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The Two ministers were Mr. Paul Martin, the Finance Ministers and Ms. Maria Minna, the Minister of International Co-operation. Mr. Paul Martin delivered the keynote speech at the event and brought greetings from the Canadian federal government. The politicians had not been aware that the Tamil New Year had been in April. Some Tamils who went for the dinner were amused to see Canadian ministers and politicians walking around wishing "Happy New Year" to every body. The terrorist activists in foreign countries are known for their deceptive ways that mislead the public as well as their own people, when it come to fund raising to gain their selfish needs. The fund raising event, which has caused quite a stir in Canada, had been the first amidst a wave of fund raising activities, since the fall of Elephant Pass. The Tigers are running out of arms and they will intensify their fund raising activities, political analysts said. "It may be the reason why they have called for a ceasefire in order to regroup and strengthen their weakened strategies". According to Canadian law enforcement sources, the LTTE activists have netted over a million Canadian dollars from fund raising campaigns to sustain their terrorist struggle in Sri Lanka. Most of this fund raising has been carried out via three pro-LTTE Tamil radio stations in Canada. The event in which the Canadian Federal Ministers participated, was a CN$60 a plate dinner, organised by Federation Associations of Canadian Tamils (FACT), which has been categorised as a LTTE front organisation by the US State Department. The most famous FACT member is Manickavasagam Suresh whom the Canadian immigration officials have been trying to deport for several years and till recently was held in the famous Don jail in Toronto. Manickavasagam Suresh, a FACT leader, was also involved in raising money for the LTTE. In January, a Federal Court of Canada judge hearing the Suresh case ruled out that "those who freely choose to raise funds to sustain terrorist orgainsations bear the same guilt and responsibility as those who actually carry out terrorist acts". On Saturday, Stewart Bell writing in the Canadian daily newspaper, the National Post, highlighted that the dinner was organised by a LTTE front and that ministers were expected to attend. Despite this publicity, only the mayor of Toronto decided to skip the event. A Tamil who had telephoned the FACT office (416 463 7647) was told that the event was to raise funds for the "Tamil freedom struggle" and that tickets could be obtained by phoning Rev Francis Xavaiar. The Canadian law enforcement authorities are horrified at the latest developments of Canadian federal government ministers, playing politics with known terrorist fund raisers masquerading under the guise of "Tamil community". Ananda Gunasekara, the Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Ottawa, said he was "surprised and saddened" that Canadian government representatives would attend a FACT event, saying it might send the wrong message. "Perhaps they are ignorant of the facts, I don't know," Mr. Goonasekara said. "The only thing I can think is they have not been briefed properly". One man who called the FACT office to inquire about the event told the National Post that he was told the purpose of the event was for "fund raising for our people's freedom". But the FACT spokesman said the dinner was not a fund raising event and that the fee was simply to cover the cost of the meal and venue. He said the group had complained to the state department about being named once again as a front organization on the 1999 American list of terrorist groups, released on Monday. "The LTTE's overt organisations support Tamil separatism by lobbying foreign governments and the United Nations," the report said. "The group also uses its international contacts to procure weapons".
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