From the Edmonton Sun:
Nine Tamil Tiger supporters - including four from Canada - were arrested for trying to buy Russian-made missiles and firearms for the terrorist group.
One of the Canadians - Sahilal "Sahil" Sabaratnam, 27 - arrested by the FBI in Long Island on Saturday was described by authorities as the financial mastermind of the operation.
The RCMP also arrested Suresh Sriskandarajah, 26, in southern Ontario in connection with the scheme. He's expected to be extradited to the U.S.
Canadian citizen Sathajhan "Satha" Sarachandran, 26, and Thiruthanikan "Thani" Thanigasalam, 37, described as being from Canada, were also arrested.
The alleged financial mastermind, Sahilal Sabaratnam, also happens to be the name of a senior member of the Canadian Tamil Congress:
Sahilal Sabaratnam,
Director, Communications
Canadian Tamil Congress, Toronto
Tel: (416) 662-6372
e-mail:ctc.toronto@gmail.com
The CTC is denying any knowledge of the man:
The name Sahilal Sabaratnam is listed as director of communications for the Canadian Tamil Congress in Toronto on an April 29, 2005, press release. David Poopalapillai, spokesman for the group, said last night that he didn't know him.
Right. The CTC seems to expend a great deal of effort denying things:
Members of Canada's Tamil community say they are being aggressively pursued and extorted by Tamil Tiger agents raising money for attacks in their homeland, according to a new report.
Human Rights Watch says intimidating bagmen are pressuring Canada's Tamil population of about 250,000 to lend money, re-mortgage their homes or even skip meals to help fund the fight for a separate Sri Lankan state.
One man told OMNI Television he was asked to get a second mortgage on his house.
Officials for the Tamil community in Toronto say they are not aware of such extortion tactics.
Vijay Sappani, of the Canadian Tamil Congress, says such reports are a slur against his people and create a skewed image.
"In the past we have seen such reports from Jo Becker and we have seen that these are false accusations," he told CTV Newsnet Wednesday.
"From a scientific viewpoint, it has no validity. All of the accusations she's made have no base to it."
Sappani said the Canadian Tamil population has only reported being visited, not extorted, and those visits came from individuals in groups not part of the LTTE.
Sappani said the scenario described in the report is not reality.
"There is no proof of their claims, and when there is no proof, it makes it difficult for anybody to investigate it," he said.
One point for Mr Sappani: you don't need to investigate something for which you already have proof. I expect, therefore, that using the lesser standard of initiating an investigation based on suspicion and not incontrovertible proof, the CTC might find itself being at the receiving end of some serious investigating.
