Declawing
the Tigers
The new Conservative government is much more serious about
stopping terror than was the previous Liberal administration. The
proof is in Cabinet's apparent decision, reported in today's National
Post by Stewart Bell, to finally outlaw the Tamil Tigers.
Officially called the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the
Tigers are the world's most fervent suicide bombers, having launched
more attacks in their war against the Sri Lankan government than
even Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. Over the past 20 years, the
LTTE's war for an independent homeland has cost 60,000 lives in Sri
Lanka.
Three times, the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service asked
the Liberals to ban the Tigers; each time, the Liberals refused. Their
excuse was the need to maintain neutrality in case Canada was called
upon to be "honest brokers" for peace. The real reason, we suspect,
was fear of alienating Tamil-Canadian voters -- some of whom see the
Tigers as freedom fighters.
Now, the Tories have placed national security above partisan
interests. Adding the Tigers to this country's official list of banned
terror groups will permit the Mounties and local police to arrest
anyone belonging to, fundraising for, recruiting or organizing on
behalf of the LTTE.
Since last fall, the Tigers have reportedly been going door-to-door in
Toronto's 125,000-strong expatriate Tamil community, extorting "war
taxes" totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars. Without this huge
infusion of cash -- thought to be one-third or more of the Tigers'
internationally-raised funds -- it will be harder for the LTTE to
continue its insurgent war.
The mere fact that the Tories have the courage to ban this murderous
organization is cause for celebration -- especially for
Tamil-Canadians, the primary victims of the LTTE extortion rackets
that the former Liberal government refused to shut down.
[Editorial-National Post]
