Canadian newspapers demand ban on LTTE

CANADA: Two top Canadian newspapers called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper Wednesday to outlaw the LTTE as terrorists after a human rights report accused the Sri Lankan separatist group of extortion abroad.

The National Post and The Globe and Mail said in editorials the new Prime Minister must keep his recent election promise to ban the group.

"The Tigers belong in that special category of hell reserved for the likes of Al-Qaeda and Hamas, the activities of which rightly are illegal in Canada," wrote the National Post.

"Tiger bagmen are terrorising Canadians. Officially labelling them as terrorists, in keeping with a recommendation of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, would make it much easier for the police to investigate and prosecute them," echoed The Globe and Mail.

The New York-based rights organisation Human Rights Watch said in a 45-page report that Tigers are using threats, intimidation and violence to extort millions of dollars from Tamils living abroad, including some 200,000 Tamils in Canada.

In Toronto, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) representatives typically press families for 2,150 dollars to 4,300 dollars, while some businesses have been asked for up to 86,000 dollars, the rights watchdog said.

Vijay Sappani of the Canadian Tamil Congress denied the accusations.

"In the past we have seen such reports from Jo Becker (the report's author) and we have seen that these are false accusations," he told broadcaster CTV. "From a scientific viewpoint, (the report) has no validity. All of the accusations she's made have no base to it."

"There is no proof of their claims, and when there is no proof, it makes it difficult for anybody to investigate it," he said.

OTTAWA, Thursday, AFP