Canadian liberal party MP in hot water for participating in LTTE terrorist rally

Making a statement a Liberal Party Member of the Canadian parliament has reassured that he is no way connected with the LTTE terrorist group.

He made this statement after attending a Parliament Hill rally where some LTTE supporters started waving Tiger flags and making pro-Tiger statements at the rally.

The MP had been criticized by others for taking part in the rally in support of a banned terrorist group. The Liberal Party Member of Parliament Gurbax Malhi of Canada has expressed his regret publicly for being misunderstood for attending a rally where some participants have been waving the Leaping Tiger flags of the banned terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

In a March 11 statement published in his website he said, "There is no excuse for terrorism and attacks on civilians, and the world has to show its concern for the protection of the civilian population," in obvious reference to the LTTE terrorist group.

The Mississauga News , a largely circulated community news paper said he was defending his attendance at a Parliament Hill rally last Thursday (March 5) in which some participants carried flags and made statements supporting the Tamil Tigers. He said he participated in the rally not in support of the said group but for some other peaceful purpose.

The Indian origin turbaned MP was quoted in the Mississauga News as saying in his website that he went to the event in support of a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Sri Lanka. He did not realize some rally participants were waving LTTE flags and making statements in support of the LTTE, the MP said in a statement on his website.

The Liberal Party MP for Bramalea-Gore-Malton said, "I deeply regret that my attendance at this rally was misunderstood by some as a demonstration of my support, expressed or implied, of terror or of a terrorist organization."

The MP, who was first elected in 1993, added that, "although a number of attendees at this rally chose to wave LTTE flags, I did not realize the significance of these flags, nor was I aware that other speakers made statements in support of the LTTE."

The MP's concerns for participating in this rally and the criticism levelled at him show the erosion of power and influence the pro-LTTE groups experience in Canada today, observers said.