Rae denied entry into Sri Lanka for allegedly supporting rebels

[PMedMoe]

Liberal MP Bob Rae has been denied entry to Sri Lanka for allegedly supporting Tamil Tiger rebels, Sri Lankan officials said Wednesday.
Article Link

Rae was detained at Bandaranaike International airport in Colombo when he arrived late Tuesday night because Sri Lanka's intelligence services had deemed Rae's visit to the country as "not suitable," said Sri Lankan Immigration Commissioner P.B. Abeykoon.

"We got some intelligence reports on this gentleman and the instructions were not to allow him into the country, so he is detained at the airport and he will be deported by the next available flight," Abeykoon said.

Abeykoon told the Agence France-Presse news agency that those reports suggest Rae supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"I have never in any way felt that the violent tactics of the LTTE were in any way the right course, and I have made that view known on many occasions, including debates in Parliament," Rae said in a statement.

"To describe me as 'an LTTE supporter,' as an army spokesman has done today, is a lie, pure and simple."

Rae, the MP for Toronto Centre and a former premier of Ontario, has been outspoken in his criticism of the impact of the military's war against the LTTE rebels on civilians. Toronto has one of the world's largest Tamil populations.

More on Link

 

[armyvern]

Perhaps he should try entering Nova Scotia instead ...

 

[vonGarvin]

Perhaps he should try entering Nova Scotia instead ...

Why would he?  The provincial version of his party is only the offical opposition!  ;D

 

[Journeyman]

Read Stewart Bell's excellent book, Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World.

It provides a very clear view of how the Liberal Party in particular curries favour from LTTE supporters, and how they conveniently ignore that the largest source of Tamil terrorist funding is Toronto.

The fact that the Tamil Tigers effectively 'invented' suicide bombing (no kids, it wasn't al-Qaeda) means absolutely nothing when you're a Canadian politician with no priority beyond getting votes.

 

[X-mo-1979]

I wonder if it has something to do with all the funding to them coming from Canada. :
Hopefully this little news blurb shows our decisions here make a difference across the globe,not just in Nipissing district.Imagine someone from our government who is turning a blind eye to terrorist; getting kicked out of a country who has seen these people blow themselves up and bomb places......from Canadian funding.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Read Stewart Bell's excellent book, Cold Terror: How Canada Nurtures and Exports Terrorism Around the World.

It provides a very clear view of how the Liberal Party in particular curries favour from LTTE supporters, and how they conveniently ignore that the largest source of Tamil terrorist funding is Toronto.

The fact that the Tamil Tigers effectively 'invented' suicide bombing (no kids, it wasn't al-Qaeda) means absolutely nothing when you're a Canadian politician with no priority beyond getting votes.

Exactly right! And see here for my comments on "getting the governments we deserve."

There is a fair chance that we may have a national general election in 2009; if we do there is a pretty good chance that the Liberals will form the next government and that Bob Rae will play a very important role in it.

The remnants of the LTTE cannot wait for their "supporters" to regain power, and many (but not all) Liberals were strong supporters of the Tamil "community" in Canada. And that Tamil "community' was, broadly, supportive of the LTTE* - especially in fund raising and in lobbying Ottawa for policies that were, at least, not unfriendly to the LTTE.


--------------------
* I should have said "And that Tamil community was, broadly partially, supportive of the LTTE - especially in (often coerced) fund raising and ..." - as dapaterson says just below it would be wrong to assume broad support for the LTTE in the Tamil community; some, yes, surely; but broad - I don't know and I should not have used that word.

 

[OldSolduer]

Do we have to let him back into Canada? ;D

 

[dapaterson]

The remnants of the LTTE cannot wait for their "supporters" to regain power, and many (but not all) Liberals were strong supporters of the Tamil "community" in Canada. And that Tamil "community' was, broadly, supportive of the LTTE - especially in fund raising and in lobbying Ottawa for policies that were, at least, not unfriendly to the LTTE.

It's a mistake to assume broad support in the Tamil community for the LTTE.  There was perhaps widespread duress to provide funding, with veiled threats against individuals and their extended families back in Sri Lanka.  There has been a failing of policing in Canada to protect immigrant populations from extortion within the community; to be fair, I don't see an easy solution as outreach can be difficult.

 

[Shec]

So Bob Rae was turned away?  So what??  Where is it written that entry to a foreign country is a right and not a priviledge?    What a lot of self-righteous indignation and nonsense.  Didn't Canada deny entry to a British politician (Galloway) last month?  The Tamil issue aside, +1 to any sovereign nation that chooses to deny entry to someone they consider a foreign agitator. 

 

[observor 69]

Why would he?  The provincial version of his party is only the offical opposition!  ;D

No it's not, they just got elected as the government.

Opps, right !  :-[ 

 

[Jammer]

Sri Lanka, regardless of what you may think of it's politics is a sovereign nation free to admit/reject anyone it pleases.
Frankly, he would have had a better chance if he and Rick Mercer had shown up naked.

 

[Journeyman]

Since Parliament is still in session, I wonder if his constituents feel they're getting their money's worth having their representative off in Niger, Mali, and Sri Lanka?

According to the Parliamentary Calendar there's a meeting today of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development; tomorrow, the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan.
As a taxpayer funding his jaunts, one would think that the Liberal Party's Foreign Affairs critic would attend these meetings.

You'd be wrong; I guess active involvement in our government is beneath him.

Is it arrogant disdain for average Canadians, or simply the greater value placed on media sound-bites of his globe-trotting?

 

[ModlrMike]

Hopefully that "whooshing" sound you hear is some of the air being let out of his ego.... but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[2 Cdo]

Do we have to let him back into Canada? ;D

Hey there Oldsoldier that was my first question! The Sri Lankans made the right decision, now if only we would not allow him to return.

Oh well, at least one can dream.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Tragedy in a tear-shaped country
Publication: Toronto Star
By: Bob Rae
February 4, 2009

These hundreds of thousands are not terrorists. The world cannot stand by and do nothing. The UN can't allow the Sri Lankan government to say "it's an internal matter" and stay away.

Nor can Canada, with its long history of engagement in this issue, stay silent any longer. We should be joining the UN secretary general, the European Union, Norway and Switzerland in insisting on the protection of civilian life, and real political change to respect the rights and interests of all communities in Sri Lanka.

The vast majority of Tamil Canadians firmly believe that the West, including Canada, holds the key to peace.

(More at link.)


And was he, perhaps, expecting to be welcomed with open arms?

 

[X-mo-1979]

Tragedy in a tear-shaped country
Publication: Toronto Star
By: Bob Rae
February 4, 2009

(More at link.)


And was he, perhaps, expecting to be welcomed with open arms?

Really.

Hopefully he ends up on the U.S no fly list for supporting terrorism.
As well opens peoples eyes in this country.

 

[Jammer]

Instead of messing up traffic in TO, maybe the Tamils in Canada would like to take more of an interest in thier cause and go back home, what do they want the rest of us to do?
IT'S OVER...accept it and move on.
it might not be the most PC comment, but sometimes it has to be said.

 

[gcclarke]

Instead of messing up traffic in TO, maybe the Tamils in Canada would like to take more of an interest in thier cause and go back home, what do they want the rest of us to do?
IT'S OVER...accept it and move on.
it might not be the most PC comment, but sometimes it has to be said.

The war itself may be over, but the after-effects will still be felt for generations to come. With so many dead, and decades of fear and hate built up on both sides of the conflict, as well as those who merely wanted to stay out of the way, Sri Lanka has a great deal of healing to do. Hopefully it is successful.

In the meantime, there is still the matter of the hordes of refugees who were displaced by the final throes of the war, their homes and livelihoods destroyed.

It isn't over, and it won't be for quite some time.

 

[F.I.R.S.T.]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090610/rae_entry_090610/20090610?hub=TopStories
Rae, who had a one-way ticket to Sri Lanka, was detained at the Katunayaka International Airport and forced to leave on another flight.

If the above is accurate, why would a Minister only have a one-way ticket? Hopefully he was planning on staying there.  ;D

Liberal MP Bob Rae has been denied entry to Sri Lanka for allegedly supporting Tamil Tiger rebels, Sri Lankan officials said Wednesday.
Article Link

Rae was detained at Bandaranaike International airport in Colombo when he arrived late Tuesday night because Sri Lanka's intelligence services had deemed Rae's visit to the country as "not suitable," said Sri Lankan Immigration Commissioner P.B. Abeykoon.

"We got some intelligence reports on this gentleman and the instructions were not to allow him into the country, so he is detained at the airport and he will be deported by the next available flight," Abeykoon said.

Abeykoon told the Agence France-Presse news agency that those reports suggest Rae supports the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.

"I have never in any way felt that the violent tactics of the LTTE were in any way the right course, and I have made that view known on many occasions, including debates in Parliament," Rae said in a statement.

"To describe me as 'an LTTE supporter,' as an army spokesman has done today, is a lie, pure and simple."

Rae, the MP for Toronto Centre and a former premier of Ontario, has been outspoken in his criticism of the impact of the military's war against the LTTE rebels on civilians. Toronto has one of the world's largest Tamil populations.

More on Link

 

[Fishbone Jones]

You reap what you sow.

Ms. Karma can be a real bitch sometimes.

JMHO of course.