Appeal from Nihal Perera Toronto, Canada

Attention: Mr. Joe Fiorito

The Toronto Star

One Young Street

Toronto, ON

M5E 1E6

 Dear Mr. Fiorito,

 I am amazed at the degree of gullibility and naivety you have shown in the following article….. As a Toronto Star Columnist, you seem to have been taken for a ride by the Tamil Tiger (LTTE) supporters in Canada, to publish a well-orchestrated story in order to garner sympathy for the bogus Tamil refugees, whose entry has been denied by many Asian countries – rightly so.

 First, almost all these so-called Tamil refugees are not real refugees – they are economic refugees trying to migrate to other countries, especially to the Western countries for economic reasons. The countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia are not allowing any of these economic refugees into their countries, knowing fully well that they have paid thousands of dollars to the human smugglers – operated exclusively by the Tamil Tiger’s global network – just like the seventy six ex-LTTE terrorists who landed in Vancouver last year, in a ship owned by the LTTE.

 Mr. Fiorito, when was the last time you heard about a group of refugees stranded in a boat in Asia, or anywhere else for that matter, had the luxury of owning laptop computers and access to Skype and the Internet..? Do they sound like some desperate and genuine refugees fleeing a war..? Hardly. This is a well-orchestrated plan to publicize their situation, and seek help from the international agencies such as UNCHR. Besides, if they are genuine refugees, why don’t they flee to Tamil Nadu, in India – the Homeland of the Tamils – where the majority of Tamil victims who have been fleeing the LTTE atrocities, were given refuge in the past…?

 In spite of relentless propaganda by the pro-LTTE organizations in Canada, such as “Canadian Tamil Congress” (CTC), and the “Humanitarian Appeal for the Relief of Tamils” (HART), the Tamils in Sri Lanka are finally free of LTTE brutalities and atrocities, which they had suffered for the last 25 years, especially in the Northern and the Eastern parts of Sri Lanka.

 What you have described as “impromptu meetings” are anything but impromptu. They are well-planned, and well-executed events organized by the pro-LTTE associations such as CTC and HART, cleverly using Tamil university students, such as Ms. Jessica Chandrashekar with a PhD, to add credibility and publicity to above stories. These are not spontaneous events by any means but well-thought out, and strategically arranged media events to get the attention of the Canadian media. Your article is a prime example of how they manipulate the media and the naive journalists, who seem either clueless or ignorant of the ground realities in Sri Lanka, other than the one-sided propaganda fed by the pro-LTTE forces in Canada.

 It is strange indeed that Canadian media, especially the Toronto Star, has been totally silent or ignorant of the horrible situations in places like Iraq, Afghanistan where there are millions of refugees, thanks to devastating attacks by the NATO forces which include Canada. Ironically, none of the journalists in the mainstream media seem concerned or bothered by the horrible damages done to these refugees, or the deplorable and inhuman conditions they are in.

 Perhaps the media, especially the Toronto Star, probably would have paid much more attention to those genuine refugees if they had money to pay the smugglers to come to Canada, or owned laptops with access to Skype and the Internet, like the bogus Tamil refugees stuck in a boat…. It is a shame those poor refugees in Iraq and Afghanistan lack the media support, or the backing of a global criminal network like the LTTE, which had been involved in smuggling Tamils to countries like Canada, with the help of the liberal politicians, and bleeding-heart newspaper columnists – who are gullible and naive to believe fabricated Tamil refugee stories.

 As a Sri Lankan-Canadian, who goes to Sri Lanka frequently, and having seeing the ground realities for the past 25 years, I can safely say that today – after elimination of the brutal Tamil terrorism – people, especially the Tamils in the north and the east, are finally feel free and liberated. Unfortunately the genuine refugees who have been affected by the LTTE terrorism, do not have thirty to forty thousand dollars to pay the LTTE smugglers – to come to Canada as bogus refugees. They are happy to be alive and grateful that Sri Lanka has finally wiped out the Tamil Tiger terrorists who have destroyed a generation of innocent Tamils.

 Therefore, my suggestion to you Mr. Fiorito is: before you get carried away with these hard-luck stories of bogus Tamil refugees, please be aware that these incidents are not “impromptu meetings”, but well-orchestrated media events, backed by the pro-LTTE organizations such as HART, to get the maximum exposure and attention in Canada in order to promote the LTTE propaganda. Thank you.

 Sincerely

 Nihal Perera

Toronto, ON