STATEMENT TO STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (FAAE) OF CANADIAN HOUSE OF COMMONS

by Asoka Weerasinghe (Ottawa)

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, good afternoon. I am grateful to you for giving me an opportunity to express my concerns on recent events in Sri Lanka. I intend to clarify some of the misconceptions about this ethnic crisis…this terrible war between a legitimately-elected, democratic government…a member of the Commonwealth… and a non-elected group, the Tamil terrorists…the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam…are also known as the Tamil Tigers.

Since 1983 the Tamil Tigers have been creating mayhem on Sri Lanka. For the past 3 decades this tiny island had been in crisis…haemorrhaging its people, its resources, and its soul. Only now when the Tamil Tigers are about to be eliminated; only now after 26 years some countries including Canada are taking an interest in this terrorist war. Such interest prompted Canada to have an emergency Debate in Parliament on Sri Lanka on February 4th. Watching the debate on CPAC, I found it an amazing piece of theatre. It was mostly Sri Lanka Government bashing and not the bashing of the Tamil Tigers who are indeed a killer cult. There were moments of ‘hoax-theatre’ when five Liberal Members of Parliament accused the Sri Lankan Government with ‘genocide’. No doubt those Members have found out since then that, that charge was unfair, unwholesome and incorrect.

The Tamil Tigers (the LTTE) have been banned as a terrorist organization by 32 countries including Canada. They have assassinated two heads of state (Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India and President Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka) and 32 other politicians in Sri Lanka including three Mayors of Jaffna and the country’s Foreign Minister (all Tamils). Of the 32 assassinated politicians, 18 were moderate Tamils. The LTTE are the terrorists who perfected the body pack for the human bomb and exploded the 379th human bomb in Mullaitivu a few meters from an army front line on March 17. On Jan 11, 2008 the FBI described

the LTTE as the "most dangerous and deadly extremist outfit in the world”. The FBI has credited them with perfecting the use of suicide bombers, inventing suicide belts and pioneering the use of women in suicide attacks. The FBI says that this rebel group's "ruthless tactics" has inspired terrorist networks worldwide, including al Qaeda in Iraq.”

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