Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario .Canada

November 23, 2009

Hon. Bob Rae, P.C., O.C., QC., L.L.D., MP Liberal Party Foreign Affairs Critic House of Commons, Ottawa

Dear Bob:

So finally the Toronto Star of Sunday, November 22, 2009, did you in as a rogue on your on going interest on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Tamil separatist politics.

The news item ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tamils rally for war refugees: Hundreds of Toronto protestors call on Sri Lanka to release displaced civilians from squalid campsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which reported your comment as a collaborative addition to its ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Tamil Canadians and their supporters including Liberal MP Bob Rae and NDP Leader Jack Layton, expressed skepticism at SaturdayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rally over the promises by Sri Lanka to not only allow the refugees to leave the camps but also to resettle the displaced Tamils. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-They are allowing some people to leave, but thereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a question of where they are goingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, said RaeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, revealed your hand of deception, your hostility towards Sri Lanka, your sordid and banal pretence that you are a neutral observer and an expert on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ethnic crisis, and a Canadian political vampire wanting to suck the last drop of blood out of Sri Lanka in the hope of helping the Liberals garner every single Tamil vote in the Greater Toronto Area.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  All that makes my stomach turn like a hamsterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rolling treadmill, Bob.

Your preamble during CanadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Parliamentary Gong Show on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 evening when you all provided the theatrics of the Tamil Tiger Blarney to satisfy the Tamils packed in the Gallery during the Emergency Debate on Sri Lanka, and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in your role in the cast as Bob-the-TamilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s-Sucker, you said:

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I think it is fair to say that like so many other people around the world who visited and who have been affected by what has gone on, it is a situation that has touched me a great deal.

Like my leader and friend, the Leader of the Opposition, I have lost friends: journalists, political leaders, activists on all sides of the conflict who are no longer with us because they have been killed.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  My experience is nothing in comparison with the experience of a great many people, many of who are in the House tonight, who has lost family.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I have seen whole towns destroyed by bombing.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I have seen rubble stretching for miles on end.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

If that preamble was to establish that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I know the Sri Lankan situation well and I am non-partisan and honest in my political commentariesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, then you were dishonest by not saying:

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Mr. Speaker, it is hard for me to admit as a Canadian, but the fact remains that we Canadians are guilty of every death of a Sri Lankan by a bullet, and the death of every Sri Lankan from lead pellets shot from a bursting claymore mine, as it were us Canadians who provided the funds to buy this arsenal for the Tamil Tigers to go on killing the innocent.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And that is a fact, Mr. Speaker.

ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Mr. Speaker, I am ashamed to say that we Liberals on this side of the house during our reign of 13 years, that let the Tamils collect two million dollars every month to stuff the Tamil Tiger war chest from which they bought the armoury of arsenal and became the top guns of the killing fields of Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That is how well you played your role by omission and commission as Bob-the-TamilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s-Sucker that evening.

There were times when you stood up on your two feet and announced that the Sri Lankan Government should let the 288,000 Tamils they rescued from the clutches of the now defunct Tamil Tigers go free from the safe welfare camps, and walk on to the terrain, strewn with millions of landmines like well manured mushroom fields, and in search of their roofless and bullet-hole walled homes that had taken a cruel beating during the 27 year old Tamil Tiger separatist war, with no water to wash, cook or drink; no electricity to see through the black nights;ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no food to be found to eat; and no medical clinics to get an Aspirin for a headache.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You must have been sick in your mind, Bob.

And when the Sri Lankan government has been hailed by the UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon for having released over half-of the IDPs from the welfare camps and bussed to their new homes, and for continuing to prioritize to free and resettle the rest of the Tamil IDPs in safe villages with renewed utilities and reconstructed infrastructures around their homes,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  you are now questioning their release having wanted them to be released in the first place almost four months ago. Why?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This is not kosher, Bob.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You are up to a lot of mischief and I damn well donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t like it.

And when the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes on his recent visit to the camps in the North hailed the government of Sri Lanka for letting over 140,000 IDPs return to their safe re-built homes, and for the progress seen in the de-mining and you are querying, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-They are allowing some people to leave, but thereƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a question of where they are goingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Why, Bob?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You must be off your rocker.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  John Holmes also expressed his optimism that the whole resettlement issue would be successfully completed in the near future, which the government reckons would be by the end of January 2010.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This is a miracle!

That no doubt hurts the pockets of the arms dealers who would have liked this war to go on.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Likewise the Human Rights Organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch must be cringing with the thought that they would be minus one cause to hound and holler about which would have helped them to draw in monies to cut their next pay-cheques. That is how sordid this million dollar Human Rights business is.

I know that does not fall within the planned agenda of yours either to keep barking at the Sri Lankan government so that the Tamils in the GTA would hear Their MasterƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Voice, so that they would be inclined to stuff the ballot boxes with their votes for the Liberals at the next Federal election, and dump money for the Liberals Election Readiness Fund to fight the next election.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tough, isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it Bob? But that is the ground reality and you might as well accept it.

Like most westerners you too seem to believe in Sunday TV-Evangelical Miracle Preachers who stand in front of physically impaired people who are seeking a miracle cure and slap their foreheads shouting, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Heal, I say. HEEAALL.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And when they fall back on to the safe arms of the evangelistƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s helpers, and he would say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Why donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you get up.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Rise and walk you sinner.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ And the physically impaired person still finds it difficult to walk and yet says ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Thank You, I am healed.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 

In contrast I see you have difficulty to accept the puny Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s miracles.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Especially that of a developing country thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  came through with flying coloursƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  pushing aside the international bullies like you by resettling half of the 288,000 IDPs in almost six amazing months, in their original habitats and sometimes in better houses which they had lost during the 27 year old Tamil Tiger war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If this is not a miracle, then what is, Bob?

I know most of the countries in the west are having difficulty to accept this amazing recovery which has been endorsed by the UN, as it pinches their vanity as they expected Sri Lanka to crawl on her knees seeking help.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s a bloody shame!

I know what you are up to, the Sri Lankan Government knows what you are up to and little wonder why they stalled you at the Colombo International Airport for 12 hours on June 10, and put you on the next plane out.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So it hurts your ego, so what? They were right to ask you, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Who the hell are you, Bob Rae?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You are not welcome into our sovereign country as a mischief maker at this moment in time.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You just have to get out and wait for your turn and when the time is right we will let you in.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Knowing who you are, I would have said the same thing to you, Bob.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I know that I am a tad harsh on you, but then that is how the cookie crumbles.

If there is one New Year wish that IƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  wish for is a place at the table at the next panel discussion on Sri Lanka where the Liberal MP Bob Rae has been invited to be a panellist.

God! Just give me that break!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That is all I ask for in the year 2010.

Sincerely,

AsokaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Weerasinghe
(card carrying Conservative Party member).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚