Bruce Fein & the Debate

By Charles S.Perera.

S.B.Vithana, in a letter to Sri Lanka Guardian on the 13 March,2008, says "Bruce Fein, has openly challenged the Sri Lankan Ambassador Bernard Goonethilaka for a debate on legitimacy of Tamil Separatism in Sri Lanka. First of all, this is a good opportunity for Sri Lankans to confront people like Bruce Fein who openly support the LTTE terrorism in Sri Lanka with lies and deceit, and expose them to the whole world. On the other hand, such a debate should not be taken lightly, as it would be a make or break situation for Sri Lanka, in the attempt to triumph over the disinformation campaign carried out by the Tamil separatists."

Bruce Fein is merely a paid propagandist for the LTTE. He is an unprincipled person who may move from the Government to LTTE and vice versa for his propaganda projects depending on who pays more. He is merely seeking international recognition, and the Government should not fall in to his trap. Further more what have we got to prove to a man like Bruce Fein about our problems of which he has no first hand experience, and will do little to help us solve the problem of terrorism. He has better things to attend to, on human rights on his own home ground, such as the torture and waterboarding of enemies by the CIA, recently sanctioned by the President George Bush.

There was a good article in the Asiantribune on 12.3.2008, by Mhainda Gunasekara, under the heading, " Bruce Fein labours to Justify contractual payments each month from Tiger Terrorist Front-Tamils for Justice", which describes Fein's past and present activities.

The first paragraph of the article reads , " Bruce Fein a Harvard Graduate and a Reagan era Deputy Attorney General of Justice attached to The Lichfield Group who in an article published in the Washington Times dated February 3, 2004 fully endorsed the banning of terrorists including the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also known as the Tamil Tigers. He subsequently offered his services effective October 1, 2006 to lobby on behalf of the Friends of Sri Lanka to have the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran brought before an appropriate tribunal for war crimes, and to bring criminal charges against supporters and sympathisers of the LTTE in the US Courts amongst other services at a fee of $25,000 per month. He renewed his offer in February 2007 to defend the listing of the LTTE for a fee of $40,000."

And the second paragraph of the same article of Mahinda Gunasekara, gives the probable reason for Bruce Fein's proposal for the present debate. It reads, "Strangely, the same Bruce Fein offers his services in 2008 to a front organization of the LTTE called the Tamils For Justice to seek de-proscription of the LTTE and win US support for establishment of a separate Tamil State in the north and east of Sri Lanka, this time seeking $30,000 each month for a contractual term of nine months. He certainly appears to know that the Tamil Tiger coffers are stacked with illicitly earned green backs from trading in narcotics, smuggling of humans, extortion, credit card fraud, and every conceivable crime, and are desperately in need of whitewashing or laundering of their dirt in the western capitals to stall the fast receding boundaries of their usurped territory in Sri Lanka. "

Is it still worth arranging a debate with a man like Bruce Fein ?