Canada Put Tigers On Terror List

BBC News

April 10, 2006

The Canadian government has said it is listing Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels as a terrorist group. The government, elected in January, said the Tigers' "repeated use of violence since signing a ceasefire agreement is unacceptable".

Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said the decision was long overdue and criticised the previous Liberal administration for not acting.

The UN, US and UK are among those who have listed the Tigers as terrorists.

The Tamil Tigers want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka. More than 60,000 people died during two decades of conflict.

A ceasefire was signed in February 2002 but has been under severe strain and the Tigers and the Sri Lanka government are scheduled to hold another round of talks in Geneva between 19 and 21 April to try to salvage it.

Government warned

The decision of the ruling Conservatives will stop the Tigers from fund-raising in the country.

Mr Day said: "Our government is clearly determined to take decisive steps to ensure the safety of Canadians against terrorism."

Only a small minority of Tamils support the extreme tactics and measures the [Tigers use]"

Canadian government

Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the Tigers' "repeated use of violence... seriously calls into question [their] commitment to the peace process".

Ethirajan Anbarasan of the BBC Tamil service says the decision will be a setback to the Tigers, who have for years tried to convince the world that theirs is a liberation struggle.

He says Canada may have taken the step because it had started witnessing the spill-over of the ethnic conflict into its territory - in violence among Tamil expatriate gangs and allegations of forceful fund-raising.

The Canadian government statement said only a "small minority of Tamils support the extreme tactics and measures the [Tigers use]".

While announcing the move, the government also warned that the Sri Lankan government "must also fulfil its pledge to bring a negotiated resolution to the conflict".

The Tigers and the government met in Geneva in February and agreed to scale down the fighting that had flared.

More than 120 people - including about 80 soldiers and sailors, and many civilians - were killed in December and January.

Tamil Tiger supporters say more than 40 Tamils were killed by the security forces in a series of attacks since the start of December. Others blame some of those deaths on the rebels or other armed groups.

But even since the February talks, there has been a string of violent attacks.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/4897192.stm

Published: 2006/04/10 17:30:21 GMT

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