Tuesday, May 30, 2000

Tamil terror allies use Toronto schools for fundraisers
Police: 'To use a school for that type of cause is a little bit immoral'

Stewart Bell and Marina Jimenez
National Post

Canadian public schools are being used by supporters of the Tamil Tigers, one of the world's most ruthless terrorist organizations, for fundraising drives and militaristic after-school rallies featuring men in camouflage uniforms carrying mock assault rifles.

Donations are collected and Tamil Tigers paraphernalia and propaganda are sold at the monthly events, held at schools in the Toronto area. Law enforcement officials claim that the money goes to Tamil community organizations, which send it to the terrorist group to finance the civil war in Sri Lanka.

Liberal MPs have also turned up at the fundraising events -- in one case on a school stage where men in military uniforms carried replica assault rifles, according to law enforcement officials. The "soldiers" stood in front of a large map showing the areas under Tiger control.

"To carry replica guns in a school and sell rebel flags, propaganda and videos is not appropriate," said one law enforcement official.

Added another official, "It's not good to have a display of armed conflict in schools. To use a school for that type of cause is a little bit immoral."

The rallies are "magnets for violence" because they attract ethnic Tamil gangs, which the RCMP has said are heavily involved in financing the Tamil Tigers. "We know that a lot of them are gang members that are involved in these things," a law enforcement official said.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been declared a terrorist group because of its use of political assassination, child soldiers, suicide bombs directed at civilians and ethnic cleansing during its 17-year fight for a separate state in Sri Lanka. Thousands of Sri Lankan Tamils have sought refuge in Canada, which now has the world's largest expatriate Tamil population, about 155,000.

While many Canadian Tamils are opposed to the violent methods of the Tigers, some continue to support them from abroad, sending money to the rebels and using their freedom in Canada to rally support, spread propaganda, lobby politicians and intimidate critics.

Officials estimated there had been at least a dozen Tiger fundraising rallies in the Greater Toronto Area in the past year. Organizers approach local boards of education and ask to use the schools for "Tamil cultural events."

"What they do is they say it's a cultural event and the board of education goes along with it," said a law enforcement source.

The organizers often charge a $10 admission fee and sell videos and books, as well as T-shirts and flags emblazoned with the Tamil Tiger logo -- a roaring tiger in front of two crossed guns surrounded by a ring of bullets.

The events begin with a march in which uniformed men carrying mock rifles parade on stage. This is followed by a video showing war casualties, a speech by a local MP and then a keynote speaker, police say.

One law enforcement official described the sequence as: "Get them sympathetic, work them up and get them to make a donation."

Police have been monitoring the events and approached school boards with photos showing the use of military garb.

"We just take the photo to the board of education and say, 'What do you think of this?'" said a law enforcement official. But the schools lack the resources to monitor every event.

A spokeswoman for the Toronto District School Board said there had been reports of Tamil Tigers flags being flown at some after-hours functions. "We have had rumours to that effect but we never had anyone with sufficient proof that we could dismiss that group," said Stephanie Bolton.

She said there had been no complaints about the use of replica weapons but emphasized they are banned under the safe schools initiative and any group found using them would not be permitted to rent board property again.The school board lends its buildings to community groups for a nominal fee, provided they satisfy a list of conditions, including having off-duty police present.

Changes to board policy on the use of school property are to be voted on tomorrow and should address some of the concerns, she said. The board will also be doing more spot checks to make sure the schools are being used for appropriate purposes, she said.

This is the second time this month that Liberal politicians have been accused of associating with Tamil Tigers supporters. Federal cabinet ministers Paul Martin and Maria Minna attended a dinner in early May for the Federation of Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), which has been branded a terrorist front for the Tigers.

Yesterday in the House of Commons, Mr. Martin, the Minister of Finance, faced accusations from the Canadian Alliance that he was consorting with terrorist supporters but responded that the FACT dinner was a cultural celebration and, at $60 a plate, it was "hardly a major fundraising event."

In another sign that terrorist support is occurring freely in Canada, Tamil groups, including the World Tamil Movement, which has also been named a terrorist front, have been advertising a series of "victory celebrations" in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal to cheer on a wave of ethnic violence in northern Sri Lanka that has left hundreds of troops and civilians dead.

However, at least one of the events will not proceed.

Maureen Moloughney, executive director of the Bronson Centre in Ottawa, said despite Tamil-language advertisements saying there would be a celebration at the centre on June 4, no formal agreement was in place and the event would not go ahead.

The centre is operated by the Sisters of the Immaculata, and the event would not be compatible with the group's non-violent beliefs, she said.

The Ottawa event had been advertised as a "celebration" of Unceasing Waves, the name of a continuing series of Tamil Tiger attacks in northern Sri Lanka.