Largest anti-LTTE show-of-force ever held in Canada:

Lankan expats rally against LTTE fund-raising on Canadian soil

More than 400 Sri Lankans living in Canada demonstrated on Ottawa's Parliament Hill recently urging the Government to crackdown on fund-raising by LTTE front organisations on Canadian soil.

Two days of non-stop rain suddenly gave way to bright sunshine on this Friday in the Canadian capital as Sri Lankans of all ages gathered on the giant lawn of Ottawa's magnificent Parliament buildings.

It was the largest anti-LTTE show-of-force ever held in Canada. Demonstrators came from Toronto and Montreal and along with participants from Ottawa, enlightened Canada's lawmakers of their desire to see an end to the channelling of Canadian money into the LTTE's war chest.

"We are here to thank the Liberal Government for its endorsement of the UN Convention banning fund-raising by terrorists organisations," said Daya Hettiarachchi of the Sri Lanka United National Association (SLUNA) of Toronto, the event's main organiser. "At the same time, we want to urge the Canadian government to put into action this commitment and begin to crackdown on the numerous front organisations of the LTTE which raises money for them."

The demonstration came in the wake of unprecedented negative publicity the LTTE and its front organisations have received in Canada. Canadian media, spearheaded by the National Post Canada's national newspaper with the largest circulation, have been critical of the way the ruling Liberal Government has handled the issue of fund-raising by the LTTE in Canada.

Newspapers, the parliamentary opposition, academics and former Canadian diplomats have been highly critical of Finance Minister Paul Martin and International Cooperation Minister Maria Minna, who in May attended a dinner hosted by the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), a well-known front organisation of the LTTE.

The National Post, in a subsequent scathing editorial, wrote: "The insistence that FACT is a normal, run-of-the-mill group dedicated to celebrating the culture and achievements of Tamil Canadians, is alarming. The latter do have much to celebrate, but FACT should not be their conduit. According to the US State Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a commentary written for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, FACT is an overarching umbrella front organisation for the LTTE".

Canada's other national newspaper, the respected Globe and Mail, also urged the Government to act in one of several editorial it carried on the subject. "The Federal Government can do more to identify individuals at home and abroad, who are active in the collection of money specifically for the Tamil Tigers' campaign against civilians and to encourage banks to cut them off," the Globe and Mail said in its June 9 editorial.

"Although the convention could take years to ratify, its spirit should be clear to all Canadians now. Political opinions are a fundamental right, but the forces of international law are moving against those who fund the cold-blooded murder of people anywhere," it said.

Observers have pointed out that Liberal Members of Parliament have often overlooked national and global interests in favour of securing the ethnic vote and hence, failed to take meaningful steps to curb fund-raising by LTTE front groups in Canada. Canada, home to approximately 180,000 Sri Lankan Tamils, is host to the biggest Tamil diaspora in the world.

Demonstrators, angered by this attitude of senior MPs, carried placards and shouted that Paul Martin and Maria Minna should apologize to Sri Lanka for their callous disregard for Sri Lanka's suffering.

"Why do liberals stoop so low for Tamil votes?" one placard said while another screamed "We have votes too, Paul Martin and Maria Minna."

According to a recent report authored by international terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratne, Tamil Tiger fronts in Canada raised about $22 million last year, with most of that money filling the LTTE's coffers. The National Post has pointed out in great detail how money raised in Canada is channelled to European bank accounts and subsequently used for the purchase of arms and explosives by the LTTE.

It quoted Sri Lankan intelligence sources who confirmed that the explosives which blew up the Central Bank in 1996, killing 86 people and levelling Colombo's business district, were purchased with money from a bank account of a Canadian.

Grumant Grewal, M.P. and chief opposition foreign affairs critic from the Canadian Alliance party, spoke at the demonstration and denounced the Government for its inaction.

"CISI and the CIA and the FBI and Scotland Yard, and Interpol and Amnesty International, and even Non-Governmental Organizations - including many foreign aid and workers are telling the world out loud with a strong brave voice what groups are raising money to fund terrorist activities and groups around the world - so that we can all work to put a stop to it.

"But this Liberal Government ties the hands of these brave people. The Liberals sign the UN Convention - but they don't do the follow up to stop the charitable tax-free status of these groups in Canada", he said.

"As we saw only a couple of weeks ago, Finance Minister Paul Martin and the Official Development Minister Maria Minna attended a fund-raiser in Toronto. Paul Martin should have walked out. The Minister in charge of Canada foreign aid should have walked out. But they didn't. They ignore the bloodshed and the heartache of families who are victims of terrorism," Mr. Grewal said, while the demonstrators shouted "Shame, Canada, shame!"

Many of the demonstrators, men and women, were moved by the synergy that was created by the occasion. "This demonstrates a strong unity amongst the anti-LTTE forces in Canada," said one demonstrator from Toronto. "All these years, we've been silent, while the pro-LTTE groups have spread lies and manipulated Canadian opinion in their favour. But we have seen a change in the past few years and today, Canada's public opinion is very much in our favour".

"We have never said Tamils are terrorists. Tamils are our brothers," said Richmond Peiris, a demonstrator from Montreal. "We say Tigers are terrorists and our efforts are directed towards exposing them."

Hettiarachchi of SLUNA handed over a petition to MP Grumant Grewal on behalf of the demonstrators and urged him to take action in Parliament to introduce legislation to crackdown on fund-raising.