Liberal MP invites entire caucus to Tamil terrorist rally

Yesterday I wrote about Gurbax Malhi, the Liberal MP who spoke at a rally in support of the Tamil Tigers, a terrorist group responsible for tens of thousands of murders in Sri Lanka. That's why the Tamil Tigers, more formally known as the "Liberal Tigers of the Tamil Eelam", or LTTE, have been banned as a criminal organization in Canada for three years.

After Malhi spoke at the rally, the Liberal Party issued a laughable non-apology in which Malhi did not express regret for attending the rally, nor did he express distaste for the Tamil Tigers, but rather expressed regret that people had misunderstood him.

The funny part, though, was that Malhi, while practically draped in Tamil Tiger flags, claimed he had no clue it was a Tamil Tiger rally. He even told reporters that he really didn't know anything about the rally -- he just happened to be walking by, saw a group of people, and came over to say a few words.

Really? Well, here's an e-mail that Malhi's colleague, Liberal MP Derek Lee, sent out to all of his fellow Liberal MPs, including Malhi. I've bolded my favourite lines:

 From: Lee, Derek - M.P.
 Sent: March 4, 2009 6:12 PM
 To: - LIBERAL ASSISTANTS; - LIBERAL MEMBERS/DÉPUTÉS
 Subject: INHCU rally tomorrow


 The organizers of this Tamil community rally have asked our office to circulate this note as ways of a reminder for tomorrow's rally , due to be held between 12 and 3 tomorrow outside of Centre Block. I understand that they would welcome M.P.s to show their support at around 1:30.

As an aside the organizers of this rally have, in a large part, been known to Mr. Lee for a number of years. The group's object is to have Tamils come together, not under the alleged auspices of LTTE affiliates. Nor are they aligned with the LTTE and its affiliates. The group have concerns about the LTTE and primarily wish to highlight their identity as Tamil Canadians. In this respect, Mr. Lee feels that they are deserving of an indication of support.
Should you have any other queries or concerns, do not hesitate to contact me.

Pete Cullen
 Parliamentary Assistant
 Office of Derek Lee, M.P.
 Scarborough - Rouge River
 Room 633, Confederation Building
 Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
 www.derekleemp.ca 
 613.996.9681 (T)
 613.996.6643 (F)

So we know that Malhi was lying when he said he just happened upon the protesters. We know that all Liberal MPs were exhorted to attend. And we can also deduce that Derek Lee knew that supporting anything to do with the Tamil Tigers was unethical -- look at the lengths he goes in the letter to claim that the rally had nothing to do with them.

But look at the photos from the rally: The Tamil Tiger flags are everywhere; there are signs that spell out LTTE. No-one within 100 yards of that rally could honestly say that they didn't know it was a terrorist front. Even if they had believed Lee's e-mail and attended the rally in good faith, they would surely have been disabused of its false contents upon seeing the signs and flags -- or hearing the angry, pro-Tamil Tiger chants.

Here are a few photos. Here's one in which Malhi is literally being draped in a terrorist flag:

Here's one in which you can see signs boasting of the LTTE's fight just a few feet away from Malhi:

It's appalling that Malhi attended such a terrorist rally. It's appalling that Lee promoted it. But neither of them are important men.

But Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff is important, or wants to be. For him to countenance such associations is a troubling sign. Neither Malhi nor Lee have been disciplined. Not only does that show Ignatieff's unhealthy tolerance for criminal associations, but it casts into doubt his newfound support for Israel and his new criticism of its terrorist enemies.

Seriously: if Ignatieff won't bat an eyelash when his MPs promote and attend a rally in support of Tamil terrorists, how can we believe a word he says when he claims he's against Hamas and Hezbollah?