Charlie Gillis and Stewart Bell of National Post, Canada
Canada Post has halted production of a batch of personalized postage stamps that seem to bear the likeness of the leader of the Tamil Tigers Vellupillai Prabhakaran — an order apparently placed to augment the terrorist organization’s international propaganda campaign.

The stamps appear to feature a photograph of Vellupillai Prabhakaran, the 45-year-old mastermind behind the notorious Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the terrorist army that has fought a 17-year guerrilla war against the government of Sri Lanka.

"We’re trying to get a hold of the person who ordered these stamps and find out what’s going on," Tim McGurrin, spokesman for Canada Post, said yesterday.

"We want to speak to this person and find out whether he’s misleading us, but so far we’ve only reached his answering machine," Mr. McGurrin said.

The order, which Mr. McGurrin described as a large one, was placed shortly after the postal service announced on April 30 a new program called Picture Postage, in which Canadians can order stamps showing pictures of themselves, their loved ones or even their pets.

The offer allows individuals to send snapshots to Canada Post, which the service then reproduces as decals.

The stickers fit into an outer border bearing a price and the word "Canada," creating the impression of a standard 46¢ stamp.

The so-called "vanity stamps" cost just under $1 each and can be used as postage on national or international mail.

Mr. McGurrin said the mysterious order was put on hold last week after officials could not properly identify the man in a photograph sent to them. Under the rules of the program, Canada Post must have the clearance of the person pictured, or a reasonable assumption that he or she will not object.

Officials have since compared the photo to others of Mr. Prabhakaran and noticed a striking similarity, Mr. McGurrin said. The postal service declined to make the stamp publicly available or to identify who placed the order, citing privacy concerns.

The post office reserves the right to refuse the service for any reason, though this is the first instance in which someone has ordered stamps of a controversial personality. To date, the postal service has produced around 15,000 stamps under the program, rejecting only a handful on issues of permission.

But news that Canada Post considered printing them at all alarmed

security experts, who view the order as part of the Tigers’ increasingly visible presence in Canada.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service recently reported that front groups for the Tigers are using this country as a launching pad for propaganda and fundraising activities. The National Post revealed last spring that Tamil groups identified by the RCMP as Tiger supporters have staged fund raising events at Toronto-area schools, among other venues.

The publicity opportunities represented by the stamp program appeared to immediately attract Tamil Tigers supporters: An article advertising stamps — these ones bearing a likeness of Kumar Ponnambalam, a Tamil politician who was assassinated in Colombo last January — appeared in a recent issue of The Uthayan, a Tamil newspaper based in Toronto.

Canada Post has since been unable to locate an order for stamps showing Mr. Ponnambalam, regarded as a martyr by Tiger supporters.

Reid Morden, director of CSIS from 1987 until 1991, said Canada’s

imprimatur on any Prabhakaran stamp could create the impression that this country is a haven for such activities.

"The perception in most countries, and certainly in Sri Lanka, would be that because the state prints these things, Canada must support these guys or have some sympathy for their movement."

The postal service’s current objections will forestall trouble for now, Mr. Morden added, "but you’d think [Tiger supporters] could get this guy’s permissio n to print his face in a lick. I mean, this is great publicity for them."

John Thompson, a terrorism expert with the MacKenzie Institute, agreed, noting that few Canadian officials are sensitive to such potential abuses by international guerrilla organizations.

"Things like this just don’t seem to register in Canada," he said.

Mr. McGurrin said the stamps are easily distinguished from those issued by the postal service.