LTTE defeat could lead to bombings in Canada - report
February 25, 2010 09:40 am
Tamil supporters protest in front of the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, May 18, 2009.
Canadian security officials are concerned that last year’s defeat of
“While there are no signals yet that the rump LTTE is planning a terrorist act, it only takes a handful of committed cadre in the diaspora bent on violence to have a deadly impact,” the report says.
“For example, Canadian law enforcement officials have been concerned that,
if left unchecked, LTTE activities could result in an event similar to the
terrorist bombing of an Air India jet in 1985, which was planned and funded by
Sikh separatists in
Canadian Tamil Congress spokesman David Poopalapillai called that “pure
speculation” and said that “we as Canadian Tamils and we as Canadian Tamil
Congress are opposed to any form of violence, not only in
Based in
The report examines the state of the Tamil diaspora almost a year after the
end of the brutal Sri Lankan civil war, which routed the Tamil Tigers rebels
who had been fighting for independence.
The report says the defeat of the rebels has left the diaspora feeling “powerless, betrayed by the West, demanding justice and, in some cases, wanting revenge.”
An unnamed Canadian security official was quoted in the report saying that, “Because
of what we learned from
“As much as it’s a law and order issue in some regards, we also are compelled to treat the Tamil Tigers as a national security issue because we don’t want another Air India disaster.”
The comments are attributed to federal enforcement officials in
The report says while the diaspora remains committed to an independent
homeland, there is little appetite for a return to fighting in
It says, “until it moves on from its separatist, pro-LTTE ideology, the
diaspora is unlikely to play a useful role supporting a just and sustainable
peace in
The Sri Lankan government also must deal with the roots of conflict, notably the insecurity and political marginalization of Tamils, while the UN and Western aid donors need to press for independent investigation of the killings of thousands of civilians in the final months of fighting, it says.
Speaking from
“This government is jailing a man who polled four million votes,” he said, referring to the recent arrest of opposition presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka. “Can you expect any justice from this government at the moment?”
National Post
