Canadian Schools Honor Terror Organization

www.canada.com...

Some Canadian schools are honoring the terrorist organization Tamil Tigers. From the sounds of this article, it looks like these students are being recruited to call for changes in the group having a 'terrorist distinction' with the government.

They raise the flag of the terror group and praise the 'fallen heroes' of the Tamil homeland. (BTW - The Tamil flag has crossed AK-47s) Seems there is a Tamil Student Associaton as well.

Looks like there is some confusion for the students over who is a freedom fighter and who is a terrorist.

It's a rather frightning article for parents. Read on.
www.canada.com...



[edit on 9/4/2006 by FlyersFan]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Some Canadian schools are honoring the terrorist organization Tamil Tigers. From the sounds of this article, it looks like these students are being recruited to call for changes in the group having a 'terrorist distinction' with the government.

You make it sound like the schools themselves are promoting this. The government involvement in Canadian universities and colleges is quite extensive, but I don't believe they are actively promoting the Tigers as part of the curriculum.

Seems there is a Tamil Student Associaton as well.

A nice little aside in your post...I almost missed reading it and yet it is the crux of the matter. Here's a few snippets from the article;

from your link

praising the ''fallen heroes'' of the struggle for a Tamil homeland are a part of Tamil student club activities at several Canadian universities

-snip-

a part of Tamil student activities in Guelph, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and other communities.

-snip-

The Ryerson Tamil Student Association at Ryerson University in Toronto hailed its 2005 on-campus event as ''a memorial service to remember and pay respect to the brave souls who passed away fighting for our freedom,'' on its website.

Sounds to me that the only ones promoting the Tamil Tigers are the Tamil students themselves and not the schools, wouldn't you agree?

Looks like there is some confusion for the students over who is a freedom fighter and who is a terrorist.

I don't believe there is any confusion among these students...perhaps there's a reason why they are allying themselves with the terror group.

from your link

The struggle in Sri Lanka is an emotional one for all sides, said James Ross, a legal adviser for Human Rights Watch.

Flying the Tiger flag among the expatriate communities can be intensely controversial.

''It is necessary to distinguish between what is criminal activity and what is freedom of expression,'' said Ross, who recently returned from Sri Lanka.

''There are historical reasons why many Tamils in Canada support the Tamil Tigers the circumstances under which many left Sri Lanka, where they were subjected to abuses by the government. That said, they are supporting an organization that itself commits wide-spread human rights abuses and war crimes.''

Care to look into what those government abuses were?

and...

Do you believe in the right to take up arms against corrupt government?

Disclaimer: I am not a Tamil Tiger supporter, nor do I support terrorism in any form whatsoever.

Trust CanWest to completely miss the point and try to create a wedge issue.

Originally posted by masqua
You make it sound like the schools themselves are promoting this.

I didn't mean to make it sound like that. I didn't think I did.

the only ones promoting the Tamil Tigers are the Tamil students themselves ...

The students are doing the promoting. The promoting is being done and the school is allowing it therefore they are responsible.

Do you believe in the right to take up arms against corrupt government?

I am a firm believer in the right to bear arms and that people have a right to overthrown bad governments. However, the fact remains that the Tamil Tigers are recognized as a terrorist organization b the Canadian government.

Tamil Tigers claim to be freedom fighters. The government of Canada says they are terrorists. It doesn't matter what the Tamil Tigers say, what matters is that the government in the country where those people are citizens says it is a terrorist organiztion and therefore those students shouldn't be using school space, time, or any material goods to promote their position.

Disclaimer: I am not a Tamil Tiger supporter, nor do I support terrorism in any form whatsoever.

I have no position on if the Tamil Tigers are a terror organization or not. I'm bringing this article to the forum for discussion.



[edit on 9/4/2006 by FlyersFan]

I am a firm believer in the right to bear arms and that people have a right to overthrown bad governments. However, the fact remains that the Tamil Tigers are recognized as a terrorist organization b the Canadian government.

That is somewhat dependant on which party forms Canadian government. The Liberal government from 1993-2005 never listed the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization, while the Conservatives took issue with that.

canadiancoalition.com...

Here's some background from a conservative viewpoint:
www.mackenzieinstitute.com...

And a bit of reading material from the CBC:
www.cbc.ca...

The Tamil Tigers aren't the only ones, look up Hezbollah in Canada sometime...

I do agree that it sounds like you were saying that the schools themselves were promoting this. It is Tamil student associations.

I'm only familiar with the Waterloo situation. That association was suspended in 2004 and immediately after their suspension was lifted at the beginning of 2006 they held one of these events. Their rally was one of the ones mentioned in the article, but it happened in back in January and they are being investigated by the UW.

Sri Lankans are among our top refugee groups and it is a pretty sensitive issue. They were only recently deemed a terrorist organization and that could change depending on which party is in power. I don't really consider anything a minority government does permanent and binding and everything can change with the next election. At any given point in time, probably over 60% of Canadians don't agree with our government.

But you do, and I hear it endlessly from American members.

Originally posted by FlyersFan

the only ones promoting the Tamil Tigers are the Tamil students themselves ...

The students are doing the promoting. The promoting is being done and the school is allowing it therefore they are responsible.

What's the matter, you have a problem with freedom of speech now?

Looks like an opportunity to slap Canada, not a very good one either.

Originally posted by intrepid
What's the matter, you have a problem with freedom of speech now?

Oh brother. No. But freedom of speech has it's time and place. It's very simple. The Canadian government has said this is a terrorist organization. The schools allow the activities on campus. No matter if I think the group is terrorist or not, the fact remains that the government has said it's a terrorist group. If the students are waving the groups flag; giving talks that promote it; and generally supporting it on campus using school buildings and things then the government has a right to investigate these activities and the people involved. It has an obligation to do so.

Once that happens (if it hasn't already) then you'll see people whine that they aren't allowed to say what they want - even if what they are saying is irresponsible and ill-placed. If they want to have support for Tamil groups .. go have 'em. Don't do it in the schools.

Parents decide where to send their kids and their money. Having students openly, and obviously with school approval, have groups that support terror organizations will effect school income and enrollment.

Looks like an opportunity to slap Canada, not a very good one either.

You are plain old wrong about that. I'm not slapping Canada. I like Canada. You are projecting and assuming ....

[edit on 9/5/2006 by FlyersFan]

Originally posted by FlyersFan
Some Canadian schools are honoring the terrorist organization Tamil Tigers. From the sounds of this article, it looks like these students are being recruited to call for changes in the group having a 'terrorist distinction' with the government.

The above certainly does make it sound as if you're blaming the Canadian schools. There's no ambiguity there. Perhaps you should read, and write, more carefully.

Tamil Tigers claim to be freedom fighters. The government of Canada says they are terrorists. It doesn't matter what the Tamil Tigers say, what matters is that the government in the country where those people are citizens says it is a terrorist organiztion and therefore those students shouldn't be using school space, time, or any material goods to promote their position.

So Governments are always right? Students aren't allowed to come to their own conclusions on this? George Carlin was right when he said that the owners of the US don't want a well-informed citizenry capable of critical thinking... they want obedient workers.

Does anyone else remember when Nelson Mandela's ANC was a terrorist organisation? (Just one example - a better one might be those people who, many years later, wound up running Israel.)

Id like to know if Tamil Tigers is actually a terrorists organization. Everyone here just assumes they are because the Canadian government says so. Im gonna look it up. Odds are I will find that Tamil Tigers (just like Hezbollah) are less a terrorists organization as they are an organization which sets up programs to helps its people. Either that they are an actual terror organization, and for those who dont know, west intel founds funds and controls ALL real terror organizations.

How can we go point the finger at these so-called "terrorist" organizations, when our soldiers, our military, and our money is going into committing terrorist acts ourselves?



(911 hit)

This is "terrorism"....



(Just ONE of the countless night raids carried out on Iraq since 2003)

This, is "fighting terrorism"...



This is "EVIL!"



This is "Fighting for Peace and Justice"...

They are both fricken terrorism...and its about time we realized that

Lets not lose sight of the fact that ALL the Elites are in on this together, the American Elite, Saudi Elite, Iraq Elite, British Elite, every Elite in the whole world....they are all business partners.



They are all in on it together. Its the Elite VS. the People....thats how its always been. Its just now they have mass propoganda machines, and mass military to opress at levels, never before seen.

Are you sick of this yet? Time to wake up, and fight tyranny!


[edit on 5-9-2006 by AscendedMaster]

[edit on 5-9-2006 by AscendedMaster]

Originally posted by rich23
Perhaps you should read, and write, more carefully.

I read it just fine. In the future I will choose my words more carefully so that everyone can be sure of what I mean. Get over it already.

So Governments are always right? Students aren't allowed to come to their own conclusions on this?

Governments make mistakes. But that doesn't matter. As I said, i have no opinion on if they are terrorists or not. The fact is that the government has them on the terrorist list. That means that students shouldn't be allowed to be pushing this group on school grounds .. and for the reasons I said. If they want to come to their own conclusions fine, just get the organizations that support what the government has determined to be terrorist organizations out of the school.

Also the fact is that the students and those supporting the Tigers don't have all the information that the government has. The students can sit there and do the 'in' thing that students have been doing for decades ... protest anything that the government says .... but the fact still remains that the government has more information more intelligence gathered and they have stated it's a terror organization. Therefore it doesn't belong on school grounds.

Over the past 2 dozen years, many Tamils have emigrated to Canada to avoid a conflict which has already killed many thousands of them. The children of those immigrants are now going to colleges and universities, and being full of retribution, are organizing rallies under the noses of those institutions.

It is not condoned by the administrations of those colleges and universities, but happening in spite of that. If they were not allowed to meet on campus (and, you're right, they shouldn't be), they would nevertheless meet privately.

Here's a few items I've found in researching this group...nasty, nasty conflict, IMO

First...the terrorist designation...

www.cbc.ca...

10 Apr 2006 11:47:45

The Tamil Tigers, a rebel group fighting for an independent state in Sri Lanka, has been added to Canada's official list of terrorist organizations.

That was 6 months ago by the new Conservative government. However, from the same link...

The Tigers have been fighting for an independent Tamil state on the island of Sri Lanka since the 1980s. More than 60,000 people have died in their struggle with the Sinhalese government.

The LTTE has used suicide bombers and child soldiers in the conflict, leading Western countries, including the United States and Britain, to label them as terrorists.

About time, wouldn't you think? More than 25 years of struggle and they were just listed NOW?

From the Mackenzie Institute...

www.mackenzieinstitute.com...

The most recent trend in LTTE operations in Canada consists of harassing and threatening mainstream media sources and reporters who document Tiger crimes and abuses here. This goes well beyond playing the "race card" as they have in the past. Until recently, the LTTE has reserved both the threat and use of violence for Canadian Tamils who do not support the cause. Harassment and threats against the wider Canadian community should be taken seriously. As Ovind Fuglerud writes of LTTE leaders in Life on the Outside: "When they speak, they do so with the undoubted authority of an organization which shares the responsibility for over 60,000 lives having ended violently in the last 15 years." This fact has not been lost on Canadian police officers; those who provide expert evidence about the LTTE and related groups wear body armour when testifying in the courtroom

The link above also provides a list of some of the atrocities which the Tigers have committed.

So, FlyersFan...I agree with you that such activities on campus should be actively discouraged by the RCMP, CSIS and all other anti-terrorism organizations which are the arms of the government. I would think, though, that the Campus Police and institutional administrations are woefully inadequate to handle this group. I'm almost convinced it's better to have them gather where they can be easily infiltrated, rather than see them go 'underground'.

So, what's being done about it? Well, there is this recent bust...

www.asiantribune.com.../1708

Brooklyn, NY - Two complaints were unsealed this morning in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn charging eight defendants with multiple crimes, including conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE or Tamil Tigers). Four of the defendants were arrested on Long Island, New York, on August 19, 2006, after three of them traveled to New York from Canada to attempt to purchase from an agent acting in an undercover capacity Russian-made SA18 surface-to-air missiles, missile launchers, AK-47s, and other weapons to be used by the LTTE in its rapidly escalating conflict against the Sri Lankan military. These four defendants were acting at the direction of senior LTTE leadership in Sri Lanka.
(Bolding mine)

Since it's a group which was only designated as terrorist 6 months ago, I'd say the PTB are actively on their case.



[edit on 5-9-2006 by masqua]

I go to a canadian school. First time I hear about this.