September 07, 1997
Yankee noose around Tiger neck
THE noose is tightening! A familiar cliche? Certainly! Yet it is apt when summing up the current situation faced by activist operatives and active supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the United States and Canada. The North American noose seems to be tightening around the LTTE neck.
Two separate developments in the USA and Canada, both very much in the public eye, are pointers to this trend. Reinforcing this is the hectic unreported activity being undertaken by the law-making and law-enforcing authorities of both countries.
In the USA last July, the US senate adopted by unanimous consent a resolution calling on the state department to list the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. Earlier the US congress passed a resolution condemning the LTTE for its unlawful actions amounting to terrorism. The `Patterns Of Global Terrorism' report released annually by the US state department refers to LTTE activity on an ongoing basis. Pressure is mounting urging the state department to designate the LTTE under provisions of the US Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. Section 302 of that act defines a terrorist organisation as one which is foreign, engages in terrorist activity and threatens the security of the United States. If the US officially lists the Tigers as a terrorist group, it would ban LTTE efforts to raise funds in that country. Anyone found guilty of fundraising for the group, or on behalf of it, whether they were American citizens or US residents, would be liable to have their bank accounts frozen and face criminal and civil penalties, including incarceration.
The legal affairs division of the US state department in consultation with its South Asian bureau is currently examining the implications of the whole issue. An American professor of political science from Nebraska on academic assignment in Sri Lanka recently has been consulted about Sri Lankan ramifications. A wellknown columnist in Colombo currently sojourning in the west and a Tamil politician from the eastern province have also been consulted in this regard.
Although there is considerably significant public pressure of both the democratic and the republican variety on the US state department, the legal eagles of that outfit are proceeding cautiously on the matter as they do not want to commit a `mistake. ' US Senators Robert Torricelli (New Jersey), Mitch McConnell (Kentucky) Patrick Leahy (Vermont) and Congressman Ben Gillman (New York), Doug Bereuter (Nebraska) and Howard Berman (California) are in the forefront of the anti-LTTE lobby. This lobby is assisted and fuelled by active Sri Lankan expatriate groups in New York, Washington, and in the states of California and Pennsylvania.
The decision to classify the LTTE as a terrorist organisation is essentially an executive decision. There is however provision under US law for an organisation designated `terrorist' to challenge that designation in a US court of appeal. The ensuing judicial review will be conducted solely `on the basis of the administrative record that led to the designation.' Therefore the administrative record must satisfy the judicial review provisions of the statute. As such the provisions require the executive branch to develop comprehensive and detailed records for each specific group.
The US fear is that if a foolproof case in not presented, the LTTE may challenge it effectively in courts which in turn may overturn such designation. So the US state department is examining the issue slowly but steadily. Meanwhile, US authorities are working on the LTTE case in association with their Canadian neighbour. In Canada the situation is somewhat different.
The second major development affecting the LTTE occurred in Canada in the last week of August. The Canadian federal court upheld a security certificate issued under section 40 (1) of the Canadian immigration act against the head, LTTE branch office Canada, Manicka-vasagam Suresh. In accordance with this order signed by the Canadian solicitor general and immigration minister, Suresh was arrested on October 18, 1995. He has been in detention since.
Manickavasagam Suresh was declared a person inadmissible in Canada on the basis he was a member of the LTTE and the LTTE was engaged in terrorism. An appeal to review the reasonable nature or otherwise of this order was heard before Canadian Federal Court Justice Max. J. Teitelbaum who ruled on August 29 that the security certificate issued against Suresh was reasonable and therefore valid. The judge made his order on the basis there were reasonable grounds to believe Suresh was a member of the LTTE and the LTTE was engaged in terrorism.
The ruling made in the case of Suresh has far reaching consequences for the LTTE in Canada, or to be more exact, North America. Although the techno-legal requirement of the Canadian federal judge was only to decide on the validity of the security certificate issued in actual terms, the case was far more important. The issue at stake was to determine whether the LTTE was `terroristic' or not.
Two decisions made by the immigration courts earlier had ruled that the LTTE was a terrorist organisation. This was in relation to two separate claims seeking political asylum filed by two ex-members of the LTTE political wing. The Manicka-vasagam Suresh case however was of greater consequence as the ruling was to be made by the federal court. It was in a sense a landmark case and was to be cited as a precedent in future litigation of this nature.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the LTTE strained every sinew and mustered every effort to counter the judicial threat in courts. Tigers in Canada put up a valiant legal defence in courts on behalf of Suresh. Mass demonstrations in his support were also held. Leading Canadian lawyers were retained. A galaxy of stellar witnesses from all over the globe were summoned to testify on Suresh's behalf. An enormous amount of documentation was presented as evidence.
The LTTE in Canada raised money specifically for this purpose by launching a special Suresh `legal defence fund'. The Tigers stated what was at stake on the trial was the ruling on the nature of the LTTE. The LTTE being labelled an organisation engaged in terrorist should be averted and a pronouncement about it being a liberation movement should be obtained, was the message drummed out ad nauseam by LTTE journals and radio stations in Canada. Considering the LTTE projected media hype about the trial, theruling that the LTTE was involved in terrorism is no doubt a tremendous blow to Tiger fortunes in North America.
The twin developments of the US senate resolution calling upon the state department to designate the LTTE a terrorist organisation along with the Canadian federal court upholding the validity of a security certificate stating the LTTE is engaged in terrorism are by themselves forebodings of doom for the Tigers in North America. Both events are seemingly unrelated, but viewed in holistic terms they could be construed as the cutting edges of a double edged weapon.
The decision arrived at by the neighbour to the north in ruling at an executive level that the LTTE is engaged in terrorism and having such decision endorsed at a judicial level will influence to a great extent the US state department in their attempt to designate the LTTE as a terrorist organisation. Doubts about obtaining judicial endorsement of an executive decision by the US state department may be dispelled through the Canadian example. Besides, the Canadian ruling itself will have some bearing on the US judicial process.
Likewise, if and when the neighbour to the south declares the LTTE as terrorist and clamps down heavily on those soliciting funds for it directly and indirectly, then Canada too is likely to follow suit in a decisive manner. As of now Canada has at times registered its opposition to some LTTE activity on its soil. It has not however come down really hard on Tiger money raising in a comprehensive way. The USA doing so will probably impel Canada to follow the same course too. Both processes will surely have a demonstration effect on each other and in the long run is likely to be mutually reinforcing.
If this assessment is based on facts that are common knowledge, there are other unreported happenings that further streng-then the belief that the North American noose is slowly tightening around the LTTE neck. Law enforcement, investigation and security authorities in both countries are already working closely together in this regard. This is because both countries view the LTTE phenomenon on North American soil as something linked to both. LTTE activity in the USA as well as Canada is very much intertwined in operational terms. Therefore from a strictly law-enforcement or security perspective, joint coordinated action between the USA and Canada on North American soil is very much necessary.
Already there is much cooperation on a field level. But more drastic and meaningful action is being planned by both countries. Once a decision is taken at government level to crack down on the LTTE, then there would be definite concerted action. The North American noose that is around the Tiger neck would become really tight then.
The Sri Lankan Tamil population in North America is tentatively estimated at 170,000 plus. Of this about 150,000 is presumed to be in Canada and about 20,000 in the States. In Canada the main concentration of about 135,000 is in the Ontario province. Quebec has about 8,000 and British Columbia another 7,000. Another 2,000 are dispersed all over Canada.
The USA has about 20,000 Sri Lankan Tamils. The majority of these (12,500) are in the New England states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and California. States such as Texas, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland and Washington DC also have sizeable numbers (6,000). Other US states too have negligible numbers (1,500), mainly students.
Taking North America as a whole one could describe Ontario in Canada as the enclave while the Tamils in other parts of that continent are in a sense scattered as a diaspora. The differences between the Tamils of Canada and the USA are both qualitative and quantitative. The North American Tamil population is, Canada 87%, USA 13%. Although the USA is a giant compared to Canada, it is the reverse as far as the quantity of Tamils is concerned. The Tamils in the USA are generally better educated and professionally qualified compared to Canada. Their average earning capacity is also much higher.
The Sri Lankan Tamil population in North America began swelling after 1983. The liberal immigration policies of Canada as compared with the USA saw the bulk of Tamils opting for the maple leaf rather than the stars and stripes. Tamil militant activity of any hue was not a problem for the US or Canada in the initial years. There was a lot of sympathy for Sri Lankan Tamils and even the few misdemeanours committed were treated lightly.
The wake up call to Canada was in 1985 when pro-Khalistan Sikh militancy reached an all time high. It was only then that Canadian security officials set up a separate desk to monitor pro-Eelam Tamil militants in Canada too. Even then it was understaffed and not very effective. The Canadian security environment was still sympathetic to the Tamil groups. By 1990 all other groups began adopting a very low profile amounting virtually to a non-presence. The LTTE became monarchs of all they surveyed in `Tamil' Canada.
Although the LTTE was being monitored, it was not viewed as a serious security threat. In fact some security officials had reportedly told LTTE activists that they would turn a blind eye to fund raising and propaganda within the community as long as the Tigers did not break Canadian laws and also refrained from asserting the LTTE connection in a strident manner. It was felt that the LTTE was only interested in fighting for a separate state within the boundaries of Sri Lanka and would not pose an external security threat to any other nation.
This seemingly nonchalant mood turned sharply when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the LTTE in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. That Tigers had struck against a former head of state on Indian soil was an eye opener to the Canucks. Their attitude towards the LTTE changed as there was the very real fear that the Tigers could strike in other places where Tamils were concentrated substantially. Moreover former Canadian Conservative Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had a close relationship with Rajiv Gandhi and took his killing personally. Since he was the prime minister then, scrutiny of the LTTE was widened in scope.
In the case of the USA, things were quite hunky dory till terrorism came home. The New York Trade Centre blasts and the Oklahoma explosion caused a sea change in the attitude of that country. There was also an emerging global trend against terrorism. The adage of one man's terrorist being another man's freedom fighter was no longer valid. There was a collective tendency among western nations to strike against terrorism regardless of who the perpetrators were or the cause espoused.
In the case of Sri Lanka, there was a change of government. The UNP with its comparatively poor human rights record went out of power and Chandrika Kumaratunge - the `great peace hope' - gained power. She went out of her way to extend a hand of friendship to the LTTE. The Tigers from a western perspective betrayed her and recom- menced the war. The LTTE record on human rights was also terrible. In the case of the government, their record was much better than that of the Tigers. Also the LTTE were perceived not as liberation fighters but as plain and simple terrorists. The central bank bombing threatened the lives of numerous Americans including children who were in the vicinity at that time. Two Canadian citizens of Sri Lankan origin were killed in that incident.
Both the USA and Canada were now becoming alive to the reality that was the LTTE. One facet of the North American Tiger phenomenon was the cross-border link of the LTTE. There was a visible connection between LTTE activists of both countries. Security intelligence revealed that the head of the overseas Tigers, Kumaran Pathma- nathan alias K. P., had toured the North American continent on a false passport in 1988 and streamlined the LTTE network in North America. He appointed ex-Catholic priest Thomas Amala- thas as head of the US Tigers while the Canadian end was looked after by Kunam. Later Kunam was replaced by Suresh in Canada. It is this Suresh who is being detained under a security certificate. Thomas, who married an East European refugee, has also been ousted. The US Tiger outfit is now run by Karuna whose able assistant is Visvanathan Rudrakumaran, the lawyer son of former TULF mayor for Jaffna, Rajah Visvanathan.
The LTTE in the USA functions under the nomenclature of World Tamil Co-Ordinating Committee (WTCC) while in Canada it is the World Tamil Movement (WTM). The two interact with each other greatly. Since the Tamil population in the USA is less, and more scattered, the Canadian Tamil enclave became the politico-cultural base for North America. Pro-LTTE books, booklets, pamphlets, newspapers, journals, magazines, video cassettes, audio cassettes etc produced in Canada were marketed to USA Tamils.
When demonstrations were staged in the USA at the White House or at the UNO premises, thousands of Canadian Tamils in buses, vans and cars would cross over to the USA and enhance the crowd there. Once when Canadian Tamils failed to do so, the US Tamils found themselves outnumbered by a rival Sinhalese group in Washington. So the contribution of Canadian Tamils in terms of man and musclepower was great whereas the moneypower of US Tamils was comparatively greater.
When Thomas was leader of the US Tigers, he was more or less in charge of North America. But after the more senior Suresh took over in Canada, he became the North American Tiger chief in practice. The US Tiger leaders also deferred to Suresh on crucial matters. Many of them used to visit Canada for instructions. It is suspected that Suresh too visited the USA on a false identity.
The fact that Suresh was not merely the Canadian chief but also that of the USA is very likely to have been a compelling factor in his arrest. It is interesting to note that US Attorney V. Rudrakumaran has been constantly moving in and out of Canada after Suresh's arrest. Rudrakumaran, though not eligible to practise in a Canadian court, has been coordinating the entire legal defence of Suresh.
The growing USA-Canada Tamil Tiger nexus is a source of worry to the security establishments of both countries. The chief USA fear is that the LTTE may be hired by other political groups in the US for terrorist activities. In Canada the worry is about growing Quebec separatism and the possible interaction of Tamil Tigers. The growing violence among Tamil youths, the narcotic connection, people-smuggling, extortion, frauds, gun-running etc are other contributory factors towards official concern.
Both countries have also taken note with concern of the fund raising within the Tamil community in North America. The element of threats and intimidation was greatly prevalent. A special team of FBI officials conducted a secret visit some time ago to Canada and held consultations with Canadian counterparts. The team also interviewed some Tamils and were shocked at the extent of extortion and the `wall of silence' in the community about it.
All this and more led to a joint conference some months ago between both countries on anti-terrorism in North America. The closed door conference held at Toronto was supplemented by material sent by European security officials on the LTTE presence in their countries. After comprehensive discussions, the conference concluded the LTTE was the most active terrorist group in North America as far as fund raising and propaganda was concerned. The situation necessitated a joint course of action aimed at controlling LTTE activity in North America. The North American noose went around the LTTE neck.