A group of Sri Lankans hand over petition to Congressman Brad Sherman

Reseda, California - After years of writing letters and pleading to have their voices heard, Sri Lankans here are trying a new strategy: confront pro-LTTE US lawmakers on their own turf, in full view of their constituents and donors.

This is what happened on August 23 when California Congressman Brad Sherman, well-known for his ardent pro-LTTE stance, held a townhall meeting at Reseda High School for residents of his 27th district. Led by the Sri Lankan Patriots group, about 200 people were outside the premises holding posters and flags, distributing pamphlets, and chanting slogans to draw attention to the five-term congressman’s ties to the Tigers. Their main grievance was that he had taken campaign donations from the LTTE through its front organization, the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) and that he was not fit to serve on the House Subcommittee on Terrorism.

Avoiding the front entrance and the protesters, the congressman went through the back to address about 300 or so of his constituents who had assembled in the auditorium. But he could not avoid the Sri Lankan presence for long. Amid questions from the predominantly-White, older audience voicing their concerns about healthcare, social security and mortgage issues, he made mention of the protest outside and said he would answer one question regarding the Sri Lankan issue. The question picked (read out stumblingly by one of his aides) was why he was treating the terrorist issue in Sri Lanka differently from that in Israel by calling for peace negotiations with the LTTE. Ignoring what was being asked, and, definitely, bypassing the issue of receiving LTTE funds, Sherman went on to give the standard spiel about the concern for human rights violations ‘on both sides.’

He started off by mentioning that he was involved in human rights issues in several countries, among them Sri Lanka. "The government there is oppressive involved in abductions and disappearances …the government has done some bad things, not exactly the good guys, he said and was met with a spontaneous roar of "NO" from the Lankans.

He also tried to explain away the protest outside by implying that it was sparked by the resolution (Resolution 1338) he had introduced in July of this year in which he had been critical of ‘both sides’. He said the resolution was in commemoration of the 1983 riots when, according to him, the Tigers killed 13 soldiers and, in response, the existing government and its supporters killed 3,000 Tamils. The Lankan contingent met this with:"You’re wrong, you’re wrong," They [Tigers] killed thousands."

From the aisle, a young, white man muttered: "He keeps lying."

Sherman concluded his remarks with a lighthearted compliment to himself saying both sides are upset with the resolution, therefore, "I must be doing something right."

Determined to show that the protest was not about Resolution 1338 but about Sherman’s links with the Tigers, a participant managed to overcome objections by the congressman’s jittery staffers and take into the auditorium a poster which he held up silently, in full view of Sherman and his audience. It said: "Congressman Sherman took campaign funds from a terrorist group."

At the end of the townhall meeting, a few Sri Lankans, one still holding up the poster, handed a petition to Sherman. Signed by the protesters, it called for his resignation from the House Subcommittee on Terrorism of which he is chairman.

While Sherman was leafing through the petition which had some non-Sri Lankan signatures as well, a white constituent came up to him and said: "You took campaign donations from the LTTE through the TRO." Taken aback, Sherman said quizzically, "TRO? I don’t know the TRO."

A twitter of protest went up from the Sri Lankans.

"Yes, you took money from the TRO," someone shouted and the congressman shook his head. He promised to give a response to the petition and was soon rushed out the back entrance by staffers who clearly wanted to end the ordeal.

The protesters disbanded a short while later, but only after they made sure that Congressman Sherman had a full view of them as he drove out of the parking lot.

An investigative report by this writer detailing the nexus between several US lawmakers, including Sherman, and LTTE support groups such as the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) was published earlier this year in The Island and the US-based Sri Lanka Express, Among the facts mentioned was Sherman’s presence at the launch of the TRO office in Reseda, in his constituency in 1999, his endorsement of this same office as a recipient for tsunami funds from the public, and the steady stream of donations from this same address to his campaign for many years.

In addition to issuing resolutions favorable to the separatist cause, Sherman has been trying to get the LTTE off the US State Department’s list of designated terrorist organizations. If he succeeds, the LTTE will get a tremendous boost, enabling it, among other things, to raise funds unhindered.

SLP member Naradha Gangadara said the protest was very effective because it took the message right to where it was heard by the people who can make a difference – American constituents. He said that unlike protests mounted in the past outside the Federal Building this one enabled them to talk to the voters directly and to give out handouts explaining the Sri Lankan situation. "This is definitely the best protest we have had so far," he said.