Posted on 01/29/2003 2:09:40 PM PST by knighthawk
'Nightmare scenarios': Ottawa suspected it might break its own anti-terror law
Canadian government aid officials are concerned they might be indirectly supporting terrorism because of their dealings with violent organizations banned by Ottawa and the United Nations, newly released internal documents show.
The officials were so worried they held a meeting last March on the "indirect financing of international terrorist organizations" at which they agreed more needed to be done to ensure terrorists did not receive Canadian aid money.
The documents show Ottawa is particularly concerned about its aid programs in the Middle East and Sri Lanka -- war-damaged regions where humanitarian agencies and extremists banned by Canada often work in proximity to one another.
Despite the concerns, aid officials intend to continue sending money to global hot spots where terrorists are active because they believe poverty is a "root cause" of terrorism and if they stop, "the terrorists win," according to the documents.
"Canada does not fund terrorist organizations," one government briefing report said. But while officials deny any direct financial ties to terrorists, the documents show they fear their indirect links might be deemed a violation of Canada's new anti-terrorism laws.
At a meeting last year at the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs, aid officials were told to take tighter control of their spending and exercise "more diligence" to safeguard against terrorists seeking to divert money to violent causes, documents show.
The meeting dealt with "the concerns ... of being considered to indirectly contribute to financing organizations covered by the United Nations Suppression of Terrorist Regulations which entered into force in Canada on October 2, 2001."
The documents show, however, that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has rejected the idea of curbing its contributions to regions where terrorists are based. "To reduce or eliminate CIDA's assistance to Arab/Muslim states would only worsen an already desperate situation."
Responding to a newspaper report about CIDA's indirect role in financing terrorists, the agency wrote: "We cannot allow unsubstantiated allegations to deter us from doing our job, reducing world poverty. If that happens, the terrorists win."
The hunt for the al-Qaeda financial network that began even before the Sept. 11 attacks has led investigators to scores of humanitarian aid agencies, a number of them funded directly and indirectly by Canadians and their government.
In one case, Ahmed Khadr was alleged by investigators to have bankrolled a terrorist bombing in Pakistan by channelling money through an Ottawa aid group that received more than $300,000 from CIDA.
Hezbollah officials also said last year that the radical Islamic group was benefitting from Canadian aid assistance to Lebanon -- a claim denied by CIDA. Also contentious are Canada's aid programs in the Palestinian territories.
Canada has contributed more than $200-million to the West Bank and Gaza since 1993, the documents say, much of it to the controversial United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Refugee camps administered by the UN agency have, in some cases, become centres for Palestinian terror groups such as Islamic Jihad, leading to accusations that donors, including Canada, are indirectly aiding terrorist incitement and bloodshed.
In Sri Lanka, CIDA funds projects that, according to the documents, involve "close contact" with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group banned under Canadian and UN anti-terrorism measures.
Canadian-financed aid groups that work with the LTTE are concerned. "I could see a few nightmare scenarios," a representative of one non-profit group wrote to the government. There could be problems if the group renovated a school that was taken over as an LTTE base, or gave money to a development partner that passed the funds to the Tigers, the representative said. "Any of these scenarios would mean that [we are] breaking the law."
One major problem involves the LTTE's continued collection of war taxes in Sri Lanka, one government official warned. If such taxes were levied on aid projects funded by CIDA, then Ottawa would be indirectly violating its own ban on terrorist financing.
Despite a ceasefire between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, such extortion has worsened within Sri Lanka. International anti-terrorism laws have slowed the flow of money from abroad, forcing the LTTE to seek money from within Sri Lanka, the government documents say.
sbell@nationalpost.com
Then they should arrest themselves.
PAK TODAY.com - PAKISTAN TODAY: "THE FRANCHISING OF HEZBOLLAH" by Avi Davis (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Western intelligence has now revealed a high level of cooperation between Bin Laden and Imad Muganiyeh, the Hezbullah terrorist who masterminded some of Hezbollah's most spectacular atrocities and kidnappings in Lebanon. Reports have Muganiyeh first meeting with Bin Laden as early as 1995 and those meetings have continued. More than this, since al-Qaida fled Afghanistan at the end of last year, the Sunday Telegraph reports, between 80 and 100 al- Qaida fighters were provided with false passports by Hezbollah before being relocated to southern Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The same report acknowledges that Hezbollah, working hand in hand with al-Qaida, has set up cells in the Far East - including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. It is well known that Hezbollah has operated in Gaza and the West Bank for years, but the recent revelation by the Shin Bet in Israel that al- Qaida has now also joined them there, is chilling evidence of a level of cooperation previously unsuspected. Such news comes as a dire warning to American, Israeli and Jewish communities throughout the world.") (122702)
ALBAWABA.com: "IS HIZBULLAH INVISIBLE LEADER INVOLVED IN ACTIVITIES IN CANADA?" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "In the United States, authorities believe that perhaps one of the world's most wanted men is behind the Canadian organization, which has raised funds, falsified documents and purchased military equipment for Hizbullah. In Washington, officials currently suspect that the agents sent to Canada to gather support for the Hizbullah work for Mugniyah, a top-level Hizbullah leader and the suspected mastermind of numerous attacks worldwide.") (120102)
***FBI.gov: MOST WANTED TERRORISTS: "IMAD FAYEZ MUGNIYAH" aka "Hajj" (WANTED POSTER SNIPPETS: "Mugniyah is the alleged head of the security apparatus for the terrorist organization, Lebanese Hizballah."..."The Rewards For Justice Program, United States Department of State, is offering a reward of up to $25 million for information leading directly to the apprehension and/or conviction of Imad Fayez Mugniyah."..."SHOULD BE CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS")
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