ASOKA WEERASINGHE

COMMUNIQUƒÆ’†’ƒ¢¢”š¬‚° Ottawa-Vanier Riding
For Canadian Parliamentarians interested in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: We are Holier than Thou says Canada!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Ken Sunquist, Assistant Deputy Minister of Asia and Africa of the Department of Foreign Affairs during his meeting with the House of Commons Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs on April 29, raised the possibility of future investigations into allegations of war crimes and genocide in Sri Lanka. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-At this time, we donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have sufficient information to determine whether the current conflict meets that definition of genocideƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, he said. (Comment: Hey! Canada, not so quick on the draw!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  We certainly will find it difficult to dodge this bullet of War Crimes inflicted on Sri Lanka directly and indirectly.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was Canada that let a Tamil-Canadian cut a cheque from his bank account in a bank in Vancouver to buy 10 tons of hexagon, a plastic explosive like Semtex, and 50 tons of TNT from the Rubezone Chemical Factory in Ukraine in 1994 which were used in a high explosives stuffed truck-bomb which brought down the Central Bank Building in the heart of Colombo on 31 January 1996, killing 114 innocent civilians and maiming 1,338 others for life.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was the same high explosive material that was used in a truck-bomb to attack ColomboƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s World Trade Centre and Galadari Hotel on 15 October 1997 killing 12 and injuring 113 others. These are well documented facts. All these injured and the families of the killed have every right to claim compensation from the Canadian Government for allowing the Tamil Diaspora collect 2 million dollars each month for 13 long years while the Liberals were in power to stuff the Tamil Tiger war-chest to buy sophisticated weapons to fight their separatist war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  All the Canadian collusion of these killings and maiming were for the want of the Tamil votes in 10 GTA ridings.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s hold our horses Canada, without being smug to tell Sri Lanka that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”We are Holier Than Thou.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢)

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Tamil Refugee Camp Horror Stories ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-WrongƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Says BritishƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  MP. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Horror stories in Britain by the Tamil Diaspora and the media about conditions in Sri Lanka camps housing hundreds of thousands of Tamil refugees are wrong said GordonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Liberal Democrat, Malcolm Bruce, Chairman of the Commons Overseas Development Committee after his fact finding mission to Sri Lanka on May 6. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We spoke to a number of people in the camps who expressed their genuine relief at having escaped the LTTE and reached a place of safetyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, he said

The delegation which also included John Bercow (Conservative MP for Buckingham); Des Browne (Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun); Eddie McGrady (Social Democratic and Labour Party MP for South Down) and Mohammad Sarwar (Labour MP for Glasgow Central) also expressed their readiness to support the Sri Lanka GovernmentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s commitment to resettle 80 percent of the IDP population by the end of the year. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (Comment: Could their comments apply to and rubbish similar propaganda ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Horror StoriesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by the Canadian Tamil Diaspora?)

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SLAF airlifts Tamil civilians in the Tamil Tiger firing.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  On May 8 evening, Sri Lanka Air Force airlifted 12 Tamil civilians who received injuries in Tamil Tiger discriminate firing on Anuradhapura base hospital. One of the victims succumbed to his injuries while being airlifted. (Comment: It was not too long ago when it was heard at a political-social gathering; a former Liberal Cabinet Minister still insisting that there is Genocide in Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Strange! Airlifting Tamil civilians shot by Tamil Tigers for immediate medical treatment in my world, just 300 miles down the road from where she calls home does not equate to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-GenocideƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.)

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We will secure equal status for Sri Lankan Tamils says Sonia. Expressing anguish over the plight of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, Indian Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, the wife of Rajiv Gandhi the former Prime Minister of India who was assassinated by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, said in Chennai on Sunday, May 10, that the United Progressive Alliance (UPAS) would work to secure equal status and equal rights for Tamils. (Comment: Come on Sonia that was a dumb comment.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This is where outsiders like you are wrong when you all poke your fingers into Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s internal affairs.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tamils have had equal status with the Sinhalese all along and for 131 years of colonial rule and beyond Independence in February 1948, they were the cocks of the coop as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-privilegedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ minority and the Sinhalese were the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-wrongedƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ majority.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If you really want to help the Tamilians in Sri Lanka, focus your energies within the Tamil community and see whether you could promote equal status among them of different castes, where the lower caste Tamils are down trodden within their own community, not even allowed to enter a Kovil for prayer. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Start right there Sonia without being so foolhardy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I knowƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦I knowƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦so you need the Tamil votes in Tamil Nadu during the up coming elections. You have certainly borrowed a page from the Canadian Liberals, havenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you?)

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The Ottawa Citizen of Sunday, May 10, says, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Gunships, planes strike Pakistani Taliban.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Curfew traps civilians trying to flee fighting.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Citing provincial Government estimates, it said up to 200,000 people had left their homes in recent days with a further 300,000 on the move.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They join 555,000 people displaced from other areas because of fighting since August, the agency said. (Comment:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This scenario echoes what has gone on with the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lanka Government.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s see whether Jack Layton, the Leader of the NDP will have enough concern to get up in the House and repeat what he had to say to the Speaker on February 4 evening exchanging the words ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Pakistan and Afghanistan borderƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to the word ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Madam Speaker, I am very honoured, on behalf of the New Democratic Party to have requested this emergency debate on the humanitarian crisis at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I want to thank all other members who requested the same thing.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Or is it not worth the effort as there arenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t enough Afghani voters in the GTA region for the NDP to try and claw them from the Liberals as they tried it with the Tamil voters during that infamous debate.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If this debate will not pan out as I hope it would, then I will conclude quite definitely as I did on February 5, that the Emergency debate on Sri Lanka was Hoax Theatre to pander to the Tamil Diaspora supporting their Tamil ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tiger blarney.)

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Russian support for Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s counter-terrorism.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Government of the Russian Federation strongly supports efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to eradicate the menace of terrorism from the island said RussiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Foreign Minister Sergio Lavrov to his Sri Lankan counterpart, Rohitha Bogollagama on Wednesday, May 6. (Comment:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Good to know that Sri Lanka has a friend in Russia.)

Tamil Protestors Flood TorontoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Gardiner Expressway (The Ottawa Citizen, 11 May 2009). Tamil protestors made their way onto a major Toronto high way Sunday (May 10) night, closing six lanes of traffic in both directions and attracting a massive police contingent.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The reason was because of the spin that they read on TamilNet, the Tamil Tiger propaganda outlet, which said that theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lankan armed forces had killed 2,000 Tamil civilians in the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”No Fire ZoneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, which was denied by the Sri Lankan Government and blamed the Tamil Tigers for this attack which killed 378 civilians. (Comment:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Why on earth should the Armed Forces shell the Tamil civilians when they have brought out almost 200,000 Tamils from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers without a ceasefire, and even when the Tamil Tigers shot at the civilians who fled from them to the safety of the Armed Forces arms?

But more to the point note that these Tamil Tiger sympathizers in Toronto are learning fast from the Tamil Tigers. The Torontonians were held hostage by these Tamils occupying the Gardiner Expressway.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was a human shield in away by bringing with them grandparents and young children and letting them occupy the frontline, so that the police couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t even use tear gas or water cannons to disperse the crowd in case it might harm them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Smart tactic, similar to what the Tamil Tigers have done with the human shields as well as recruiting young children under the age of 14-years as soldiers and sent to the front line hoping that the Sri Lankan armed forces would not shoot at them.

The anger of the Canadians was summed up by Debbie on CTV, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-May be itƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s time they were deported back.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is not CanadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s fight, we are not the fix-all nation they are trying to use us for.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  DonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t bring your wars to Canada.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-AmenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to that.)