Asoka Weerasinghe  Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada

14 May 2014

The Editor 
THE EMBASSY, Ottawa

Dear Editor:

I was absolutely stymied to read the comment about ‘Taking the temperature of Canada’s diplomatic relations’ as being ‘FROSTY’ when it comes to Sri Lanka.

You said, ‘Tensions have built between Canada and Sri Lanka as reports of the abuse of the country’s Tamil minority by government forces continue to pop up…”   But I don’t think the Canadian Government has any moral right to complain about the alleged “…abuse of the country’s Tamil minority”, when Canada still hasn’t acknowledged the classic text book example of human rights of liberation of lives, when the Sri Lankan Government soldiers liberated 295,873 of the minority Tamils from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers by 19 May 2014 who were used as a human shield for 30 months, being herded like unwashed cattle from the west coast to the east coast. With that deliberate omission of Sri Lanka’s efforts to give back to these 295,873 Tamils their right to freedom, Canada has abdicated its rights to be judge and jurist on Sri Lanka’s human rights record.

Furthermore, Canada has deliberately omitted the text book example of a classic class act of human rights ‘magic’, performed by the Sri Lankan government when they prepared a million meals a day to feed a hearty breakfast, lunch and dinner every day for months and years for these 295,873 Tamils who were rescued from the clutches of the Tamil Tiger terrorists, and not let them starve to death.

Where is your voice, Canada?  Where is your honesty, Canada? I don’t trust you being an honest judge and jurist on Sri Lanka’s human rights record anymore. You get an ‘F’ from me for failing the litmus test of honesty when it comes to dealing with Sri Lanka, who is doing extremely well in the department of reconciliation among communities.   After all 54% of the Tamil population live in the South, happily ever after among the Sinhalese. And, of course, 41% of the population of the capital Colombo are of Tamils and living among the majority Sinhalese.  No fisty-cuffs there! That is the ground reality for you, Canada. Go, figure out!

Asoka Weerasinghe