LTTE stamps on French democracy
Fund-raising
for the LTTE is hardly ever done legally. Just as in Sri Lanka in most
other countries where expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils live, much of the
funds have been obtained by threats, coercion and extortion. Credit Card
scams, human smuggling, trade in illegal arms and a whole range of
illegal activities have been closely linked to these pro-LTTE groups
among Tamils expatriates in the West.
France would not have been an exception to these tactics of a group
that is continuing with a separatist agenda that has been effectively
defeated in Sri Lanka, but continues its propaganda abroad, aimed at
misleading the public and politicians in their present countries of
domicile about Sri Lanka and the condition of Tamils here. The French
have been successful in taking legal action against some of the illegal
activities of the pro-LTTE groups.
|
|
Some of the
pro-LTTE stamps |
What was exposed last week was the successful abuse by these groups
of the democratic freedoms of their host country to defraud the state,
and use a state authorized institution to raise funds through the
release of postage stamps and also spread the message of the LTTE within
France and outside by letters and parcels that will carry those illegal
stamps.
Pro-LTTE network
There were six 'stamps' produced by the pro-LTTE network that were
circulating in France in small numbers, showing images of former LTTE
leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE’s symbol of a tiger head with
and two guns on a red background, the Eelam map, and what the LTTE has
claimed to be the national flower, tree, and bird of Tamil Eelam it
sought to establish in Sri Lanka through its campaign of terror. Those
behind this scam claimed the 'stamps' had been approved by the French
Ministry of Post of France, and that they can be used to send letters
and parcels.
Following inquiry by Ambassador Dayan Jayatillake the French postal
authority said it had not given clearance to issue such stamps. This
followed the embassy’s inquiries from La Poste, the issuing authority
for official stamps in France, with regard to these stamps bearing the
symbols of an organization which was responsible for many atrocities
that are well known by the world community, and when the LTTE remains a
listed terrorist organization in the EU since 2006.
The timely exposure of this philatelic scam by some sharp tiger
watchers abroad, sections of the local media, and quick action by the
Sri Lanka embassy in Paris prompted the French authorities to take quick
action to curb the spread of this scam and possibly alerted other
European countries to the possibility of such illegal activity being
carried out elsewhere too.
The French embassy in Colombo too was quick to announce that these
'stamps' had no official sanction. Yet, the matter was serious enough
for the Minister of External Affairs Prof. GL Peiris to call in the
ambassador of France to Sri Lanka Christine Robichon to express Sri
Lanka's concern over the issue of these stamps by the French mail
service depicting images of the banned Tamil Tiger terrorist group.
Minister Peiris notified the French Ambassador that although the issue
of stamps is not facilitated by the French government, it is the
government's responsibility to ensure publication of such images of a
banned terrorist group should not have happened and urged the French
government to cancel the circulation of the stamps with immediate
effect.
Emphasizing that this action by an LTTE front organization would harm
the reputation of the French government globally, the minister expressed
confidence that the government of France would take immediate action not
to give credence to such moves by a terrorist front.
Public opinion
French Ambassador Ms. Robichon has explained that La Poste had failed
to detect the violations of the conditions and had printed the stamps by
mistake, through what appears to be an abuse of its on-line stamp
ordering service for limited needs. However, the French Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has informed La Poste that LTTE is a terrorist group
banned by the EU in 2006, and the mail service has assured the French
government that no such stamps will be printed further.
What is most significant in this pro-LTTE scam is what Prof. Peiris
pointed out to the French ambassador that when governments, especially
in the West, allow the pro-LTTE groups to operate in such a manner, the
Sri Lankan public will question those countries’ bona-fides, with the
Sri Lankan government having to consider the public opinion here since
the pro-LTTE groups overseas are still seeking to achieve their
objectives through different means.
Even if one is to hopefully accept that this philatelic scam in
France has been nipped in the bud, what this move by the pro-LTTE
network in France has shown is the danger that all countries of the West
face today, with the existence of such groups that are wedded to a
conspiratorial terrorist agenda, and are ready to abuse the very
democratic freedoms available in those countries to threaten the
prevailing system.
These are not matters of individual criminality, but organized
collective crime that is making capital of the freedoms available to
undermine those very freedoms. Complacency on the face of such
threatening groups in the countries of the West could prove much more
dangerous in the coming years, with the economic crises facing Europe,
about which a leading US military analyst has said they could lead to
widespread civil unrest in Europe. The operating of groups nurtured
under terrorism and with the least respect for democracy in such
countries could be a grave danger to the societies that face major
challenges that can divert their attention from conspiracies within. The
French 'stamps' are therefore a much needed alarm call to all countries
in the West, and their politicians, who continue to molly-coddle the
pro-LTTE groups, in a mistaken zeal for accountability and an
'independent international' inquiry on Sri Lanka. To view some of the
stamps visit:
http://www.info.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201201/20120103ltte_postage_stamps_france.htm>http://www.info.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca201201/20120103ltte_postage_stamps_france.htm
AI bonds with Canadian Tamils
Adding to the danger exposed in France, was a further manifestation
of the duplicity of human rights organizations in their links with the
so-called Tamil Diaspora. This was seen very well in how Amnesty
International was gleeful about obtaining funds from the Canadian Tamil
Congress (CTC), an organization that insists it is anything but a front
organization for the LTTE, but acts very much in sync with all other
expatriate Tamil organizations that are open in their alignment with the
LTTE in strategy and practice.
Amnesty International, which does have a commendable record in many
situations, has been exposed for its anti-Sri Lankan or pro-LTTE bias
from the time it began making unfounded allegations against the Sri
Lankan authorities and Security Forces in the prosecution of the
military operations to defeat the most ruthless terrorist organization
in the world - the LTTE. It accused the Sri Lankan troops of using
cluster bombs when the country never had any, it campaigned to 'Force
open the gates' of the 'IDP camps' in the North of Sri Lanka, where
nearly 300,000 Tamils who were used as human shields by the LTTE were
being given shelter till resettlement by the government, and has been
among the lead singers in the international chorus that has condemned
the LLRC even before its report was released, having refused to accept
its invitation to give evidence before it.
The representative of AI present at the CTC fund raising walkathon in
Canada did not forget to mention the need for an 'independent
international' inquiry on Sri Lanka. The CTC may genuinely not like to
be named an LTTE front organization, but Amnesty International is
certainly enjoying the company and funds of those who think very much
alike those dangerous fronts of terrorism.
See the CTC fund raising campaign on:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3nZVpRwygv4 |