CTC to sue Lankan terrorism expert

The Canadian Tamil Congress is suing a high-profile Singapore-based Sri Lankan “terrorism” expert for $100,000 for alleged defamation.

The suit, filed a few weeks ago in the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, claims that Rohan Gunaratna insinuated, in an interview to a Sri Lankan newspaper, that the outlawed Tamil Tigers organization was operating in Canada under the name of “the Canadian Tamil Congress.”

Gunaratna, 50, is a controversial figure among Tamils, who accuse him of spreading falsehoods about the ethnic group. He is also accused of having close ties with the Sri Lankan government.

 “He has trashed us repeatedly and no one has ever challenged him,” said congress spokesperson David Poopalapillai, one of the individuals also suing Gunaratna. “He needs to be stopped, or at least asked to prove what he is saying is right.”

In the 12-page defamation suit, the congress also alleges that Gunaratna engaged in innuendo implying that the congress is responsible for “terrorist acts and human smuggling” and “other violent activities.”

The group further accuses him of insinuating that the Canadian government is currently investigating the congress for its alleged role as a front for the Tigers in Canada.

Gunaratna, who was not available for comment Tuesday, has acknowledged in the past that he was one of the first people to warn Canada about the two boats that brought almost 600 Tamil refugees to Vancouver last fall, the Star reports.