Insight By Sunil Kumar

OctoberƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 8th 2011
If all the dangerous criminals in the world were set free on compassionate grounds before serving their semtences and rehabilitation thereafter, the world would surely be a dangerous placce to live in. The world must never forget the terrible crimes these individuals and their ilk contributed to throughƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ decades of mayhem, wantion destruction of life, limb and property of innocent civilians as well as members of the Administration and Armed Forces and the reckoning is applicable to every instance of similar perspective wherever it may have occured or continue toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  do so or fall short of making the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ International Criminal Justice System a joke!
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The recent news item in The National Post Of Canada posted by acclaimed and award winningƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Features Editor Mr.Stewart Bell under the caption “Tamil Canadians in prison for arming rebels renounce violence” Is surely a lament which can never justify the intent of these individuals when they participated in the actions they were ultimately indicted and sentenced for.It also seems a ploy where the sympathies of the authorities are solicited through depositions and testimonials which do not even in some small measure compensate for the decades of horror their actions contributed to and certainly not through crocodile tears nor the heartaches of their families whose distresses they triggered through their own mendacious and irresponsible actionsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ !
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Five years after they were caught buying arms for Sri Lankan Terrorists the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam~ ( LTTE) now defunct in Sri Lanka!~, three CanadiansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  are reported to have signed an open letter from prison acknowledging they were wrong andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are renouncing political violence which is merely a first step towards any applicable rehabilitation and their reprieves probably needing to unfold over a period of time which they must pay for through the serving of their sentences..

Despite their writtenƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ acknowledgementsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ they incorrectly believed that violence could achieve the goals thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ they soughtƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and that theyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ now realize that whatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ they did was not helpful in leading to a positive resolution of the issues that existed in Sri Lanka the accountability of their criminal intent being of the extreme nature itƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  should never be made light of through unconditional pardoningƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  which it does, as one must remember the immense sufferings caused on an immeasurable scale and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ its vastness through their actions which were obviously deliberate, carefully planned, premeditatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  and without conscience.

It is reported in the news item under reference that “The rejection of armed militancy is a complete reversal for the Toronto men, who were part of the international weapons procurement network that supplied the Tamil Tigers, or LTTE, during Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s long civil war.But since being caught in New York shopping for $1-million worth of surface-to-air missiles and AK-47 assault rifles ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ a crime that earned them sentences of at least 25 years ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚ the men have apparently had a change of heart.” which perhaps has come a bit late in the day with their depositions and written testimonials which are merely a first step towards any deserving reprieve which logically and rationally there seem to be none deservingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where their atonements could perhaps never be sufficient towards those severly affected and lives destroyedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  on the massive scale that was and the price to pay needing to be a heavy one whereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  one only needs to look at the penalties being paid for the crimes of the NaziƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ holocaust, the Khymer Rouge terror of Pol Pot, Al Quaeda,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Rwanda and tha various global crimes which stand as testimony to man’s inhumanity to man and deservingly so in order that the world may never forget.
Consequently toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ give criminals of this nature their freedoms to mingle in free society without a long rehabilitation process is a travesty of justice and somewhat myopic.
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One needs to evaluate the hollowness of their depositions which suggestƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Each of us has come to the conclusion that the criminal activity for which we have been sentenced has caused much harm to all citizens of Sri Lanka,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ as written by messersƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sathajhan Sarachandran, Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam and Sahilal Sabaratnam who have acknowledged that ” TheyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ incorrectly believed that supporting LTTE ideology on armed violence would bring peace to Tamil people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ They refrain from those beliefsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  now,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the joint letter signed by each of them at their prison in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Aug. 21. The letter, obtained exclusively by the National Post, was to be released publicly in the coming days as the Stewart Bell article indicated where the burning question isƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ~ whatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is the justification for their unconditional release ? which seems to be what they are invariably seekingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and can the risk be taken to release them in a world of today steeped in the dangers of global terrorismƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ where there are many indications of openly avowed proclamations by many underground Tamil Tiger cells and their supportivesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  that they will re-group and continue their fight for Ealam!
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This becomes a very important perspective towards a decision to release such dangerous criminals, many of whom in the pastƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  on many an occassion have had a reputation for lamenting and renouncing their criminalities in public but when released throughƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ imperceptive meansƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on the part of the authorities as well as clever legal wrangling by insdiscriminate as well as unscrupulous defence attorneys, they go back to their objectives hardly batting an eyelidƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and a painful reality which cannot be overlooked.

As pointed out in the National Post item By Mr Bell “The repudiation of political violence is the first of its kind to emerge from Canadians actively involved in supporting the Tamil Tigers, a federally banned armed separatist group that has long been active in Toronto.It comes as their families in Ontario ( where he seems to have inadvertently overlooked Montreal and other major Canadian cities also hotbeds of former LTTE activity!)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are seeking mercy for the inmates, such as prisoner transfers to Canada or Sri Lanka. And it raises a difficult question for the authorities: Do those involved in terrorism deserve leniency if they repent?”
And if the world order against terrorism and its principles prevail, one thinks not!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  where ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ it should be a long time before these criminals are realistically pardoned despite the rhetoric of those in favour, the needs of their families as well as the long drawn emotion flavoured depositions.These individualsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ have contributed to virtually unpardonable crimes for which there always has to be a severe price to pay!