Canadian Minister denounces Tamil parliamentarian's speech

TORONTO - Canada's Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney said on Thursday he was "shocked and appalled" after a New Democratic Party MP rose in the House of Commons to commemorate Tamil Heroes Day, which honours fallen Tamil Tigers rebels.

Tiger sympathiser Rathika Sitsabaiesan speaks at the Canadian House of Commons

Steven Blaney called upon Rathika Sitsabaiesan, a Sri Lankan-born rookie MP, to apologise "to veterans and all Canadians" for her statement that called the day "an important event" and likened it to Remembrance Day.

Tamil Heroes Day held every November 27 was created by the Tamil Tigers to mark the date the first member of the armed separatist group was killed. Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran traditionally gave a defiant speech on that day.

"Tamil Heroes Day is dedicated to the glorification of the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known more commonly as the Tamil Tigers," said Blaney, pointing out that the Tigers are on Canada's list of designated terrorist entities.

"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."

He called upon Ms. Sitsabaiesan, the MP for Scarborough-Rouge River, "to stop shopping for votes from terrorist-linked groups, and to immediately apologise to veterans and all Canadians for these comments."

In an email on Thursday, Ms. Sitsabaiesan said she was not supporting 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."

Steven Blaney

But photographs of a Heroes Day event held on Thursday in Markham, Ont., and posted on the Facebook page of the Tamil Youth Organisation-Canada, showed the Tamil Tigers' militaristic flag and visitors walking past a wall of portraits of men and women in uniforms.

During their three-decade campaign for Tamil independence, the Tigers conducted hundreds of suicide bombings and assassinated moderate Tamil leaders and Rajiv Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister. They were crushed by the Security Forces in 2009.

The Tigers have been a designated a terrorist group under Canadian law since 2006, when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police dismantled the group's branch offices in Toronto and Montreal, which had raised millions to support terrorism.

A half-dozen Toronto-area men were convicted of supplying arms and equipment to the Tigers.

Since the fighting ended five years ago, Heroes Day has become, for some, a day to reflect on the toll of the war against terrorism, which not only decimated the Tigers but also killed an untold number of civilians. But on his website, Sri Lanka-Canadian journalist D.B.S. Jeyaraj wrote 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.'"

A video of Ms. Sitsabaiesan's speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday was posted on her YouTube page.

It showed her reading from a prepared statement that began, "Mr. Speaker as Canadians of Tamil heritage in November we commemorate two important events, Remembrance Day and the Tamil Heroes Day.

This month symbolises the beauty of life because we remember all those who sacrifice their lives for the rest of us to live in peace and freedom."

Parliamentary Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Human Rights, Deepak Obhrai, said there was no denying that Tamils faced discrimination in Sri Lanka, "but you can't compare Remembrance Day to Tamil Heroes Day."

The Calgary MP said it was "a disservice to veterans" to draw such a parallel.

"I think it needs to be pointed out to her that you can't compare the two, you can't compare a terrorist organisation to people who have fought for core Canadian values," he said.

- National Post