Canada’s Emerging Politics Of Terror

By Camelia Nathaniel

Canadian law enforcement authorities and intelligence services are concerned about the LTTE’s penetration of their political establishment. A number of Sri Lankan Tamils tainted by their support for the Tigers seeks to infiltrate the spectrum of Canadian political parties – the New Democratic Party, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

After Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the first Canadian of Tamil heritage, won a parliamentary election in May 2011, she engaged in promoting LTTE interests in Canada. Canadian authorities have observed that Rathika and aspiring nominees are participating in events in Canada and overseas organized by the LTTE, to racialise and radicalize the Tamils.

Shocking even hardline LTTE supporters, Rathika also travelled to India and met with Tamil Nadu’s LTTE support groups. Thol Thirumavalavan, Senthamilan Seeman alias Sebastian Simon, Pazha Nedumaran and V. Gopalasamy alias Vaiko, who provided safe haven for terrorists, posed for photographs with Rathika the same way they posed for photographs with the terrorist leader.

At the launch of Prabhakaran’s book, aspiring Canadian Liberal Party politician Gary Anandasangaree amidst LTTE supporters and terrorist fundraisers

Although many of the Tamil Nadu terrorist leaders are blacklisted and have been deported from Western countries, including Seeman from Canada, the elected Canadian Parliamentarian Rathika Sitsabaiesan, thought it fit either to flirt with or join them. These patrons of violence, terror and extremism who housed terrorist leaders and celebrated suicide bombers seek to revive a defunct group, the very same group that killed India’s Jawaharlal Nehru’s grandson Rajiv Gandhi.

Meanwhile the LTTE fronts in Canada came together to support Rathika’s nomination and election to the Canadian Parliament. They included the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), the National Council of Canadian Tamils (NCCT), Tamil Youth Organization (TYO) and Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) which have all been designated as terrorist organizations under UNSC Resolution 1373. In return, Rathika was guided by national spokesperson David Poopalapillai and Executive Director Danton Thurairajah of CTC, the main LTTE platform in Canada for penetrating the Canadian political system. To advance the terrorist agenda, LTTE’s insider Rathika Sitsabaiesan was responsible for opening doors in Parliament to directing figures of terrorist fronts to lobby political parties and politicians.

In classic Tiger style, CTC supported Teo Anthony to seek nomination for Scarborough Central but was rejected by the Liberal Party Green Light Committee recently. While Anthony’s brother Mambalam Swamy raised funds for the LTTE in the US, Anthony himself worked for the LTTE funded television TVI and radio CMR in Canada. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing on May 14, 2014 revealed that TVI and CMR in Toronto are terrorist funded and controlled organisations.

Determined to penetrate the Canadian political system, the CTC backed three other candidates for the Ontario Provincial election on June 12, 2014. While Neethan Shan for Scarborough-Rouge River contested on the NDP ticket, Ken Kirupa for Scarborough-Guildwood and Shan Thayaparan for Markham-Unionville contested on the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party ticket.

The Canadian Tamil Congress, the main LTTE platform for infiltrating the Canadian political system issued a statement on June 12, 2014 portraying that 300,000 ‘Tamil Canadians’ in Ontario are eligible to vote. The CTC said, “We urge every Tamil Canadian in Ontario eligible to vote in this Ontario provincial elections to get out and vote in the elections today. This is our duty, please vote and get your friends and family members to vote too”. There may be 300,000 Tamils in Ontario but not more than 150,000 are eligible to vote.

CTC claimed it is representing the Canadian Tamils, when in reality its membership is only 500. A Canadian shocked at CTC racialising the vote said: “The CTC is asking Tamils to vote for Tamils. When you are a Canadian you are expected to vote for the party not the race. As Canada is a multicultural society, the spirit of Canada is not to discriminate on the basis of race”.

Referring to Canadian politicians who supported the LTTE standing next to cut-outs of Prabhakaran and Tiger flags, the CTC also remarked, “Many other non-Tamil friends of our community who have stood in solidarity with our community during difficult times are also contesting from all parties throughout the province of Ontario and deserve our support in many other ridings throughout Ontario”.

After the three CTC nominees lost in the June 12, 2014 election, CTC’s live wire Gary Anandasangaree is seeking nomination from the Liberal Party to contest for the Scarborough Rouge Park Riding in Toronto in 2015. Backed by CTC staff and members who are supporting the revival of terrorism, Gary projects himself as a human rights activist. This includes CTC’s serving national spokesperson David Poopalapillai and former CTC communications director Sahilal Sabaratnam, now serving 25 years in a US prison for procuring arms for the LTTE. Together with his associates David Poopalapillai, public relations director and Vanita Nathan, former vice president, CTC, Anandasangaree was at the launch of the book on Prabhakaran at the Civic Centre in Scarborough on July 17, 2013.

In a picture taken at the book launch Mathagal Kannan, the top LTTE fundraiser in Canada is in front of Anandasangaree, and Senthilkumaran, another LTTE fundraiser in Canada is next to Poopalapillai. Anandasangaree also participated in events on May 18, 2014 marking the death of the terrorist leader and his followers, at Peter and Paul Banquet Hall, Scarborough, organized by the CTC and TGTE and also at Albert Campbell Hall, Scarborough, organized by NCCT.

A senior LTTE leader remarked that within the LTTE in Wanni they discussed how different the two Anandasangarees were. In the Wanni office of Weerakulasingham Manivannan alias Castro, the head of the LTTE international secretariat, and his Norway based deputy, Perinpanayagam Sivaparan alias Nediyavan communicated about Gary’s value to their organization. While TULF leader V. Anandasangaree, yearns for harmony and an end to extremism, his son Gary Anandasangaree who continues to hero worship Prabhakaran is supporting the LTTE agenda.

Gary has assured Justin Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal Party that Canadian Tamils will support him. To prove this point, Gary organized a number of events including a private fund raising event for the Liberal Party at the residence of the Hopper Hut owner on March 31, 2014.

Trudeau was introduced to both LTTE trained members and activists including Thiva Paramsothy who had accompanied Satha Sarachandran to a terrorist training camp in Sri Lanka in 2003. Together with the then CTC communications director Sahilal Sabaratnam, Sarachandran was arrested in the US for arms procurement in 2006 and is currently serving a 26 year sentence.

Gary’s campaign

In order to appeal to LTTE supporters and sympathizers in Canada, Gary posted a video on YouTube in June 2014 that reflects his mindset. http://m.youtube.com/watch?list=UUNvcfcFzxjJDiUc1VI5NX-A&v=nj_GyrP8tX0

In order to build support within the hardline Tamil constituency, Gary used emotive images and words in the video. They include images of Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who ended terrorism and restored peace but viewed by the LTTE and Gary as their prime enemy; the LTTE organized human smuggling ship MV Sun Sea whose asylum in Canada was supported by Gary; civilians escaping the LTTE human shield to government controlled areas but mischaracterized by Gary; and Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, attempted by terrorist fronts such as the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) and its Canadian constituents.

The video states: “This is the right time for the voice of Gary Anandasangaree to be heard in the Parliament, he has worked hard for the past 25 years for the growth of Canadian Tamils, Canadian Tamil Youth, rights for Canadian Tamil refugees and Tamils rights. Gary Anandasangaree should go to Parliament because he made the voice of Tamils all over the world heard at the UN.

The Sri Lankan Government is facing UN sanctions and to break this it is acting on the human rights activists. Gary is planning to expose the faces of those affiliated to the Sri Lankan government who are trying to block his nomination. Gary is a standing member of the Liberal party for Scarborough-Rouge Park. We will break the Sri Lankan Government’s underground work and identify the Government Supporters. We will make sure that Gary is nominated so his voice is heard in Parliament and make Tamils represented in Parliament”.

In addition to Justin Trudeau, Gary’s propaganda video includes images of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

A Canadian remarked, “Why is Gary using a photo of himself with Ontario Premier Wynne in his TV and YouTube advertisement when he did not support the Liberal candidates who ran in Scarborough-Rouge River, Scarborough-Guildwood and Markham-Unionville, especially the Liberal candidate who ran in his own riding Scarborough-Rouge River. He only supports Tamils not the party. He only represents Tamil interests and not the interests of the Canadians, riding or party.

Therefore how can Gary represent Canada in Parliament when he is acting contrary to Canadian values?” Another Canadian said: “How can Ontario Premier Wynne and Ontario Liberal Party trust the CTC and their members who are working in Queen’s Park and their riding offices after the CTC press release requested Tamils to support Tamil candidates and not the Liberal Party candidates running in the ridings?

Why was this un-Canadian press release not brought to the attention of the party officials during election time? While Neethan Shan ran for Scarborough-Rouge River on the NDP ticket, Ken Kirupa for Scarborough-Guildwood and Shan Thayaparan for Markham-Unionville ran on the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party ticket. The CTC members working in Queen’s Park and riding offices did not support the Ontario Liberal party candidates who were running in the same ridings”.

Another Canadian added, “The CTC conduct is highly unethical. They are damaging the Ontario government and the Liberal Party, and should be weeded out of their riding offices. In future, no party official should trust CTC members or supporters”.

The practice of LTTE fronts providing general guidance for Tamils not to run against Tamils was provided by the CTC at a meeting held in the lead up to the Ontario municipal election of October 2006. Designated for terrorist support activity under UNSCR 1373, Pon Balraj of CTC, now with the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE), a terrorist front, provided this guidance.

Furthermore in 2013, Vanita Nathan, former vice president, CTC and Markham School Trustee sought nomination from the Liberal Party to run for Markham-Unionville. In keeping with the guidance, in the election of June 12, 2014, in their own ridings, neither Vanita nor Gary supported the candidates of the Liberal Party of Ontario.

A Canadian questioned, “Why do they want to run for Liberal when they are not supporting the Liberals in the Ontario Election. They support only Tamil candidates irrespective of party affiliation. Except when the Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau visited Scarborough-Agincourt, Gary accompanied him with the intention of showing his support for the party.

The LTTE directing figures are strategizing by putting three Tamil candidates in Scarborough North, the new riding of Scarborough Rouge Park, and also the new riding of Scarborough West so that one Tamil can win. The LTTE strategy is to ensure that whoever wins the federal election of 2015 is a Tamil so that they could manipulate him to advance their agenda in Parliament.

The LTTE fronts are producing a generation of Tamil politicians whose priority is to support their narrow interests rather than Canadian interests. Their main aim is not the wellbeing of Canada and Canadians; their aim is the furtherance of their passionate political project in their homeland. The conduct of Rathika Sitsabaiesan in the Canadian Parliament and outside as a Canadian Parliamentarian has demonstrated that she is not committed to advancing Canadian values but the LTTE’s racist interests.

Unless Canadian parties and Canadians carefully screen their nominees and candidates supported by terrorist fronts, in future the Canadian Parliament will be a platform for articulating and generating support for extremism and terrorism.