Pro-LTTE film director arrested in Canada

Canadian immigration officials arrested Sebastian Seeman, a pro- LTTE Indian film director in Toronto yesterday after he gave a fiery speech at an event where the flag of the outlawed LTTE was flown.

Seeman, who was in Canada on a speaking tour, was taken into custody by Canada Border Services Agency officers and questioned before agreeing to leave the country immediately, the National Post reported.

A CBSA spokeswoman, Patricia Giolti, confirmed the arrest, and his lawyer Hadayt Nazami said immigration officials had intended to deport him on security grounds unless he left voluntarily.

He departed Canada on Thursday night.

The film director from Tamil Nadu is known for his hardline speeches in support of LTTE.

During his speech in Toronto on Wednesday, he talked about restarting the civil war in Sri Lanka, according to several Tamil-Canadians who heard it on the radio or watched it on the Internet.
He also spoke harshly about the ethnic Sinhalese who are the majority in Sri Lanka. "No Singhala can live," he said, according to the witnesses. He also said the war would have ended differently had the LTTE bombed 100 Sinhalese schools.

In the video of his speech, a flag bearing the militaristic emblem of the LTTE, can be seen in the room. The LTTE is a banned terrorist organization under Canadian law.

RCMP officers and members of the Toronto and Peel police services were involved in Seeman's arrest, which comes as police are cracking down on the pro-LTTE events that were once common in Toronto.

Police have been investigating LTTE activities in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver since 2002. The investigation concluded that pro-LTTE groups in Canada had funneled millions of dollars to the organization.

RCMP Commissioner William Elliott said in a speech last month that while the Sri Lankan insurgency had ended, the LTTE remained a terrorist group that could have a significant impact in Canada.

"There are an estimated 250,000 Tamils in this country, more than anywhere else in the world outside of Sri Lanka. Canada is one of the few places in the world where LTTE terrorists and supporters might seek to hide in plain sight, and potentially launch terrorist activities," he said.