Held In Sri Lanka
A Canadian imprisoned under Sri Lanka's anti-terrorism measures has denied any involvement with the Tamil Tigers rebels, according to a source in Colombo familiar with the case.
Ratnarajah Thusiyanthan, a 35-year-old Internet technology consultant, has been detained without charge in the Sri Lankan capital for almost five months under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
In Ottawa yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that consular officers from the Canadian High Commission in Colombo had visited Mr. Thusiyanthan twice since his arrest.
"Our officials have had access on two occasions and they are providing continued assistance to both the individual and his family," said Lisa Monette, a Foreign Affairs spokesperson.
She would not comment further, but a source in Colombo said Mr. Thusiyanthan was leaving his workplace in Colombo on April 29 when he was abducted by six men in plain clothes. They forced him into a vehicle, blindfolded him and questioned him about whether he was Canadian and what he was doing in Sri Lanka. He has also said he was beaten during the abduction.
After five hours, the men handed him to the Criminal Investigations Division in Colombo, which has been investigating him for possible ties to the Tamil Tigers, the source said.
Police have searched his bank accounts, telephone records and computers but have not filed any charges. He is currently sharing a room with 30 other inmates at the Colombo Remand Prison.
The Canadian Tamil Congress has asked Ottawa to intervene to ensure Mr. Thusiyanthan is not harmed or held indefinitely. "Our government should be active in making sure due process is followed in this case," said David Poopalapillai, the CTC spokesman.
Sri Lanka is emerging from a long civil war that ended in May with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, a separatist rebel group that specialized in suicide bombings and was funded partly by supporters in Canada.
Foreign Affairs is already trying to assist several other Canadians who are being held in camps set up in central Sri Lanka to house ex-combatants and war-displaced civilians.
Mr. Thusiyanthan immigrated to Canada in 1989. He studied at Brandon University and worked for an Ottawa fibre optics company.
In 2002, during a ceasefire between government forces and the rebels, he returned to Sri Lanka to visit his parents in the northern city of Jaffna.
For the past six years he has worked for a World Bankfunded project that provides online government information and documentation.
sbell@nationalpost.com