ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mahinda Gunasekera Canada

Mr. Patrick Brown, MP
Member for Barrie
House of Commons
Ottawa

Dear. Mr. Brown,

I refer to the letter addressed by Mr. Rohan Basnayake of Ottawa to you with copy to me and a few others. Mr. Rohan Basnayake is not the only person to have reported on the emerging ground situation in the former territory in the Vanni region controlled by the internationally designated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aka Tamil Tigers. Tamil friends of mine from Toronto who visited the area too have said that the Tamil civilians who have been re-settled in the de-mined land are now able to go about their farming or fishing activities without hindrance, which factor has contributed to the economy of the region expanding by 22 percent in the last year as against a 7.5 percent growth in the rest of the country. I too have travelled to a few places in the north and east after the military action against the Tamil Tigers who launched their final war of liberation in December 2005 (refer Human Rights Watch report of March 2006), the area is rapidly developing with free movement of people, goods and much needed capital for new business ventures taking root in the region. I found the landscape changing into the green fields of paddy, vegetable gardens, a more prosperous Jaffna peninsula and a few bustling boom towns such as Akkaraipattu in the east.

The other canard that the areas of the north and east predominantly occupied by members of the Tamil community is heavily militarized is absolutely untrue. The Sri Lankan Army has a total of five (5) regiments each made up of nearly 17 battalions giving a total of 85 battalions excluding the armoured, artillery, engineering regiments plus the reserve and territorial regiments. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation in a program aired in September 2012 based on information said to have been provided by a female source claimed that 19 battalions were stationed in the north and east where the Tamils live. Even if this statement is accurate, it leaves a balance of sixty six (66) battalions and the other specialized units stationed elsewhere in the south where the majority Sinhalese live. The soldiers stationed in the north have been mainly engaged in the de-mining of over a million landmines planted by the Tamil Tigers, repairing and building of new homes for use by civilians and restoring the damaged infrastructure which they carried out speedily to enable the 295,000 displaced Tamils to be re-settled in a space of three years which is a remarkable achievement. In fact, when the Army wanted to move out a contingent of soldiers from the Mullaitivu area after completion of de-mining tasks recently, the local Tamil population protested the move as they relied on the Army for their security and special assistance required by them to resume normal living.

During the time the Tamil Tigers controlled the usurped territory in the Vanni area, the resident population was held under the jackboot of the LTTE with no right of free movement, whilst those outside the region were prevented from entering the Tiger terrain, except for INGO and NGO that collaborated with the LTTE in boosting their military preparedness. The main cottage industry in the Vanni was the manufacture of ‘Anti-Personal Mines’ and ‘IEDs’ which the Tigers buried widely to beef up their defences. If a resident Tamil wanted to move out of the Vanni, they were required to pay a huge tax to the LTTE or else hand over a family member including a young child to be brainwashed and trained as a ‘suicide bomber’ or a storm trooper in their fighting ranks.

I doubt you have ever visited Sri Lanka, and as Rohan has stated you seem to be repeating what some Tamils who have previously backed the banned Tigers are telling you, which is part of the propaganda campaign to demonize Sri Lanka. The Tamils who were ardent supporters of the Tamil Tiger terrorists have today changed their blood soaked cloaks to don the garb of ‘human rights activists’ by generously handing out their ill-gotten loot gathered by way of extortion, drug running, passport racketeering, credit card fraud, insurance fraud through staging of auto accidents, etc. to Amnesty, HRW and other such organizations. These funds are also being heavily spent on their propaganda campaigns and bogus human rights concerns without releasing a penny to uplift the poorer members of their community previously used by their Tamil Tiger heroes as a dispensable human shield since rescued by the Sri Lankan authorities and re-starting life in a peaceful environment. Our association, Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada airlifted two lots of medicine for treating the rescued Tamil civilians, and also supplied mosquito nets and school supplies to help them resume normal lives, in addition to supporting local initiatives such as the ‘Brotherhood Train of November 2008’ and the much publicized ‘Trails Project’ involving a community walk from the island’s southern tip of Dondra to the northern tip of Point Pedro, undertaken to raise funds for a Childern’s Cancer Care Hospital in Jaffna costing US $150 million.

We will be glad to meet with you and brief you about the other side of the story which is not carried in the mainstream media.

Yours sincerely,

Mahinda Gunasekera

 

On 12/6/2012 7:26 AM, ROHAN BASNAYAKE wrote:

Mr. Patrick Brown, M.P. for Barrie

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

Dear Mr. Brown,

REF: YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON SRI LANKA

Your recent Press Release touched on the subject of “Militarization of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka”. I believe, your source of information on Sri Lanka is none other than the Sureshkumar family.

Mr. Brown, when did your informants visit Sri Lanka last? A lot of third-hand stories are flying around these days with regard to the actual ground situation in Sri Lanka, especially in the Northern Districts of Sri Lanka, and I would like to give you the true picture.

I have recently returned to Ottawa from Sri Lanka and I had the opportunity of going to Jaffna and Mulaitivu Districts. As you are aware, these Districts were once occupied by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a.k.a. Tamil Tigers, for nearly 30 years. The Government of Sri Lanka successfully got rid of this LTTE terrorist cancer in 2009 and now the people in those Districts are living peacefully. Furthermore, in the Jaffna District new building are coming up, new industries are being set up and the Government is widening and re-paving the roads. The economy of the District is booming. Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people are working together in Jaffna and there is absolutely no animosity amongst them. Pls read the attached first hand report of my visit to the Northern Districts of Sri Lanka and that will give you a clear picture of the current situation. Pls don’t go by hear-say.

Mr. Brown, like Canada locating the Armed Forces in various Provinces and the Arctic to protect her people and territory, Sri Lanka, as a sovereign nation, has every right to establish military bases anywhere in the country to protect her people and land, especially after a 30-year war with a ruthless terrorist group (LTTE). Remember, Mr. Brown, the FBI (USA) classed this group (LTTE) as the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world.

Mr. Brown, you are requesting the Government of Sri Lanka to stop “militarizing the Tamil populated areas”. In other words, you want the Government of Sri Lanka to remove the Army Bases and troops from the Northern Districts. If that is the case, then the Government of Sri Lanka will have to relocate the Army, Navy and Air Force Headquarters and troops from Colombo to another city, as the population of Colombo is 42% Tamils.

Mr. Brown, Why don’t you talk to people who are knowledgeable on this ethnic issue of Sri Lanka, such as the fomer Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and currently with the Fraser Institute, Mr. Martin Collacott, or Mr. Mahinda Gunasekera (Toronto) or Mr. Asoka Weerasinghe (Ottawa) or Mr. Prathap Perera, President of Sri Lanka United National Association (SLUNA) in Toronto, who will be more than happy to put you on the right path and then you will be able to educate your informants, Constituents in Barrie and Parliamentary colleagues on the actual situation in Sri Lanka.

Yours Truly,

Rohan Basnayake

1449 Eastcliffe Way

Ottawa, Ontario

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Patrick Brown, MP
Member for Barrie
House of Commons
Ottawa

Dear. Mr. Brown,

I refer to the letter addressed by Mr. Rohan Basnayake of Ottawa to you with copy to me and a few others.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. Rohan Basnayake is not the only person to have reported on the emerging ground situation in the former territory in the Vanni region controlled by the internationally designated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), aka Tamil Tigers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tamil friends of mine from Toronto who visited the area too have said that the Tamil civilians who have been re-settled in the de-mined land are now able to go about their farming or fishing activities without hindrance, which factor has contributed to the economy of the region expanding by 22 percent in the last year as against a 7.5 percent growth in the rest of the country.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I too have travelled to a few places in the north and east after the military action against the Tamil Tigers who launched their final war of liberation in December 2005 (refer Human Rights Watch report of March 2006), the area is rapidly developing with free movement of people, goods and much needed capital for new business ventures taking root in the region.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I found the landscape changing into the green fields of paddy, vegetable gardens, a more prosperous Jaffna peninsula and a few bustling boom towns such as Akkaraipattu in the east.

The other canard that the areas of the north and east predominantly occupied by members of the Tamil community is heavily militarized is absolutely untrue.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Sri Lankan Army has a total of five (5) regiments each made up of nearly 17 battalions giving a total of 85 battalions excluding the armoured, artillery, engineering regiments plus the reserve and territorial regiments.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Australian Broadcasting Corporation in a program aired in September 2012 based on information said to have been provided by a female source claimed that 19 battalions were stationed in the north and east where the Tamils live.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Even if this statement is accurate, it leaves a balance of sixty six (66) battalions and the other specialized unitsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  stationed elsewhere in the south where the majority Sinhalese live.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The soldiers stationed in the north have been mainly engaged in the de-mining of over a million landmines planted by the Tamil Tigers, repairing and building of new homes for use by civilians and restoring the damaged infrastructure which they carried out speedily to enable the 295,000 displaced Tamils to be re-settled in a space of three years which is a remarkable achievement.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In fact, when the Army wanted to move out a contingent of soldiers from the Mullaitivu area after completion of de-mining tasks recently, the local Tamil population protested the move as they relied on the Army for their security and special assistance required by them to resume normal living.

During the time the Tamil Tigers controlled the usurped territory in the Vanni area, the resident population was held under the jackboot of the LTTE with no right of free movement, whilst those outside the region were prevented from entering the Tiger terrain, except for INGO and NGO that collaborated with the LTTE in boosting their military preparedness.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The main cottage industry in the Vanni was the manufacture of ‘Anti-Personal Mines’ and ‘IEDs’ which the Tigers buried widely to beef up their defences.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If a resident Tamil wanted to move out of the Vanni, they were required to pay a huge tax to the LTTE or else hand over a family member including a young child to be brainwashed and trained as a ‘suicide bomber’ or a storm trooper in their fighting ranks.

I doubt you have ever visited Sri Lanka, and as Rohan has stated you seem to be repeating what some Tamils who have previously backed the banned Tigers are telling you, which is part of the propaganda campaign to demonize Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Tamils who were ardent supporters of the Tamil Tiger terrorists have today changed their blood soaked cloaks to don the garb ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ‘human rights activists’ by generously handing out their ill-gotten loot gathered by way of extortion, drug running, passport racketeering, credit card fraud, insurance fraud through staging of auto accidents, etc. to Amnesty, HRW and other such organizations.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These funds are also being heavily spent on their propaganda campaigns and bogus human rights concerns without releasing a penny to uplift the poorer members of their community previously used by their Tamil Tiger heroes as a dispensable human shield since rescued by the Sri Lankan authorities and re-starting life in a peaceful environment. Our association, Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada airlifted two lots of medicine for treating the rescued Tamil civilians, and also supplied mosquito nets and school supplies to help them resume normal lives, in addition to supporting local initiatives such as the ‘Brotherhood Train of November 2008’ and the much publicized ‘Trails Project’ involving a community walk from the island’s southern tip of Dondra to the northern tip of Point Pedro, undertaken to raise funds for a Childern’s Cancer Care Hospital in Jaffna costingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  US $150 million.

We will be glad to meet with you and brief you about the other side of the story which is not carried in the mainstream media.

Yours sincerely,

Mahinda Gunasekera
Tel. (416) 498-0783

On 12/6/2012 7:26 AM, ROHAN BASNAYAKE wrote:

Mr. Patrick Brown, M.P. for Barrie House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Dear Mr. Brown, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  REF: YOUR PRESS RELEASE ON SRI LANKA ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Your recent Press ReleaseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ touched on the subject ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “Militarization of Tamil areas of Sri Lanka”. I believe, your source of information on Sri Lanka is none other than the Sureshkumar family.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. Brown,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ when did your informants visit Sri Lanka last?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A lot ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ third-hand storiesƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are flying around these days with regard to the actual groundƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ situation in Sri Lanka, especially in the Northern Districts of Sri Lanka, and I would like to give you the true picture. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I have recently returned to OttawaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ from Sri Lanka and I had the opportunity of going to Jaffna and Mulaitivu Districts.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  As you are aware, theseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ DistrictsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ were onceƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ occupied by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a.k.a. Tamil Tigers, for nearly 30 years. The Government of Sri Lanka successfully got rid of thisƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ LTTE terroristƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ cancer in 2009 and nowƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the people in thoseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Districts are living peacefully. Furthermore, in the Jaffna District new building are coming up, new industries are being set up and the Government is widening and re-paving the roads. The economy of the District is booming. Tamil, Muslim and Sinhala people are working together in Jaffna and there is absolutely no animosity amongst them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Pls readƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the attached first hand report of my visit to the Northern Districts of Sri Lanka and that will give you a clear picture of the current situation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Pls don’t go by hear-say. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. Brown, like Canada locating the Armed Forces in variousƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Provinces and the ArcticƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to protect her people and territory,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka, as a sovereign nation, has every right toƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ establish military bases anywhere in the country to protect her people and land, especiallyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ after a 30-year war with a ruthless terrorist group (LTTE).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Remember, Mr. Brown, the FBIƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ (USA) classed this group (LTTE) as the most ruthless terrorist organization in the world. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. Brown,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ youƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ are requesting the Government of Sri Lanka to stop “militarizing the Tamil populated areas“. In other words, you want the Government of Sri Lanka to remove the Army Bases and troopsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ from the Northern Districts.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If that is the case, then the Government of Sri Lanka will have to relocate the Army, Navy and Air Force ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Headquarters and troopsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ from Colombo to another city, asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the population ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Colombo is 42% Tamils.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Mr. Brown,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Why don’t you talk to people who are knowledgeable on this ethnic issue of Sri Lanka, such as the fomer Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and currently with the Fraser Institute, Mr. Martin Collacott, orƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mr. Mahinda Gunasekera (Toronto)ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ or ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mr. Asoka Weerasinghe (Ottawa) or Mr. Prathap Perera,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ President of Sri Lanka United National Association (SLUNA) in Toronto,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who will be more than happy to put you on the right path and then you will be able to educate yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ informants, Constituents in Barrie and Parliamentary colleagues on the actual situationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in Sri Lanka. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Yours Truly, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Rohan Basnayake ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  1449 Eastcliffe Way Ottawa, Ontario ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚