CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

THE STAR NEWSPAPER SAYS WHILE CANADIAN WTM WAS SENDING MILLIONS TO LTTE THEIR LEADERS WERE DENYING

By Walter Jayawardhana

While terrorist leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was writing letters to Canadian Tamil organizations thanking for the millions they sent for the Tamil Tiger movement who were bombing civilians and recruiting child soldiers those Canadian Tamil organizations were publicly denying any connections, Toronto’s the Star newspaper accused

Strongly alleging that the Tamil Community leadership is having a serious credibility problem regarding terrorist fund raising The Toronto Star newspaper said Canadian Tamil Congress and the World Tamil movement leaders will have to do lot of explaining about the findings about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Commenting about letters found in the World Tamil Movement office, the newspaper said, contrary to the statement of the Tamil leaders the Police has found letters thanking the movement for the donations made and soliciting for more money, from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. In one letter LTTE leader Prabhakaran thanked for the three million Canadian dollars sent and in another he thanked for the help hey gave to defeat the Sri Lankan forces in the battlefield in 2004, the newspaper said.

Despite denials of the World Tamil Movement it was a busy fund raiser for the LTTE the editorial said . The following is the full editorial published by the newspaper:

“How credible is the leadership of Canada's 250,000-strong Tamil community? It's an open question, following a police probe into alleged fundraising in Toronto and Montreal for the Tamil Tigers.

“The Tigers have bombed civilians and recruited child soldiers during a decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka that has taken 60,000 lives. In 2006, the group was banned in Canada as a "terrorist" entity.
“The Royal Canadian Mounted Police filed documents in court last month seeking authorization to seize the World Tamil Movement's bank accounts. The material included letters found in the WTM's Toronto office. The letters, apparently sent by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, thanked supporters for donations and solicited more.

“One in 2002 from Tiger head Velupillai Prabhakaran urged "the Canadian office" to provide $3 million to the cause. Another is a 2004 thank you for helping the Tigers "defeat the enemy in the battlefield."

“The RCMP also found Elections Canada voters lists with Tamil names highlighted, and uncovered a scheme shaking down Tamils who travelled to Sri Lanka for donations.

“The RCMP believes the WTM was a busy fundraiser for the Tigers. Yet in April 2006, when Canada banned the Tigers, WTM leader Sinnathamby Sittampalam insisted his group had no Tiger ties.

“Earlier that year, Tamil leaders lashed out at a Human Rights Watch report that said fundraisers were shaking down Tamils. Focusing on HRW's finding that people were afraid to report extortion, Canadian Tamil Congress spokesperson David Poopalapillai said, "This report makes me sick because it is saying that we are covering something up and our community is living in fear." At a CTC press conference, Tamils denied there were fundraising drives to support the guerrillas.
“The RCMP probe suggests otherwise. As a result, Tamil leaders have a credibility issue on their hands – and some explaining to do.”(

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