Such are the words of Thomas Paine quoted on the Canadian Coalition for Democracies website.
It seems Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew dares not offend.
...Appearing before the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade he alleged that "the government of Sri Lanka themselves have not listed the Tamil Tigers as a terrorist organization ... Most of the people we've been consulting, including the United States State Department ... are demanding that we do not do it at this time."
Unfortunately, the State Department won't back him up. When contacted by my group, the Canadian Coalition for Democracies (CCD), a department spokesperson was puzzled. "The U.S. government designated LTTE as a foreign terrorist organization in 1997," we were told. Applying a similar label, he said, "is a decision for the Canadian government to make alone." Officials at the U.S. embassy in Ottawa were likewise surprised by Mr. Pettigrew's claim.
Kate McMillan's take can be found on the Shotgun and the National Post article is here. Thomas Paine would not be proud.
