LTTE is a criminal activity in Canada.

However, as you rightly pointed out, the United Nations has not designated the LTTE as a terrorist organization. We acknowledged that error, we regret that error and said this in print.

If we find we've made an error in reference to the World Tamil Movement and its relationship to the United States, we will acknowledge and will very much regret that error as well. We thank you for drawing the matter to our attention.

Yours truly,

Sharon Burnside

Public Editor

cc Mel Sufrin, Ontario Press Council

-----Original Message-----
From: Thangavelu [mailto:athangav@sympatico.ca]
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 7:44 AM
To: Public Editor, The Toronto Star
Subject: Fw: Toronto Star smear campaign against the LTTE and WTM

----- Original Message -----

From: Thangavelu

To: Torstar

Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 1:11 PM

Subject: Toronto Star smear campaign against the LTTE and WTM

April 30, 2006

The editor

Toronto Star

Toronto. (Attention: Deborah Jessop, Public Editor's Office)

Toronto Star smear campaign against the LTTE and WTM

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your undated e-mail message received by me on April 28, 2006.

Since I have cancelled my subscriptions for Tor Star I missed the correction published by you on the 19^th April, 2006.

However, what I asked for is not a correction but an apology since the statement “The United Nations has already designated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as Tamil Tigers or the LTTE, a terrorist organization” caused irreparable damged to the image of Thamil Canadians in the eyes of mainstream Canadians.

It is apparent the Toronto Star either by design or default is out to denigrate the Thamil community by publishing false stories about the LTTE and other organizations.

Notwithstanding your correction you made, your overzealous reporters Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Sheppard claimed that (RCMP raids Toronto Offices- Tigers outlawed as a terrorist group – Tor Star April 23, 2006) “The United States has banned the WTM, denouncing it as a front for the LTTE.” Once again this claim has been made recklessly and without a shred of evidence to support it. For your information WTM has NOT been banned by the US any time.

The Tor Star must feel ashamed to continue publishing such false statements to smear the Thamil Canadian community either out of ignorance or without any regard to truth.

It looks though something is very wrong the way Tor Star is run. You will recall that when I wrote a letter to the editor, I got a reply in raw filth from your editorial office.

I, therefore, reiterate that Tor Star offers an unqualified apology since these false statements have damaged the standing of the Thamil community.

Yours truly,

Veluppillai Thangavelu

President

Cc:

The Chairman
THE ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706,
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1J3

Thank you for your letter dated 26 April 2006 and for the copy of your letter dated 11 April 2006.

On Wednesday 19 April 2006, p.A2 The Toronto Star published a correction that you may have missed:

Toronto Star

April 19, 2006 Page: A2

"Tamil Tigers not listed as terrorists by UN

The United Nations has not designated the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, as
a terrorist organization. A story published Sunday, April 9 and
an editorial printed Tuesday, April 11 erroneously said the UN
had listed the group. The Star regrets the error."

Sincerely,
Deborah Jessop

Public Editor's Office
Toronto Star
One Yonge St.
Toronto ON
Canada M5E 1E6

Tel: 416-869-4949

Nk 03> 2006

nuhwd;Nuh

nra;jp

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nuhwd;Nuh - nuhwd;Nuhtpy; ,Ue;J ntsptUk; nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH vd;w Mq;fpy ehNsL fle;j Vg;upy; 9 Mk; ehs; “tp.Gypfs; kPJ gaq;futhj Kj;jpiuiaf; Fj;j fdlh KbT” vd;w jiyg;gpy; xU nra;jpia ntspapl;bUe;jJ. me;jr; nra;jpapy; “ma;f;fpa ehLfs; mit jkpo;g; Gypfs; vd;W miof;fg;gLk; jkpoPo tpLjiyg; Gypfis Vw;fdNt xU gaq;futhj ,af;fk; vdg; gl;bay; ,l;Ls;sJ” vd vOjg;gl;bUe;jJ.

,uz;L ehs; fopj;J vOjg;gl;l Mrpupa jiyaq;fj;jpYk; “ma;f;fpa ehLfs; mit jkpo;g; Gypfs; vd;W miof;fg;gLk; jkpoPo tpLjiyg; Gypfis Vw;fdNt gaq;futhj ,af;fk; vdg; gl;bay; ,l;Ls;sJ” vdf; Fwpg;gplg;;gl;lJ.

ma;f;fpa ehLfs; tp.Gypfis gaq;futhj ,af;fk; vdg; gl;bay; ,l;Ls;sJ vd;w nra;jp jtwhdJ mjpy; cz;ik ,y;iy mg;gb cz;ikf;Fg; Gwk;ghd nra;jp ntspapl;ljw;F nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH ehNsL jkpo; r%fj;jplk; kd;dpg;Gf; Nfl;f Ntz;Lk; vdj; jkpo;g; gilg;ghspfs; fofk; mjd; MrpupaUf;Ff; fbjk; vOjpaJ.

,g;NghJ nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH ehNsL jdJ Vg;upy; 19 Mk; ehs; ,jopy; gpd;tUkhW jpUj;jk; ntspapl;Ls;sJ.

"Tamil Tigers not listed as terrorists by UN”

The United Nations has not designated the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, as
a terrorist organization. A story published Sunday, April 9 and
an editorial printed Tuesday, April 11 erroneously said the UN
had listed the group. The Star regrets the error."

”jkpo;g; Gypfs; ma;f;fpa ehLfs; mitahy; gaq;futhjpfs; vdg; gl;bay; ,lg;gltpy;iy”

ma;f;fpa ehLfs; mit jkpo; Gypfs; vd miof;fg;gLk; jkpoPo tpLjiyg; Gypfis gaq;futhj mikg;G vd gl;baypltpy;iy. nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH Vl;by; Vg;upy; 9 Mk; ntspte;j nra;jpapYk; Vg;upy; 11 Mk; ehs; (nrt;tha;f;fpoik) jPl;lg;gl;l jiyaq;fj;jpYk; ma;f;fpa ehLfs; mit mt;thW gl;bay; ,l;ljhfr; nrhy;yg;gl;lJ gpioahFk;. ,e;jj; jtWf;F nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH jdJ tUjj;ijj; njuptpj;Jf; nfhs;fpwJ.

Mdhy; kPz;Lk; nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH Vg;upy; 23 Mk; ehs; ntspapl;l nra;jpapy; “ma;f;fpa mnkupf;fh cyfj; jkpoH ,af;fk; jkpoPo tpLjiyg; Gypfs; ,af;fj;jpd; kiwKf mikg;G vd;gjhy; mjidj; jilnra;Js;sJ ( The United States has banned the WTM, denouncing it as a front for the LTTE) vd vOjpaJ. ,e;jr; nra;jpAk; jtwhd nra;jp vd;gij vLj;Jf;fhl;b mjw;F kd;dpg;Gf; Nfl;FkhW nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH ehNsl;bd; MrpupaUf;F jkpo;g; gilg;ghspfs; fofk; kPz;Lk; fbjk; vOjpAs;sJ.

jkpoPo tpLjiyg; GypfSf;Fk; mjd; MjuthsHfSf;Fk; vg;ghL gl;lhapDk; fsq;fk; fw;gpf;f Ntz;Lk; vd;w cs;Nehf;NfhL nuhwd;Nuh ];uhH njhlHe;J jtwhd nra;jpfis ntspapLfpwJ vd ek;gg;gLfpwJ.

                                                                                                               56 Littles Road
                                                                                                               Scarborough
                                                                                                               On. M1B 5C5

The Chairman
THE ONTARIO PRESS COUNCIL
2 Carlton Street, Suite 1706,
Toronto, Ontario
M5B 1J3

Telephone: (416) 340-1981
FAX: (416) 340-8724

E-mail: info@ontpress.com

“Canada to slap terrorist label on Tamil Tigers….” (Toronto Star April 09, 2006).

I append below the letter I wrote to the editor, Toronto Star on April 11, 2006 in my capacity as the President of TCWA. The letter is self explanatory. On April 09, the Toronto Star carried a news story headlined “Separatist Tamil Tigers outlawed Ottawa lists them as terrorist group. Move long overdue, Conservatives say.” The news story was written by Surya Battacharya and Michelle Shephard in Toronto.

The news story, inter alia, claimed that “The United Nations has already designated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as Tamil Tigers or the LTTE, a terrorist organization.”

This is factually false and misleading and included wittingly to add spice to the story and make it to look more sensational. . The UNO does not maintain a list of terrorist organizations or individuals.

I, therefore, kindly request you to take appropriate action against the editor, Toronto Star.

A copy of the Toronto Star news story dated April 09, 2006 is appended below for ease of reference. You will agree the insinuation is unwarranted and a slur on the entire Thamil Canadian community. A request by me to the editor to offer an unqualified apology has gone unheeded.

I refer to the news story “Canada to slap terrorist label on Tamil Tigers….” (Toronto Star April 09, 2006). The news story states, inter alia, that “The United Nations has already designated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as Tamil Tigers or the LTTE, a terrorist organization.” This is factually wrong and shows an extreme manifestation of antipathy and a sign of paranoia towards the LTTE and their supporters. We are sorry say that your reporters Surya Bhattacharya and Michelle Shephard are exhibiting at best their contempt for truth and at worst their private ignorance in public. The UNO for your information has NOT designated the LTTE as a terrorist organization. As a matter of fact the UNO is not a sanctions body nor does it maintain a list of terrorist organizations or individuals.

In the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373, which, among its provisions, obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks. The 15-member Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) was established at the same time to monitor implementation of the resolution. This is a far cry to claim that the UNO has designated the LTTE as a terrorist organization.

The Tor Star owes an unqualified apology to the Thamil community who are supporters of the LTTE for false and misleading news story.

Canada to slap terrorist label on Tamil Tigers
Toronto community angered, could face charges if caught raising funds

The federal government will list the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, enraging those in Toronto's Tamil community who believe labelling the group will hurt Sri Lanka's peace process.

"I am disappointed that the government has not consulted the community on its views," said Sri-Guggan Sri-Kanda-Rajjah, a prominent member of the Tamil community in Toronto.

Government officials plan to make the announcement tomorrow, sources confirmed yesterday.

It's the first group that has been added to Canada's list of terrorist organizations since the Conservative government came into power.
The United Nations has already designated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as Tamil Tigers or the LTTE, a terrorist organization.

The highly organized group strives to carve out an independent Tamil state in the island country. More than two decades of civil war between the Tigers and Sinhalese government has claimed the lives of more than 60,000.

There are documented human rights abuses on both sides, but the LTTE's use of suicide bombers and child soldiers has led to their terrorist designation in some Western countries, including the United States and United Kingdom.

Now, fundraising on behalf of the LTTE will be considered criminal activity, said Wesley Wark, professor of international relations at the University of Toronto. Being enlisted also opens up the groups' activities to surveillance by CSIS. "And down the road there is a possibility of trials if fundraising and other kinds of operations are suggested to have occurred in this country," Wark said.

It is unlikely the LTTE will engage in terrorist activities against Canada, but they are more likely to take their activities underground, he said.

More than 20 years after Tamils began immigrating to Canada, they continue to make up one of the largest groups to claim refugee status.

"There was already some burden placed on refugees from Sri Lanka because of the ongoing violence in the country," Wark said.

"But now there is a stepped-up degree of burden to prove why they're here," he added, noting that refugee claims have grown more complicated in the post-9/11 environment. And it will be difficult to explain their past given they are now part of the minority that has been listed as a terrorist group.

Canada has often been cited as a harbinger of peace for the island nation by using the federalist system of Quebec within Canada as an example.

"I feel the Canadian government is basically wasting an opportunity to play the role of a facilitator and a mediator in finding a solution," Sri-Kanda-Rajjah said.

Should peace be established in the future, Wark said the organization could be de-listed. But for now the signal is that the Tamil Tigers are a terrorist organization because Canada does not support groups overseas that use violence for political means.

With the peace negotiations moving slowly, he added it might force them to genuinely engage in peace negotiations.

Both sides are respecting a fragile 2002 ceasefire, until coming together again later this month for a Norwegian-brokered meeting.

The Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa refused to comment on how it may affect the peace process. It will also complicate travel for the 200,000 strong Tamil diaspora who live in Canada and continue to have ties in Sri Lanka. They may be unable to visit families in LTTE-controlled areas.

Prominent members of Toronto's Tamil community had lobbied the government to hold off on a decision until the discussions either progressed or broke down.

"It is not a wise move for the government to do it at this stage because the peace talks are the most important thing," said Sinnathamby Sittampalam, the 72-year-old president of Toronto's World Tamil Movement.

Sittampalam said Canada's WTM is a local organization and has no ties to the LTTE. The WTM is labelled a fundraising front for the Tigers in the U.S.

The move to list the LTTE follows a report by New York-based Human Rights Watch that called on the Canadian government to investigate claims of extortion and intimidation within Toronto's Tamil community. Those who do not make a donation face threats to their families in Canada or back home in Sri Lanka, the report alleged. It also claimed Toronto's WTM was collecting funds to help support the LTTE.

"The fundraising has been portrayed, money that is being collected, as somehow going to the war effort. That's extremely unfair. There are serious, genuine organizations that are providing relief for those affected by civil war and the tsunami," Sri-Kanda-Rajjah said.

Tamil organizations in Canada attacked the Conservative government's decision this week to ban the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist group, calling it misguided and a threat to peace.

The Canadian Tamil Congress, the community's most prominent organization, said the decision shatters hopes for peace in Sri Lanka and will encourage extremists on both sides. "Canadian Tamils are fearful of the safety and security of their relatives back home and of their civil liberties in Canada," David Poopalapillai, spokesperson for the Scarborough-based group said in a release Monday.

The Thamil Creative Writers Association went further in a statement issued within hours of the decision, calling the Conservative government "brainwashed" by Canada's spy agency CSIS and a victim of "vicious and systematic anti-LTTE propaganda."

Reversing the decision, said the letter signed by president Veluppillai Thangavelu "will also help remove the perception that the Conservative party is basically anti-immigrant and unsympathetic towards visible minorities."

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has used suicide bombers and recruited child soldiers during three decades of fighting for an independent Tamil state in Sri Lanka. The decision to list the Tigers as terrorist makes it a crime to collect money for them in Canada.

Last month, the New York-based group Human Rights Watch alleged Greater Toronto's Tamils are a major source of Tiger funds and that collections for the LTTE last fall - some of it by volunteers of the World Tamil Movement of Ontario in Scarborough - involved intimidation or even extortion from some Tamil families or businesses.

Local Tamil groups denied the report's conclusions but this week the Sri Lankan United National Association of Canada, which pressed the new government to ban the Tigers last month after the report was released, applauded the decision, charging previous Liberal governments "abandoned their international obligations and principles to curry favour" with Tamil voters for support in Toronto-area ridings.

"It is only pressure brought to bear by the international community against terrorism" that compelled the LTTE to agree to a ceasefire in 2002, the group added in a statement.

During the federal election campaign in January, the Conservatives moved to control damage to their prospects in Scarborough after Deputy Leader Peter McKay said a Conservative government would ban the LTTE. Though McKay was restating an existing Tory position, an internal e-mail obtained by the Canadian Press suggested the party and its candidates "had promised not to talk about the issue during the election."

Vincent Veerasuntharam, who ran for the Conservatives in Scarborough Southwest, was in Ottawa yesterday and unavailable for comment.

Roy Gardiner, a Tamil-Canadian and former newspaper publisher, held a small rally in front of a Scarborough hotel at the time, calling on MacKay and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper "to retract and apologize for this statement" and assure the community the Conservatives would "maintain a neutral stance" on the LTTE to further the peace process.

Yesterday, Gardiner said he can understand Canadians would think Tiger methods are too harsh, but argued the Sri Lankan military has attacked Tamil civilians. "If the LTTE had not taken such measures the Tamil race from Sri Lanka would have been exterminated by now," he said.

"For some, it's a terrorist organization, for some it's a freedom fighters organization

Editorial: Banning Tamil Tigers

Apr. 11, 2006. 01:00 AM

Canada's fight against terrorism would not mean much if Ottawa allowed individual Canadians, willingly or not, to assist terrorist groups.

Yet that is exactly what has been happening in Toronto's 200,000-strong Tamil community, where fundraisers purporting to be supporting the Tamil Tigers have coerced money from community members who thought that when they came to Canada they had finally escaped Sri Lanka's brutal civil war.

Given that pressure, Safety Minister Stockwell Day did the right thing yesterday by banning the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from operating here.

In light of a report last month by Human Rights Watch that the Tigers have used intimidation and coercion to extort money from the Canadian Tamil community, Day was justified in taking prompt action.

His move empowers the authorities to criminally prosecute anyone who raises funds for, or contributes to, the Tigers, who have been blamed for conscripting child soldiers, carrying out suicide bombings and assassinating heads of state in their bid to secede from Sri Lanka.

The ban follows repeated calls from the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service for government action, and is consistent with the position of the United Nations, which had already designated the LTTE a terrorist organization.

Fighting terrorism abroad is, of course, important. But just as significant is the protection Day has provided for law-abiding Canadian Tamils who sought refuge here from the cruel war in Sri Lanka, which has so far taken 60,000 lives.

Some 300,000 Tamils have moved to Canada — nearly half the Tamil diaspora worldwide.

Like any other community, they should be free to get on with their lives, leaving old conflicts behind.

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April 11, 2006

Hon. Stockwell Day, M.P. P.C.
Minister of Public Safety
Ministry of Public Safety
Ottawa.

Listing LTTE as a Terrorist Organization

Dear Minister,

We write to refute some of the grandiose assertions you made in your news release to justify the listing of LTTE as a terrorist organization. They are insulting, patronizing, condescending and display a singular inability to grasp the dynamics of the conflict. Let me, therefore, respond to some of your assertions to the benefit of all Canadians.

Assertion - “Our government is clearly determined to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of Canadians against terrorism.”

Response – By safety of Canadians I assume you are referring to all Canadians. At no stage there has been any threat whatsoever to Canadians here or abroad. There has not been a single case of terrorist act in the name of LTTE in Canada. Even in regard to threats or intimidation, the Police have said not a single complaint was lodged with them against any supporters of the LTTE.

Assertion - “The Honorable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs, supporting this decision, reiterated the Government of Canada’s resolve to help achieve a negotiated settlement to the situation in Sri Lanka.”

Response – It is highly ridiculous, if not laughable, that Canada could help in anyway to achieve a negotiated settlement to the "situation in Sri Lanka” by banning the LTTE. If at all Canada’s partisan and unilateral decision will disqualify it as an honest broker in any negotiations for peace. I may submit that you are overly optimistic if you think that LTTE will welcome your help. You cannot label the LTTE a “Terrorist organization” and at the same breath you want to help in negotiations. It does not make sense and flies in the face of cold logic. We all have our self respect and certainly the LTTE does.

Assertion – “This organization is known for its commitment to using indiscriminate terror tactics and suicide bombings. Since the commencement of conflict more than 20 years ago, over 64 000 deaths have occurred."

Response - This shows your total lack of understanding the genesis of the conflict. Only when Non-violent methods failed in the face of state sponsored terrorism that Thamils were forced to take up arms in self-defence. The LTTE is a creation of oppressive and hegemonic Sinhala governments. Does the Thamils have no right to fight an oppressive and racist state? I wish to tell you that if the Thamils had even a fraction of the rights enjoyed by Canadians under our constitution and charter there would have been no civil war. If people of Quebec were subject to the same tyranny as the Thamils, Quebec would have been an independent state long years ago. Even today president Mahinda Rajapakse says no to federalism, no to homeland and no to self-determination. Of the 64,000 people who died during the war 90% were Thamils killed by the Sinhala army, but you are implying that they were killed by the LTTE.

Assertion – “This listing is meant to support the Tamil community in Canada who are law-abiding and hard working people who have left their country of origin to build a better life for themselves and their families in Canada -- where the rule of law and human rights are respected,”

Response - This is a tongue in cheek statement made that is unworthy of a Canadian Minister. Did the Thamil community asked you for support? No one on behalf of the Thamil community asked you for such a ‘favour’! The simple fact is the listing will alienate you and your party from the Thamil community.

Assertion – “Rather, the listing of the LTTE reinforces the importance of ensuring that Canada's development assistance is not diverted to the LTTE. The Canadian International Development Agency has supported activities in LTTE territory for many years without such a diversion, and will continue to do so.”

Response - This is a completely misleading statement. CIDA has not spent a cent of the development assistance in LTTE controlled territory in living memory. Not even in the government controlled area in Northeast. I ask the Minister to list the development assistance given for the Northeast by CIDA for the information Thamil Canadians.

The former Liberal Government took a pracmatic decision by refusing to list the LTTE when peace talks were in progress between the GOSL and the LTTE with international facilitation. But your government has done the opposite and thrown a spanner in the works. This will hinder and not help the peace process.

In a sense this is not surprising when your party opposed the conferment of honorary citizenship to ANC leader Nelson Mandela on the grounds he is a terrorist. One of your member openly said so in parliament. When this is your party’s stance towards a world renowned leader like Nelson Mandela who freed his people from the yoke of White Apartheid rule what more the Thamils could expect?

What you and your party needs is a fundamental course correction.

Yours truly,

V.Thangavelu
President
Thamil Creative Writers Association

Separatist Tamil Tigers outlawed Ottawa lists them as terrorist group Move long overdue, Conservatives say Apr. 11, 2006. 01:00 AM MICHELLE SHEPHARD IN TORONTO (Tor Star) Canada has outlawed a violent Sri Lankan separatist group in a move a critic says is mere "window dressing" that will divide the expatriate Tamil community. The Conservative government yesterday officially announced that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers, or LTTE, have been formally listed as a terrorist group. The terrorist listing makes it illegal for anyone in Canada to support or participate in Tamil Tigers activities, including fundraising. The government says the listing is long overdue and will not negatively affect Canadian Tamils, nor affect talks on the Sri Lankan peace process that are about to resume in Geneva. "We do not believe that this decision today is going to affect peace-loving, law-abiding Tamils living in Canada and their ability to support their families, to visit their families, to have their families come here," Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay told reporters yesterday. "This is aimed at terrorists who are involved in illegal activity, who are involved in many cases in violence and plotting of violence, that was being funded here in Canada." MacKay and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day also announced the launch of an ad campaign that will encourage the reporting of any suspected LTTE activity. Day said fundraising by the Tigers in Canada "is in the millions." But according to one legal expert, aside from the political and symbolic implications, the move has limited practical application. "It's very unfortunate window dressing," says Queen's Faculty of Law professor Sharryn Aiken, who argues the negative impact of the listing outweighs any positive outcome. "As a matter of law, there is very little added benefit." Aiken worries that Canada has lost its neutral position to help in the peace process when the two sides come together next week in Geneva for a Norwegian-brokered meeting. But MacKay dismissed that concern yesterday. He said he has spoken to Norwegian officials about Canada playing a more active role in the talks, including possibly holding talks here. There are fears that if the talks break down, a 2002 ceasefire will be abandoned and the Tigers and Sri Lankan Singhalese government would again descend into civil war. The former Liberal government had barred the LTTE from raising cash in Canada, under anti-terrorism legislation brought in after 9/11. The implications of the action by the Conservatives are a concern for many in the Tamil community, since the majority of Canada's more than 200,000-strong diaspora supports the political aspirations of the Tigers to create an independent Tamil homeland. Tamil terrorist label will hurt talks, groups say GLORIA GALLOWAY (Globe and Mail) April 10, 2006 OTTAWA -- Sri Lankan groups say Canada will lose its ability to pursue a peaceful end to their native country's conflict if Ottawa declares the separatist Tamil Tigers to be a terrorist organization. "If they ban [the Tigers] here, Canada cannot be involved any more in the peace process," Chris Sandrasagra of the Canadian Relief Organization for Peace in Sri Lanka said yesterday, adding that he does not understand why the government would make this move at this juncture. "Right now, there is no war going on down there. There is a peace process going on down there. It's a ceasefire." Today, federal sources say, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day will designate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers, as a terrorist group. Aides to Mr. Day and Prime Minister Stephen Harper refused to comment on the expected move yesterday. The United Nations, as well as the United States and Britain, have also applied the terrorist label to the Tigers over the group's use of suicide bombers and allegations that it has been involved in the assassinations of heads of state, including former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The designation means that fundraising for the Tigers will become an illegal activity, and it could make it more difficult for Canada's 200,000-member Tamil community to travel home to visit relatives. The Forum of Federations, led by former Ontario premier and potential Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae, has been trying to help Sri Lanka build a peaceful co-existence modelled on the relationship between Quebec and the rest of Canada. Mr. Rae refused to comment on the decision yesterday.

Tamil community reflects on change as New Year approaches Community evolving in Scarborough and Canada MIKE ADLER Apr. 12, 2006 In many ways, it's a community that is still new. As their New Year arrives Thursday, representatives of Scarborough's Tamils - 70,000 of them, counting just those who speak Tamil as a first language at home - want to talk about their many successes. Young people at universities. Thousands of businesses and professionals. Institutions taking shape. They would like to hear less about their community's so-called gang problem or what a human rights group last month alleged were "clear patterns of intimidation and extortion" by local fundraisers for Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka. For members of the Canadian Tamil Congress, however, talking about all these things is part of moving to the mainstream in Canada - exactly where they say the country's 250,000 Tamils are headed. Most came here as refugees after anti-Tamil riots in 1983 made them feel it wasn't safe to stay in Sri Lanka. "We came with a suitcase," is how Scarborough resident Ted Antony put it this week. But in the 1980s, the choice for Tamils fleeing the former British colony was London, not Toronto. "Really, if you're talking numbers-wise, our community is only a decade old," community activist Parthi Kandavel said this week around a table with other CTC members in an Ellesmere Road real estate office where the group shares space. Organizations such as the Tamil Eelam Society formed to take care of immigrants' needs and speak for the community. "They saw the gap. They didn't wait for the government to fill it," said Neethan Shan of Markham. Tamil-Canadians are looking to fill the next gap, which is becoming a voice in government, said Shan, among several Toronto-area Tamils running for municipal office this fall. Though many came to Canada with a distrust of politicians learned at home, the community's thinking is changing; its members are ready for the mainstream, joining school councils and hospital boards, Shan said. "We've learned the art of politics, Canadian politics. This year, we're confident there will be at least one Tamil representative." The community is also working with Toronto police to clear up misconceptions and hopes to see young Tamils go into policing, added Shan, who said police have lacked information about Tamils. That "my last name is my dad's first name," for example, could be confusing when identification from both are checked. The issue of violence and gangs among Tamils here is "a Canadian-born problem" that stems from settlement difficulties and lack of support. Every immigrant community goes through such stages and it's a mistake to say "this is because of where they are coming from," said Shan, arguing groups of Tamil youth hanging around are called gangs by the media and such stories actually fuel crime by conferring them status. "These are a bunch of boys trying to find recognition," he said. "The amount of incidents is a fraction of what it used to be" during the late 1990s, Kandavel added. The Canadian Tamil Youth Development Centre, with its annual Awards of Excellence for young Tamil-Canadian role models, also helps to combat stereotypes of Tamil youth. There are many, however, who remain concerned about the well being of Tamils who may still carry emotional scars from the conflict in their homeland. In 1999, a Scarborough man named Jeyabalan Balasingam jumped on the tracks in Victoria Park Station with his three-year-old son Sajanthan in his arms and both died. The Family Service Association of Toronto's advisory council was concerned about the tragic incident and some others. With the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, it launched the Tamil Mental Health Project in 2001, a study with 1,600 interviews, so that the community could ask governments for more culturally sensitive programs. (The study was completed last year but remains unreleased due to lack of funds.) "We know the level of trauma in the community," said longtime FSA worker Naga Ramalingam, suggesting the realities of getting a job, finding affordable housing and adjusting to life in Canada can compound problems Tamil-Canadians already have. "People here always think about relatives back home. That also re-traumatizes you," he said. Last month, when community leaders thought they had finally banished the "bad headlines" of the previous decade, the New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report suggesting Tamil-Canadians live in fear of local supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Widely reported in the media, the report was based on around two dozen interviews, "on innuendoes, (from) nameless, faceless people," charged David Poopalapillai, the official CTC spokesperson. "We didn't witness any extortion. That report portrayed the Tamil community as living in dark ages." HRW "were taken for a ride," said Poopalapillai by people intent on tilting the balance at the current peace talks in Sri Lanka in favour of the Sri Lankan government. "There are government agents working all over the world." Shan said non-Tamil co-workers and schoolmates in Scarborough have been asking Tamil friends if they are indeed living in fear. "I got asked, a lot of people are asking," he said. "This has put us backward. In the name of human rights, this report is a threat to our human rights in Canada." The community, with more than 20 newspapers and three television stations, is well informed and well connected, so HRW's recommendation there should be a campaign to make Tamil-Canadians aware of their rights is "an insult," Shan argued. "We believe in open communication. Things we didn't get in Sri Lanka we are celebrating." Though the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 devastated the Tamil community, it also brought more interaction with fellow Canadians and made the community stronger, Shan said. "A lot of people who got involved in the community because of the tsunami are still sticking together." Tamils are particularly grateful Canadians donated about $400 million for relief. "It was so overwhelming how Canada showed its compassionate face," said Poopalapillai. But he and others say they're upset because the Sri Lankan government has so far prevented money from reaching the worst-hit areas on the island's Tamil north and east coasts. "We all donated money and nobody knows what happened to it."