‘Tories Drop the Tamil Act’
Posted on September 22nd, 2011
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 Canada
22 September 2011
The Editor, EMBASSY, Ottawa
Dear Editor:
ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that if he does not see human rights progress in Sri Lanka, he will boycott the 2013 Commonwealth summit in Colombo,ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ you said.
Prime Minister Harper is entitled to decide whether to attend or not to attend the Colombo, Commonwealth summit in 2013, but as a Canadian I do not have to agree with his decision.
If Prime Minister Harper has found little significance of acts of restoring human rights in Sri Lanka like giving back the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”right-to-lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ to her 22 million people having eliminated on 19 May 2009, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil Tigers, the most ruthless terrorist outfit in the world, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who hijacked that most significant ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”human rightƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ by exploding claymore mines and suicide bombs during its 27-year long war, then Prime Minister Harper has no place at that summit and he should stay back as the Commonwealth summit will be better off without him.
If Prime Minister Harper finds ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ little significance of Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s human rights effort to ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ liberate 300,000 Tamils from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers who held them as a human shield and herded them for 30 months from the west coast to the east coast, and housed them in welfare camps, prepared a million meals to feed themƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a hearty breakfast, lunch and a dinner each day so that they do ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ not end starving, and sent them back to their rebuilt ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and new homes within 24 months, then Prime Minister Harper has no place at that summit and he should stay back as the Commonwealth summit willƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ be better off without him.
Having secured the 100,000 ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ GTA Tamil votes for the Conservatives by making that announcement,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Prime Minister Harper should stop playing Pied Piper trying to drag the other Commonwealth nations with him to boycott the summit as they got other significant files to discuss to help each other, like regional terrorism which is normally encouraged by the western nations, and the NATOƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ forces may not come to their aid.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Luckily for Sri Lanka the other developing Commonwealth nations do not have to depend on 100,000 Tamil voters to satisfy the Tamil DiasporaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s call to cripple Sri Lanka which is now progressing well with the rebuilding, rehabilitation and reconciliation process after the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Tamil terrorist war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Canada should give Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s effort for Peace after a 27-year long nasty terrorist war a Chance.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka and its 22 million peoples simply deserve that sincere break.
Asoka Weerasinghe
September 22nd, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Commonwealth was a prominent opponent of the apartheid regime in South Africa. In the 1960s, Canadian Primeminister John Diefenbaker and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru led a joint effort that read South Africa out of the Commonwealth. In the 1980s, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney rebuffed efforts by Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan to dilute sanctions until South Africa really began to reform and democratize in a genuine and determined way. Commonwealth suspended Nigeria for 3 years after the 1995 hanging of the activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. Zimbabwe was suspended from Commonwealth in 2002.
The Commonwealth allows for member countries to be suspended for Human Rights abuses, but ignores the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on some of the poorest countries in the world. The definition of serious violations should embrace much more than it does now.
But present Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s foreign and domestic policy has fulfilled the hopes of US conservatives. In 2007 Canadin Prime Minister Stephen Harper has successfully blocked more than 50 Commonwealth countries that were seeking a climate change resolution that would force industrialized countries to adopt a binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Canada’s lack of action on climate change is contributing to droughts, floods and sea level rises in small island states and vulnerable commonwealth countries such as Maldives, Bangladesh, and Mozambique. Canada’s emissions have risen by more than 25% between 1990 and 2007. Canada is at the bottom of the G8 league table for action to tackle climate change. Canadians consumes far more than their fair share of petroleum and owe a debt to developing countries of the Commonwealth for the impact of their emissions on the climate. Canada is getting away with climate crimes that are destroying homes and livelihoods of the people live in developing countries of the Commonwealth. Present Canadian government continues to support for the extraction of oil from Alberts tar sands, a process which is 3 times as damaging to the climate than extracting conventional oil. Extracting millions of barrels of dirty oil from Alberta tar sands and abandoning the Kyoto treaty is not the behaviour of a responsible commonwealth country and Canada should be suspended from Commonwealth immediately. Canada’s complete failure to cut its emissions is making the global situation worse. If the Commonwealth countries are serious about holding their members to account, then they should suspend Canada immediately since it is threatening the lives of millions of people in developing Commonwealth countries. Unless Canada is willing to stop blocking international climate negotiations through its continued support for the Alberta tar sands, Canada should withdraw its membership with Commonwealth. The Commonwealth should hold Canadian government to a higher standard.
– Nalliah Thayabharan
September 23rd, 2011 at 5:41 am
Thank you Asoka for being a the best advocate for the Free Democratic Sri Lanka.
Canada’s commitment to Noble causes seem confused at best, cynical, manipulative and yes, evil at the worst. As Nalliah reminds Canada is not only polluting the stratosphere with brazen disregard for living beings not only in her own but the whole earth. She has chosen Free Democratic Sri Lanka to vomit on after imbibing with glee all the nasty servings from the LTTE diaspora.
Canada’s commitment against Against South Africa’s Apartheid regime or Ian Smith’s illegal regime in Zimbabwe were quite lukewarm, if I remember right, in comparison to staunch advocates like other African states and the very positivesupport by Libya and Nigeria. I must add that there were veryvocal enthusiasts in every country in the West agains such evils, but rulers often see advantages in doing dealswith the evil.
Canads’s operatives in the UN have been very vocal in its oppsition to the moves Sri Lanka initiated to eradicate in their own land. Canada preferred to back the overseas LTTE diaspora who were funding the terrorists, with ill gotten money from extortion, credit card faud, narcotic buisness and applying all the tricks in the trade employed by such organizations. No doubtill gotten gains greasemany palms, in addition to the cross in the ballot paper from the bogus refugee sector.
Today Sri Lanka is doing its best to bring about reconciliation having embraced even reformed former LTTE operatives into its cabinet ranks, and allowing the Tamil Fascist group TNA, representation in the Parliament of Sri Lanka. This is a feat unheralded in human history. Despite all the freedoms in the metropolitan West German Fascists did not have such a priviledge after their defeat in Europe.
Yet, overseas LTTE groups have enough funds to buyover thepoliticos of the metropolitan states to do theirbidding- as we see in the actions by the aforesaid Mr Harper.
September 23rd, 2011 at 7:54 am
Highly commendable analysis correctly worded and exploring 2 main logical reasons why HARPER NEED NOT BE THERE AT THE COMMONWEALTH SUMMIT that resulted due to his total ignorance of the real ground situation in Sri Lanka during the last 3 decades and at present, FOR THE SAKE OF 100.000 TAMIL VOTES.
How Sri Lankans specially Sinhalese and also Tamils & Muslims as well suffered endless killings and destruction due to LTTE BRUTALITIES.These pandits were all dead silent for those attrocities and are worried about killing of only HARDCORE LTTE CADRES DURING THE LAST LAPSE OF THE WAR. These pundits have totally forgotten that Sri Lankan Govt declared an amnesty period of 2 weeks for any one to surrender which no other Govt has granted during last lapse of any war, for which LTTE negatively responded.
If Osama Bin Laden, can be killed which they claim as their legitimate right, who was not armed even, since he was the leader of Alquida, WHATS WRONG IN KILLING HARDCORE LTTE TERRORISTS IN A WAR IN SRI LANKA???
Mr Harper, WHAT IS GOOD FOR GOOSE IS EQUALLY GOOD FOR GANDER TOO!!!
September 23rd, 2011 at 9:03 am
Liberals and NDP divided the Vote.
That is why Harper is here.
Otherwise, he is not the preferred one.
He is changing Canada’s face.