Lawsuit against Rohan Gunaratna

13 July 2011 06:43 am - 7 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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Toronto: The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), which claims to represent over 300,000 Tamils of Sri Lankan origin in Canada, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Sri Lankan-born terrorism expert Rohan Gunaratna.

The lawsuit, filed here, stems from his allegedly defamatory statements made against the Canadian Tamil Congress in an interview to a Sri Lankan newspaper a few months ago.

In that interview to the local newspaper, Gunaratna had alleged that the LTTE is "operating in Canada under the name of the Canadian Tamil Congress, which is the main LTTE front organization in Canada."

An international terrorism expert who is frequently seen on major global TV networks, Gunaratna is a professor of security studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

In the interview, Gunaratna had also falsely said that the Canadian government is investigating that the "LTTE is operating under the name of Canadian Tamil Congress," the lawsuit says.

According to the lawsuit, Gunaratna's statements are defamatory and falsely portray the Canadian Tamil Congress as an entity through which the LTTE has conducted operations in Canada.

David Poopalapillai, the national spokesperson for the Canadian Tamil Congress, said, "While the CTC's mission is to work with various levels of government in Canada to address issues of significance to Tamil Canadians, it does not, and never has, functioned as the front in Canada for the LTTE movement.

"The Canadian Tamil Congress brought this lawsuit to combat the harm done to its reputation and ability to address issues of importance to Tamil Canadians as a result of Gunaratna's statements."

Poopalapillai and Umasuthan Suntharamoorthy, who is a director of the Canadian Tamil Congress, are plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

A statement by the Canadian Tamil Congress said, "Gunaratna has been served with the statement of claim in Singapore but has not yet defended the lawsuit. Lakbima News, which published the allegedly defamatory interview with Gunaratna, is also a defendant and is aware of the allegations against it."

There are over 300,000 Tamils of Sri Lankan origin in Canada, with most of them settled in the Toronto area.

(The times of India)

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Comments - 7

Guru Wednesday, 13 July 2011 09:51 AM

Very good, there should be more of these lawsuits.

lal Wednesday, 13 July 2011 11:41 AM

What has Canada done to deserve 300,000 people who forever moan and make a mockery of Canadian hospitality? Surely, Canadians must getting sick of daily doses of nonsense dished out to them by these people. Thank goodness someone provided boats to leave the island.

cracko Wednesday, 13 July 2011 11:42 AM

LTTE 'rump' cannot be defeated by SL Govt.

Saman Wednesday, 13 July 2011 09:24 PM

300,000 tamils in Canada? Poor Canadian tax payers!

Smart Alec Thursday, 14 July 2011 01:22 PM

Deport the whole brood to Somalia.

Josie Saturday, 16 July 2011 09:07 PM

The only people who the Tamils and the CTC can blame for ruining their reputation in Canada is themselves.

Even though we have taken in more Tamils than any country in the world,they have accused us of everything from being selfish, racist and guilty of genicide.

So far every bit of information the Gunaratna, has supplied our government has proven to be fact Given that where is the defamation?

.Is the CTC under investigation? I suspect that they ARE having a close eye kept on them and perhaps even a little undercover work going on. They have brought a lot of suspicion upon themselves lately.

71% of Canadians polled wanted the ships turned away at sea. They are fed up !!!

Shiva Monday, 18 July 2011 11:59 PM

Saman, Tamils have greatly contributing to the development of Canada. Thousands of top professional are Tamils and Tamil businesses are prospering well like in Singapore.

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Lawsuit against Rohan Gunaratna

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