Tamil Tiger ordered deported
TORONTO • A member of the Tamil Tigers who was allegedly sent to Toronto to run the Sri Lankan guerrilla group’s Canadian front organization has been ordered deported for terrorism, according to documents filed in the Federal Court.
The government has been trying to deport Manickavasagam Suresh since 1995, when he was first arrested in Toronto. The case was thought to have languished but last week the case reappeared on the court docket.
The Immigration and Refugee Board declined to comment Tuesday. But in an application on Oct. 5, Suresh asked Federal Court to overturn an IRB decision “in which Mr. Suresh was found inadmissible to Canada.”
The decision was received Sept. 17, according to the documents, which indicate Suresh was found inadmissible under sections of the immigration law that allow for the deportation of members of terrorist groups and those engaged in terrorism.
Lawyers representing Suresh wrote in their application they wanted to argue the IRB erred by finding he had “engaged in terrorism,” was “complicit in terrorism,” and that there had not been an “abuse of process.”
The Suresh case has a long history in the courts.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE, allegedly tasked Suresh with running the World Tamil Movement, a non-profit that Canadian officials said had “raised significant funds” for the rebels.
His arrest in 1995 was approved by the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien. The Federal Court of Appeal upheld the case, writing that, “Those who freely choose to raise funds to sustain terrorist organizations bear the same guilt and responsibility as those who actually carry out terrorist acts.”
But Suresh appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned his deportation order in 2002, ruling that the security threat he posed to Canada had to be balanced against the threat of torture he faced upon his return to his home country.
The government appeared to have backed off Suresh, 60, who lived in Mississauga, Ont., and was working as a computer engineer. The new case, however, indicates that officials have continued their attempts to remove him from Canada.
IRB spokeswoman Anna Pape said she could neither confirm nor deny any information about the Suresh case. A copy of the IRB’s reasons has not yet been filed in the court so it was unclear why it had approved his deportation at this time.