PM should rethink policy of disengagement
Posted on October 9th, 2013
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada
‚ 9 October 2013
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The Editor (Letters)
THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
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Dear Editor:
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Your editorial ‘PM should rethink policy of disengagement ‘asked, ‘How do we really help Sri Lanka turn away from abuses, or indeed lift up the Tamils, if we refuse to engage?”‚ This is‚ not rocket science.
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Firstly, Canada has to be honest with herself.‚ Secondly, Canada should stop mixing domestic politics to secure ethnic bloc votes‚ with geopolitics.‚ Thirdly, Canada should stop being so arrogant when dealing with Sri Lankans and don’t ever think that are a bunch of naivetes. They understand that when Canada approaches them‚ saying that “We are Holier than Thou”, that it‚ is a bunch of piffle and that Canada is not‚ what she claims herself to be.
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Canada’s policy on Sri Lanka is clear as a Sunday church bell.‚ ‚ When every other nation in the world patted Sri Lanka’s back saying “Good show Sri Lanka!” when they gave back 22 million of her people their ‘right-to-life’ when they eliminated the Tamil Tigers, the most ruthless terrorists in the world, on 19 May 2009,‚ who had hijacked their most paramount ‘human-right’ for 27 years, Canada‚ has had difficult to acknowledge‚ this classic book example of ‘human rights at work in Sri Lanka’, up to now.
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When Sri Lanka liberated 295,873 Tamils from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers who used them as a human shield for 30 months and herded them like unwashed cattle from the west coast to the east coast of the island while they were retreating from the marching Sri Lankan armed forces along their war path, and within three years sent all of them back to their‚ renovated and rebuilt war damaged homes, and cleared over a million land mines, a classic book example of human rights at work, Canada has failed to acknowledge that either up to now, and‚ Canada is ‚ out of step when harping on human rights violations in Sri Lanka.‚ This is silly.
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There was a reason‚ for all this.‚ Dishonesty; might lose over 100,000 Tamil votes in‚ the Greater Toronto‚ Area; and unable to cope with 30,000 Tamils descending on Parliament Hill and along Wellington Street under a sky of red Tamil Tiger flags‚ to demonstrate against the Canadian govenment as we witnessed in March, April and May of 2009.
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So let us not be naive about Harper’s Government policy on Sri Lanka.‚ I, as a Sinhalease Sri Lankan-Canadian ‚ say to Harper’s Government, “You are pathetic when it comes to your Sri Lankan policy!”
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Asoka Weerasinghe
October 9th, 2013 at 3:09 pm
Thanks Asoka.
Asoka is still working in his well deserved retirement!
SL needs you Asoka.