UN diplomat allegedly involved with terrorism

By Walter Jayawardhana

Sri Lanka's Defense spokesman and cabinet minister attacked United Nation's diplomat and former Canadian Liberal Party minister Alan Rock for failing to adopt an inquiry procedure "which is not up to internationally accepted methodologies" before accusing Sri Lankan security forces about child soldiers.

Defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella's statement accusing the ultra-liberal Canadian politician was published in the government's Defense Ministry website with a photograph of Alan Rock taken years before with colleagues of Waterloo Suresh who was arrested by US authorities following a sting operation for materially supporting a banned terrorist organization the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers.

Though the Defense spokesman did not say anything about Waterloo Suresh and Alan Rock, a Sunday English newspaper, that published the photograph originally January 14 , said Allan Rock was involved with the terrorist group for whose benefit Rock has brought out those UN accusations and alleged the diplomat of friendship with the terrorist group.

Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says the Sri Lankan government is having a zero tolerance policy on child soldiers and maintains, "Allan Rock in his report to the UN has failed to provide the much needed credible evidence to prove his allegations against the Security Forces."

The Colombo weekly, Sunday Standard in a page one exclusive story with a photograph of Alan Rock appearing with Waterloo Suresh's friends of his pro-LTTE student union said, "According to our sources in Canada, there is a very close friendship between Alan Rock and lots of LTTE front organizations and their agents, who are directly involved in raising funds for the LTTE in the Tamil Diaspora of Canada.

One such organisation is the Eelam Student Society of Waterloo University, Toronto, led by 'Waterloo Suresh' alias Suresh Sriskandarajah, with over three hundred members."

The controversy once again came to the surface as a recent UN Secretary General's report going by Alan Rock's report said, "Reports have also been received in Batticaloa District that on 14 and 26 June, (2006)Sri Lankan Army personnel carrying weapons, accompanied Karuna faction members who forcibly abducted and recruited nine children aged 14 (two children), 15 (one child) and 17 years (six children)." Usually the Under Secretary General for children and armed conflict, Ms. Radhika Commaraswamy would have given the report. But citing conflict of interests Radhika Coomaraswamy , an ethnic Sri Lankan Tamil hired Allan Rock to do the report who made a trip to Sri Lanka .

But many Sri Lankans have pointed out that she had hired another person with conflict of interests to do the job for her, and she would not have been totally ignorant of the fact.

Government's Defense spokesman censuring Allan Rock further said, "There are inherent weaknesses in his analysis of the subject and the inquiry procedure he had adopted is not up to internationally accepted methodologies,"

The Minister further said that Rock has based his allegations against the Security Forces on certain statements he is said to have obtained from certain people and institutions which themselves have again referred to many other sources.

He also expressed his doubts regarding the long chain of references in Rock's allegations saying that their main source might be the LTTE leader himself. Legal experts said the kind of evidence Rock has provided is "hearsay" which any court of law would refuse to touch.

Although the ministerial spokesman's statement was published in the Defense Ministry website with the photograph of Allan Rock with LTTE supporters from Waterloo University in Toronto the Minister did not speak of the particular relationship.

The University of Waterloo engineering graduate, Suresh Sri Skandarajah (26) who was arrested in Ontario during a U.S. anti-terror probe used his student status to mask his work for the Tamil Tigers terrorist organization and recruited other students in his university student union of Tamils to act as couriers to smuggle equipment to Sri Lanka, U.S. authorities have alleged.

The charge sheet against him said he was code named by the movement as Waterloo Suresh. Pointing his finger at the undisputed big time child soldier recruiter in Sri Lanka Minister Rambukwella said, "he could recall in an earlier report submitted to UN by Olara Ottunu, Special Rapporteur for Child Soldiers to the UN, had very clearly stated the fact that the LTTE was recruiting child soldiers.

The LTTE though made a pact to the international community that it would release all its child soldiers and cease child recruitment by year 2002, the outfit has been engaged in the heinous war crime since its inception in early 80s."

When some children, adolescent girls recruited by the LTTE died in a bombed out military training institute, Radhika Commaraswamy, siding with the LTTE propaganda entered into a controversy, hiding the fact that they were military trainees.

Thereafter many complained against her objectivity that followed the hiring of Allen Rock with the consent of former Secretary General Koffi Annan and the Permanent Representative of of Sri Lanka at the United Nations, Prasad Kariyawasam. Later, kariyawasam met Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and Radhika Coomaraswamy at his official residence. Karuna, who leads a breakaway group of the LTTE has continued his old practice of recruiting children for war but there is no substantial evidence that he did it with the help of the government. Independent observers have said he never ceased his practice when he left the LTTE.

Sunday Standard said: 'Allan Rock and the Eelam Society Students have been very close friends, including Waterloo Suresh and his operations team,' our reliable sources said.

"Allan Rock at one time worked as a Minister under the Liberal government led by Paul Edgar Philippe Martin which lost the parliament elections last year. The Conservative party, under Stephen Joseph Harper, that came into power called for the banning of the LTTE.

"The Sunday Standard received photographs of the Liberal party convention held a few months ago. Alan Rock and top level party representatives including former Prime Minister Paul Martin attended the convention; also in attendance were LTTE agents Parthi Kandawel, Theepan Vigneswaran, Senthoo, Sukeevan Kailayapathy and Suthan, who are fundraisers for the LTTE in Canada . (We have more information about this event and there friendship.)"

Waterloo Suresh headed a student body of Sri Lankan Tamils who were alleged to be involved in pro-LTTE activities in the Waterloo University near Toronto.

He was wanted in New York to face charges of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organisation.

He is accused of researching and acquiring aviation equipment, submarine and warship design software, communications equipment and, from a British Columbia company, night-vision equipment.

He also allegedly laundered money for Tiger activities, FBI reports said. Sriskandarajah was arrested near Toronto last year at the urgent request of the U.S. government.

Allan Rock was alleged to be involved in the political affiliations it maintained with Rocks political party.