A response to Henry (USA)
Posted on December 11th, 2018
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent Gloucestd,m Ontario.
This response to Henry’s (USA) pertinent question to my response to Canadian High Commissioner David McKinnon’s meeting with former LTTE terrorists in Mullaitivu, recently.
He asks: “Is there a possibility that newspapers in Canada will give due publicity to letters such as yours.”
The answer is : Yes Henry. During my involvement on this Eelam War file from August 1983 to August 2013, I have had just over 200 letters of mine published in – The Ottawa Citizen, The Ottawa Sun, The Globe & Mail (Toronto),The Toronto Sun, The Toronto Star, Evening Telegram
(Newfoundland), the Gazette (Montreal, Quebec), The Whig Standard (Kingston, Ontario), The Windsor Star (Windsor, Ontario), The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia), Star India Journal (Toronto, Ontario), MacLeans (Weekly News Magazine, Toronto), National Post (Toronto), and Embassy (Ottawa, Ontario).
The bottom line was, if our Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa, responded to the news items on Sri Lanka which appeared in these newspapers and the trash they published of Eelam propagandists, then I wouldn’t have taken my precious time writing letters, when I could have got on with my life. If they could show 25 letters that were published by them during my efforts of 30 years, we all would be happy. Perhaps, they were under strict orders from their Foreign Ministers not to get involved in letter writing. This I do not know.
The next question that would prompt Henry (USA) to ask me is – “Do you think Canadians read your letters?” My answer would be, “I like to believe so for several reasons. When I meet non-Sri Lankan Canadians, they want to discuss the whole Tamil issue and to elaborate on what I wrote,”
My wife who was Federal Government public servant, had gone to another Federal Department for a meeting and showed her ID to the Security Guard. He had looked at it, jotted her name, looked up at her and asked, “Do you know this person Asoka
Weerasinghe who writes letter to The Ottawa Citizen.” She had said “Yes, he is my husband.” Pat comes the request: “Tell your husband that I haven’t read letters from him about the Tamils recently. Ask him to keep writing, as I want to know the otherside of the Tamil Tigers in Canada story.”
The Editor of the Windsor Star phoned me one day on a letter that I wrote as a response to a one page article Logan had written. The question was “How much funding do you get from the Sri Lanka Government to write these letters.” “:Not a penny” I said. ““I don’t believe you,” he responded. “How many researchers have you employed to write these informative letters.” “None” I said.. “I do all the research myself. And I have a vast library to help me with my writings.” “I don’t believe you Mr. Weerasinghe, but I will publish your long response.” he said.
The long letter appeared as a middle spread on Monday, September 1984, titled –Separatists terrorists rend peaceful isle of Sri Lanka. in the Windsor Star.
I hope this explanation helps whether I am wasting my time with my letter/essay writing
on the Tamil Eelam separatist war in Sri Lanka. This was most I could have done for my Motherland who nurtured me during the first 19 years of my life. I didn’t have a heart to turn my back on her. No way!
Asoka Weerasinghe
Kings Grove Crescent
Gloucestd,m Ontario.
11 December 2018
December 11th, 2018 at 4:44 pm
Please keep on writing Asoka. I enjoy and learn a lot from your very informative and interesting way of writing. You are a patriotic son of Sri Lanka although you had only nineteen years of your life in our mother land.
December 12th, 2018 at 12:24 am
Hi Asoka,
Thank you very much for replying to my comments. At the outset, I want you to be assured that I was in no what implying that you are wasting your time. I have been reading your letters for a long time and really admire what you have been trying to do like all Sri Lankans should try to do. I was only posing a challenge to the Western mdiai to give the publicity due to the Sinhal side of the story, which
December 12th, 2018 at 12:24 am
Hi Asoka,
Thank you very much for replying to my comments. At the outset, I want you to be assured that I was in no what implying that you are wasting your time. I have been reading your letters for a long time and really admire what you have been trying to do like all Sri Lankans should try to do. I was only posing a challenge to the Western mdiai to give the publicity due to the Sinhal side of the story, which
December 12th, 2018 at 12:30 am
is often totally ignored or worse, concealed by vested interests.
Yes, do keep writing. We need the world to know that we have been sold down the river not only by the British with their divide and rule policies, but also by their lackeys in the country who certainly do not have the interests of the country and the people at heart.
You are doing a wonderful job. Thank you for your service!