Tamil Tiger Supportives Finally Being Brought To Task By The Canadian Government

(Insight By Sunil Kumar)

While the Tamil Tiger terrorist insurgency was raging in Sri Lanka with their supportive bases in various parts of the globe, particularly in Canada and  feeding the cause and all the attrocities related little or nothing was done by the then Canadian Government. In fact there are many analysts who observed that a virtual blind eye was being turned on the issues and that at time the there was even reason to believe that top ranking Government officials even mingled with them and the LTTE fronts who held various public events, whether inadvertently or not.  It was a time of great stress and anguish for the Government of Sri Lanka.

But today under the jurisdiction of the Harper Administration which was also responsible for hounding the LTTE out of existence in Canada for which all freedom loving Sri Lankans need to be thankful,  there is further good news that the present Canadian Government unlike its predecessor stands firm in how it views the LTTE and those who support its mendacious cause.That the Canada Revenue Agency has fined two Hindu temples in the Toronto area for sending money to a suspected front organization for Sri Lankan rebels following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami is a firm assertion of this in addition to the manner in which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went after all LTTE activities in big cities in Canada where the terror group to all intents and purposes is non-functional in Canada today or have been driven underground if they have been bold enough to take that route where there will be further heavy penalties to pay if this is indeed true!

Quoting the National Post Newspaper of Canada and one of its chief features editors Mr Stewart Bell it is reported that  ”The Richmond Hill Hindu Temple and the Hindu Mission of Mississauga, both registered charities, have been hit with $140,000 and $300,000 fines over money they sent to “non-qualified donees,” according to  the Canadian Revenue Agency which is also the federal charities regulator
which has also said that the temples had donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization,(TRO) which it called “part of the support network” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE. In letters to the temples, the Charities Directorate  has written that “the use of a registered charity’s resources to sustain the objectives and operations of the LTTE, either directly or indirectly through organizations that operate as its support network, is inappropriate.” ending quote

Given the astronomical sums of money sent to the LTTE and the damage it caused Sri Lanka for almost three decades these fines are mere token amounts and hardly sufficient as penalties for the mayhem that resulted and innocent lives were torn apart  affecting every Sri Lanka in many perspectives but it still needs to be acknowledged that the principle and objectives behind it are commendable and that the Government of Canada still needs to change its stance on the accusations being levelled at the Sri Lankan Government from an international platform of anti Sri Lankan elements whose sole incentive seems to be coercion by LTTE supportive Tamil Diaspora whose ongoing modus operandi towards discrediting the GOSL seems to have caught the sympathetic eye of certain Canadian leaders who have yet to correctly evaluate
 the legitimacies and accuracies of some of the material being used as well as the false innuendo and allegations which have little credibility in the eyes of many specialists who have scrutinised and examined them while  deeming  them intangible and unacceptable towards credibility or authenticity

The fines are the latest sanctions imposed by Ottawa against non-profit groups over suspected financial links to the now-defeated Tamil Tigers, who raised millions in Canada during their unsuccessful fight for independence.
In 2010, the CRA shut down the Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa, a charity affiliated with a Canadian convicted of trying to buy missiles and AK-47 assault rifles for the Tamil Tigers in 2006.
The government outlawed the World Tamil Organization, which had offices in Toronto and Montreal, in 2008 after a police investigation found it was operating as a fundraising arm of the Tamil rebels.
The National Post also reported in 2001 that, during a visit to the Richmond Hill temple, a reporter had seen collection jars and youths selling Tamil Tigers flags, photos and videos of rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
The lawyer representing the Mississauga temple, Hari Nesathurai, said the fine was unfair and would be appealed. He said the disputed donations had paid for housing and humanitarian relief for tsunami victims.
“It was mainly because we wanted to give relief to the north and the east,” he said. “And our research indicated that the TRO was recognized by the government of Sri Lanka and in fact received an award from the government of the day for its efforts during the tsunami relief.”

Regardless of the counter suggestions of the Tamil legal  representation The Canadian Government  has stayed firmly assertive on the path it chose correctly with the vision of great leaders like Mr. Stockwell Day who saw    what   the LTTE truly represented  and along with Canadian Prime Minister the Hon Mr. Stephen Harper have given much respite to the nation of Sri Lanka and hope towards the future where no attempts to recussitate the LTTE in whatever form its supportives envision the objective where the TNA should also take heed of the proceedings as they could be next towards accountability for the same purpose viewed worthy of punitive action by the Canadian Government! Vis a Vis what actions the GOSL could possibly take against them!