Compilation 2: Tamil Tigers, the PM and Intimidation

List of Articles:

* A blind eye to Tamil terrorism -- Pierre Pettigrew speaks about "a heretofore-unknown Canadian-Norwegian initiative to broker peace"
* A Huff and a Puff and . . . . . Welcome to Canada! -- "Martin won't ban Tamils as terrorists" -- There will be an election and . . .
* "Peace at stake: Martin" -- Check Hansard below: They used this line years ago -- They wouldn't know a terrorist if they tripped over one -- at the voting booth
* Terrorists win PM's ear -- Martin seems oblivious to Tigers' bloody record
* Karygiannis defends trip into Tamil Tiger-controlled regions of Sri Lanka

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A blind eye to Tamil terrorism -- Pierre Pettigrew speaks about "a heretofore-unknown Canadian-Norwegian initiative to broker peace"

When is this guy going to implode? He's been associated with more than one departmental scandal -- but he always manages to flee just as . . . .

A blind eye to Tamil terrorism National Post, January 18, 2005

In Australia, Britain and the United States, belonging to or attempting to raise funds for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) -- better known as the Tamil Tigers -- can lead to arrest or imprisonment. Given the track record of this vicious terrorist group, that makes sense. But while other countries have banned the LTTE outright, Ottawa turns a blind eye.

[. . . . ] Ottawa's failure to act cannot stem from ignorance. Until a recent shaky ceasefire took effect, the Tigers' two-decade long war with the Sri Lankan government had led to 60,000 deaths, many from LTTE terror bombings and ambushes. World leaders in suicide bombings, the Tigers are known for targetting civilians -- particularly women and children. And they press-gang children into doing much of their fiercest fighting: The LTTE's "Leopard Brigade" contains as many as 3,000 seven- to 14-year-olds who were taken from their parents as toddlers and fed a steady diet of anti-government propaganda and nihilism.

To fund all this, the LTTE extorts money from the Tamil diaspora in over 50 countries, including Canada, threatening to torture or kill loved ones back home if Tamil immigrants don't pay up. They are also notorious for drug-running and people-smuggling.

The LTTE is particularly active within the Tamil communities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Just this week, the National Post revealed that Canadian and U.S. authorities had broken up a major Tiger-run smuggling ring that had sought to sneak Tiger agents and fundraisers into Canada via Bangkok, Mexico City and the United States. [. . . . ]

A Huff and a Puff and . . . . . Welcome to Canada! -- "Martin won't ban Tamils as terrorists" -- There will be an election and . . .

Martin won't ban Tamils as terrorists Robert Fife, CanWest News Service, Jan. 17, 05

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Prime Minister Paul Martin vowed to speak forcefully today against the recruitment of child soldiers by Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers rebels but refused to join the United States, Australia and Great Britain in banning them as a terrorist organization in Canada. [. . . . ]

Have you seen PM "speak forcefully"? What was the result? Lengthy -- check it out.




"Peace at stake: Martin" -- Check Hansard below: They used this line years ago -- They wouldn't know a terrorist if they tripped over one -- at the voting booth

Peace at stake: Martin -- "a request from Norway" -- hitherto unknown

OTTAWA and COLOMBO - Canada has not added the Tamil Tigers to its list of banned terrorist organizations because of a request from Norway, which is trying to broker a peace deal in Sri Lanka's two-decades-old civil war, the National Post has learned.

Scroll down for the warnings from CSIS and Conservative MP Kevin Sorenson -- issued years ago.




Terrorists win PM's ear -- Martin seems oblivious to Tigers' bloody record

Terrorists win PM's ear -- Martin seems oblivious to Tigers' bloody record Calgary Herald, Jan. 18, 05

Prime Minister Paul Martin, who met Monday in Colombo with spokesmen for Sri Lanka's rebel Tamil minority, seems to have a deliberate blind spot about the terrorist war that raged there from 1983 until a recent truce.

Consequently, he has offended his hosts, the duly constituted and internationally recognized government of Sri Lanka. He also fuels anxiety among Canadians, who fear Liberal foreign policy reflects less their country's best interests than his party's need to keep Tamils in the Toronto area voting Liberal.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam share little with Canadian values. Other terrorists may be more dangerous to western interests, but for sheer bloodletting, this group is among the worst. Their bombings, assassinations and unconventional warfare against Colombo's armed forces have claimed more than 62,000 lives -- more than al-Qaeda, the PLO and Hamas elsewhere combined. [. . . . ]

Has Paul Martin no ethical--common sense--center? Courting votes? Questionable "business" affiliations? Does concern for the rest of Canadians ever move this man to do what is prudent for our security? They are intimidating Canadians! They have succeeded with the Martin Liberals -- with Karygiannis and the PM, himself. Their actions are eloquent.




Karygiannis defends trip into Tamil Tiger-controlled regions of Sri Lanka

Tamils have a sizeable presence of about 250,000 in Canada; approximately more than two-thirds of this population live in the Greater Toronto Area and play a key role in the Liberal Party politics. An overwhelming majority of Tamils supported Mr. Martin in his quest to become leader of the Liberal Party.

Karygiannis defends trip into Tamil Tiger-controlled regions of Sri Lanka January 17, 2005, F. Abbas Rana

Five-term government backbencher Jim Karygiannis [accompanied by his riding office assistant Anton Kanagasuntheri, a Sri Lankan Canadian], who is on a self-financed trip to Sri Lanka to observe the destruction, first-hand caused by the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 150,000 people, angrily rejected criticism launched against him last week from a fellow Liberal MP who suggested his visit into Tamil Tiger-controlled regions will fuel conflict.

Liberal MP David Kilgour (Edmonton-Beaumont, Alta.) last week publicly criticized Mr. Karygiannis (Scarborough-Agincourt, Ont.) for visiting Tamil Tiger-controlled regions of Sri Lanka and meeting leaders of the rebels' political wing.

[. . . . ] Tamils have a sizeable presence of about 250,000 in Canada; approximately more than two-thirds of this population live in the Greater Toronto Area and play a key role in the Liberal Party politics. An overwhelming majority of Tamils supported Mr. Martin in his quest to become leader of the Liberal Party. [. . . . ]