Tamil Tigers Event Graced by Supporter of Terrorism

The Centre for Social Cohesion Press Release

(November 27, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The fact that the notorious Vaiko (full name: Y Gopalasamy) has been allowed into the UK is bad enough. He is the leader of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhaham (MDMK) - a pro-LTTE (Tamil Tigers) party in Tamil Nadu, India.

But to let him speak tomorrow – as he is intending to – at an event called Heroes’ Day (glorifying the deaths of LTTE cadres) at the London ExCeL Centre is both short-sighted and mistaken of the British Government, who have been taking advice from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils after originally refusing his visa application. Vaiko is now in London.

The LTTE is a banned terrorist group here in the UK and has been for the last eight years. No-one should be meeting to celebrate the LTTE’s dead cadres, let alone a man who openly glorifies violence and terrorism like Vaiko. Indeed, as the Centre for Social Cohesion has been advocating all week , the ExCeL Centre event should not go ahead at all. Heroes’ Day events in the UK have a history of glorifying terrorism – the highlight of the gathering is a broadcast of the Interpol-wanted LTTE’s leader, Velupillai Prabakharan’s, Heroes’ Day speech from Sri Lanka.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils only works with the British Tamil Forum (BTF). British Tamils who seek peace in Sri Lanka – rather than a bloody fight to the end – are not represented by the BTF nor by this All Party Parliamentary Group.

Why the UK authorities are listening to the All Party Group, run by Virendra Sharma MP and Keith Vaz MP makes no sense at all. They are unrepresentative of Britain’s Tamils. They merely represent the wishes of the LTTE, which raises considerable funds here in the UK for its bloody war against the Government of Sri Lanka’s military.

When we as a society are seeking to uphold bans against Islamist groups who threaten us, it seems incorrect and immoral of us to be allowing the public gathering of a terrorist group and its cheerleaders right under our noses in London so they can celebrate their fallen comrades and, worse still, raise funds for their cause, which results in thousands of deaths in Sri Lanka. - Sri Lanka Guardian