World Tamil Movement is listed as a terrorist organization in Canada - By Asoka Weerasinghe - The Editor (Letters) THE OTTAWA CITIZEN, Sir: If ever there is a reason for every Sri Lankan bus and train commuter, man, woman, boy, and girl to thank Canada’s Conservative Government before they get on these buses and trains each morning, it is for its caring to save them from possible death from exploding bombs planted in buses and trains by Tamil Tigers, is the listing of the World Tamil Movement (WTM) as a terrorist organization. The WTM has funded the Tamil Tigers for over a decade with Canadian dollars, and millions of it mainly collected through extortion, to buy explosives and weapons to wreak carnage in Sri Lanka. Every morning each commuter prays to Lady Luck to bring them back home safely each evening, and now no doubt there will be an additional morning ‘Thank You’ prayer for Canada’s Conservative Government who unlike the Liberals cared less for the 100,000 Tamil votes in the Greater Toronto Area ridings but for the security of Canadians as well as guarding the right to life of Sri Lanka’s vulnerable and innocent ordinary people who cannot afford a car to get to work, or send their children to school. Minister of Public Safety, Stockwell Day’s announcement of listing WTM as a terrorist group also vindicates him having been accused of being a "racist" by the Liberal Government’s Finance Minister Paul Martin and Maria Minna, Minister for CIDA, for questioning them during the House of Commons Question Period in May 2000, for attending a fund raising dinner for the Tamil Tigers organized by the World Tamil Movement in Toronto. Bravo and Thank You I say to the Conservative Party of Canada for being gutsy and honest to cap the fund raising efforts for the Tamils Tigers on Canadian soil, the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world, and for that very reason I am proud to be a Conservative Canadian.

Tamil group added to list of banned terrorist organizations - Giving money would become illegal but Toronto-based non-profit may appeal - Stewart Bell, Canwest News Service Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 TORONTO -- The federal government has outlawed the World Tamil Movement, a Toronto-based non-profit organization, under the Anti-Terrorism Act, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day announced Monday. Under the initiative, it would become illegal to give money to that organization. The move, which in part aims to protect legitimate businesses that may be extorted for funds, signals an aggressive new approach to combating terrorist financing in Canada. Adding the group to Canada's list of banned organizations should serve as "a message to [extortion victims] and all Canadians that they will be protected from those who would try to use various pressure tactics or means of extortion to gain financial assets to help in terrorist causes," Day said. The decision to add the organization to Canada's list of outlawed terrorist groups marks the first time Ottawa has used the anti-terrorism law to shut down a Canadian community group for ties to terrorists. Financial institutions were officially notified of the government's intentions Monday morning by Canada's banking regulator. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions advised banks and insurance companies to notify the RCMP or CSIS if they hold any accounts linked to the WTM. The announcement may mark the end for the WTM, which has operated in Canada since the 1980s. Earlier this year, the RCMP seized dozens of bank accounts linked to the group's officers and shut down its Montreal branch office (full report in Vancouver Sun).

Government freezes assets of Tamil support organization; Non-profit group put on terror list - A non-profit group known for going door to door collecting financial support that ended up in the hands of the Tamil Tigers is now on a list of Canada’s known terrorist groups and has had its assets frozen, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said Monday. The World Tamil Movement, which was created in 1986, has been given the designation for facilitating terrorist activity and for acting on behalf of the terrorist group, the government said. "It will send a clear message to groups who assist or are involved in any way in terrorist activity: they will indeed be stopped in Canada," Day told a news conference in Toronto. The organization has been known for canvassing Tamil populations in Toronto communities demanding donations, sometimes by using aggressive intimidation tactics to get the money. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting a rebel war in Sri Lanka since 1983 and many groups outside of Sri Lanka have been raising money to support the conflict. The WTM became a front to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Canada, which was outlawed under the Anti-Terrorism Act in 2006. While the WTM has managed to funnel money overseas, Day said he could not comment on the specific amount because of an ongoing investigation (full report in Chronicle Herald in Canada).

Tamil group blacklisted - The World Tamil Movement is Canada's newest blacklisted terrorist group, a step that Ottawa hopes will stem the flow of cash to the Tamil Tigers. Calling the non-profit organization based in Scarborough the leading front for the Tigers that raises funds by intimidating and threatening Canadians, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day delivered the announcement yesterday during a stop in Toronto. The move makes it illegal for the group to move money from Canada to Sri Lanka, he said. "It will also be illegal for individuals or other groups or associations to assist in any way the World Tamil Movement, to raise funds, protect assets or in other way financially assist that organization," Day said. A spokesman for the Canadian Tamil Congress said Tamils are "deeply disturbed and profoundly saddened" by yesterday's announcement (full report in Toronto Sun).

Canada brands Tamil group as terrorist front for Tigers - Canadian assets frozen after probe finds links to Sri Lankan militants - The controversial World Tamil Movement has been added to Canada's list of terrorist organizations, the latest move in an ongoing investigation that links the group to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers. The group's assets have been frozen and could be seized by Canada's attorney general, said Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, who announced the decision at a Toronto news conference yesterday. "We want to make sure any group who would help terrorist organizations is prevented from doing that," said Day. The minister would not say whether charges would be laid against the group or its members, citing a continuing government probe. In 2006, the RCMP raided the group's office in Scarborough and seized documents that included step-by-step instructions on how to set up a front organization and indoctrinate children. About two months ago, the federal police force sought court approval to seize the WTM's bank accounts. In a 400-page affidavit filed in federal court, the RCMP accuses the World Tamil Movement of orchestrating a complex extortion scheme that targets Tamil Canadians and pressures them to donate money to the LTTE, a militant separatist group that has been fighting for an independent homeland in north and east Sri Lanka since the 1970s. Published reports have previously suggested that as much as $1 million a month leaves Canada to support the LTTE. Day, however, refused to speculate on the amount when speaking to reporters yesterday. "They (the WTM) have been collecting lots of funds," said Sri Lankan Consul General Bandula Jayasekera, describing complaints from community members who say the group harassed them for money. "We've known for years they're the front of the LTTE – it's not a secret." The Toronto-based Sri Lanka United Association of Canada echoed Jayasekera's stance, and said it welcomed the government decision to outlaw the group. Executives of the World Tamil Movement describe the organization as a community services agency that focuses on settlement assistance, Tamil education and community development, with offices around the world (Full report in the Star)..

Canada lists World Tamil Movement under terrorist outfits - Stewart Bell, National Post - A Toronto-based non-profit organization has been outlawed by Cabinet under the Anti-Terrorism Act, in what may signal an aggressive new approach to combating terrorist financing in Canada. The decision to add the World Tamil Movement to Canada's list of outlawed terrorist groups marks the first time Ottawa has used the anti-terrorism law to shut down a Canadian community group for ties to terrorists. Stockwell Day, the Minister of Public Safety, was expected to make the announcement in Toronto today at 1 p.m. but financial institutions were officially notified at 9 a.m. this morning by Canada's banking regulator. The directive issued by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions advised banks and insurance companies to notify the RCMP or CSIS if they hold any accounts linked to the WTM. The announcement may mark the end of the road for the WTM, which has operated in Canada since the 1980s. Earlier this year, the RCMP seized dozens of bank accounts linked to the group's officers and shut down its Montreal branch office. The Anti-Terrorism Act, passed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, allows federal Cabinet to prepare a list of "entitites" whose activities are proscribed by Canadian law due to their involvement in terrorist violence. Until today's announcement, there were 40 listed entities, all of them groups directly engaged in violence, such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas. Although the law allows for the listing of front or support groups, Cabinet had so far refrained from doing so. Because this is a first, it is unclear what will happen next. The listing makes it illegal to financially support the group. Presumably, the WTM offices in Canada would be forced to close and cease operations. The group could also appeal the ruling (full report in Sri Lanka Defence Ministry).