Importing Terrorist Alliances

"Mr. Speaker as Canadians of Tamil heritage in November we commemorate two important events, Remembrance Day and the Tamil Heroes Day. This month symbolizes the beauty of life because we remember all those who sacrifice their lives for the rest of us to live in peace and freedom."
"[Not in support of terrorism or encouraging violence] Rather, as the first Tamil MP elected, I join Tamil-Canadians and all across our country in mourning those who have died in wars at home or abroad, and in supporting those who work tirelessly for the cause of peace."
Rathika Sitsabaiesan, NDP Member of Parliament

YouTube    NDP MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan giving her statement in support of commemorating Tamil Heroes Day, Nov. 27, 2014.

"Tamil Heroes Day is dedicated to the glorification of the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known more commonly as the Tamil Tigers."
"I am shocked and appalled that an NDP member of Parliament would not only endorse the celebration of terrorists, but would also equate it to the solemn occasion of Remembrance Day where we honour our fallen Canadian heroes."
Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney

"Heroes Day] is not and has never been a national day of Tamil mourning. [Rather, it was] an intensely conducted partisan event 'of the Tigers' for the Tigers and by the Tigers'."
D.B.S. Jeyaraj, Sri-Lanka-Canadian journalist

Photo by Monique Plessas   Toronto Tamils rally in support of the Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been fighting a years-long civil war in Sri Lanka. Known as the Tamil Tigers the group has been labelled by Canada as a terrorist organization.

Canada has the largest expatriate Tamil community originating in Sri Lanka of any other community outside the country. Up until the last war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers in 2009, agents of the Tigers strenuously canvassed the Canadian Tamil community for financial support of the Tigers. Covert weapons-procurement to benefit the Tigers took place. Rallies for the Tigers took place in Montreal and Toronto where governing Liberal MPs were in attendance, where the Tigers flag proudly flew.

This, though in 2006 Canada declared the Tamil Tigers to be a terrorist organization and it was placed on the country's proscribed list. The Tamil Tigers were the world's foremost suicide bombers, stimulating the Palestinians to emulate their wild successes in bloody excesses. They were responsible for the murders of Sri Lankan government figures, and they assassinated the-then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. While killing thousands of Sinhalese Sri Lankans, the Tigers also killed Tamils.

Steven Blaney stood in Parliament to call upon the Sri Lankan-born MP to apologize "to veterans and all Canadians" for equating Tamil Tigers' day with Remembrance Day, for speaking of November 17 as an "important event", when in reality this was a day held each year by the Tamil Tigers to commemorate the date the first member of the terrorist group was killed in combat.

A Heroes Day event took place in Markham, Ontario on Thursday. The Facebook page of the Tamil Youth Organization-Canada featured the militaristic flag of the Tamil Tigers. The RCMP back in 2006 closed the Tiger's offices in Toronto and Montreal through which millions in support of the conflict had been raised. A number of Toronto area Tamils were convicted of supplying arms and equipment to the Tamil Tigers.

A video of MP Sitsabaiesan's speech in the House of Commons was posted on her YouTube page, showing her reading from a prepared statement. "I think it needs to be pointed out to her that you can't compare the two, you can't compare a terrorist organization to people who have fought for core Canadian values", said Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary of foreign affairs and international human rights.

Ethnic Tamils faced and still face discrimination in their native Sri Lanka, he agreed, "but you can't compare Remembrance Day to Tamil Heroes Day". To do so represented "a disservice to veterans". It also represents a disservice to Canada on a wholesale scale. As a demonstration that Canadian values have not been respected, nor its justice system.

The affair does represent yet another instance where new Canadians have brought with them the debilitating and hateful culture of hatred and violence that they are meant to leave behind when they enter a new country as citizens. Those whom they venerate as heroes are anything but in the understanding of the international community.

Glossing over the reality that the Tigers were responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, Tamils included does no service to Tamils either.