"Dances with terrorists"

Canada has at long last shown her willingness to join forces with victim nations of terrorism to counter terrorist activities on her soil. It is expected to introduce a new bill today in Parliament to provide Canada’s ‘first definition of terrorism and ban participation in terrorist group.(See the full report we reproduce from the National Post on this page today.)

Although this omnibus bill does not name any terrorist organisations per se, it is expected to give more teeth to the Canadian law enforcement authorities with regard to wiretapping, intercepting internet communication, imposing severe penalties on groups that fall within the new definition of terrorism and banning fund-raising for terrorist purposes.

Canada has yet failed to differentiate between freedom fighters and terrorists and this has stood the latter in good stead, the LTTE being one of them. Hence, the long-felt need for Canada to define terrorism as the first step towards combating terrorism.

However, it is certain that terrorists will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to find loopholes even in this omnibus legislation and masquerade as freedom fighters. The LTTE, for example, has so far managed to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadian authorities and gone Scot free despite its crimes against humanity.

Canada cannot be unaware of what the LTTE really is - a terrorist outfit. It was only a few months ago that the LTTE took for a ride a group of Canadian diplomats who were here. Having had a meeting with the LTTE second-in-command at a jungle hideout, the Canadian Foreign Affairs staff dispatched a message to Ottawa saying that the terrorists were "genuinely committed" to peace talks. But, soon it turned out that the LTTE was amassing arms and readying cadres for a fresh offensive. This the Canadian government had to admit later under pressure from the Canadian Alliance, which made a formal request under the Access to Information Act of Canada for the release of, and secured the documents pertaining to this ‘clandestine’ meeting.

Last year, Canadian Minister of Finance Paul Martin and Minister of International Development, Marina Minna attended a fund-raiser organised by The Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), an organisation CSIS and the US State Department have identified as a front for the LTTE. The two ministers had done so in spite of the intelligence reports that the event was a terrorist fund-raising event, reports said afterwards.

That Canada is soft on terror is felt even by Tamil Canadians whom the LTTE apologists try to project as supporters of its criminal cause. Recently, a Tamil Canadian, Mr. Adiyar Vipulananda, opposed LTTE influence at a Toronto Hindu temple. He is one of the few courageous Tamils to defy the LTTE and as usual he and his family were threatened by the terrorists. He was quoted by The National Post of Canada as saying, " The government does not take proper action against this."

Contrary to what LTTE apologists say, Tamils in Canada are reported to be suffering in silence because of LTTE activities. Mr. Vipulananda is only one of them and he has said a mouthful: What is Canada doing about abuse by terrorists of its soil for their sordid operations?

Canada has over the last few decades made a tremendous contribution to the proliferation of global terrorism. It has been home to a plethora of terrorist outfits. Nay, Canada has not done so intentionally. It is a democratic nation helping developing countries in a big way. But her liberal values, we are afraid, are somewhat misplaced and the terrorists are making the best use of them to further their cause.

Canada has on several occasions tried to deal with the problem of terrorism - the latest being her dispatch of crack commandos to augment the US-led crusade to destroy bin Laden. The Canadian force thus dispatched is described as its largest combat force since the Korean War. Besides it has also sent six warships - almost one third of the front-line fleet and six aircraft.

Canada on the other hand is adopting measures to end terrorist fund-raising on her soil. The Cabinet last week approved new regulations to this effect moved by none other than Minister of Finance Paul Martin, who came under fire for having ‘danced’ with Tigers.

The new legislation being tabled in the Canadian Parliament today to deal with terrorism has obviously resulted from the recent path-breaking UN Security Council Resolution No: 1373. (The Resolution requires inter alia all countries to criminalise the willful provision or collection by any means directly or indirectly of funds by their nationals or in their territories with the intention that the funds should be used, or in the knowledge that they are to be used in order to carry out terrorist acts.)

The need for this legislation may also have stemmed from Canada’s own security concerns. Fear of terrorists using biological weapons against the global anti-terror coalition leaders is spreading fast. Several Anthrax cases have already been reported from the US. There are reports that Anthrax scare has spread to Britain with three persons being tested for the disease there.

Canada according to reports is also stockpiling antibiotics for fear of a possible bio-terror attack.

Now that Canada has taken a vanguard position in the global war against terrorism and is legislating for dealing with terrorism, it will have to come down hard on the LTTE, which to Sri Lanka is what al-Qa’eda is to the US-led coalition.

Canada has on several occasions accused the LTTE of terrorism, ethnic cleansing, torture, forcible conscription of child-combatants and raising money in Canada through crimes and extortion of refugees.

The LTTE raises about $ 120 million annually and up to a quarter of that in Canada alone. If Canada cracks down on the LTTE on her soil, ‘one quarter’ of Sri Lanka’s problem will be over. If other countries like the UK, Australia, Norway, France, Sweden, just to name a few, follow suit, then Sri Lanka’s problem will be over in no time with no more blood being shed. Will Canada give full cry to the new legislation, crack down on terrorists and prove her commitment to the US-led crusade to remove the scourge of terrorism?

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