Ira de Silva Ontario, Canada

Roxanne James, M.P. (Conservative) 
Parliamentary Secretary for Minister of Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
 
Dear Madam:
 
You have asked for feedback on Mr. Harper not attending the Commonwealth Summit.   
 
Regarding human rights – I do not agree. Canada has no right to criticise Sri Lanka on human rights when Canada is being investigated for the violation of the human rights of Canadians. Why do you not concentrate on Canadian’s rights before you talk of human rights of people in other countries? The hypocrisy of  Conservatives such as you has no bounds. Do you not know that everyone is aware that Mr. Harper did not go to the summit because of domestic politics? In simple language, he is using Sri Lanka to get Tamil votes in Canada, the votes of those who supported the extreme terrorism of the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka. He has no interest in human rights either in Sri Lanka or elsewhere. In 2011, at a meeting of Tamils who supported the LTTE (Tamil terrorists) he gave them an assurance that he would not go because they wanted it. They set the agenda for you because at that time these same Tamils, who had been responsible for funding Tamil terrorism in Sri Lanka, sending two million dollars a month to bomb, kill, destroy innocent civilians of all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, thought they would stop Sri Lanka from hosting the Commonwealth meeting. They claimed after that meeting that they had Mr. Harper on their side. That is what human rights means to you unethical, unprincipled Canadian  politicians. Having supported terrorism and being responsible for thousands of deaths in Sri Lanka that you have the nerve to even talk of human rights shows either your ignorance or callous disregard for the lives of others. It is ironic that you should be responsible for “public safety” considering that your government is pandering to those who terrorised Sri Lanka just so you can get elected.
 
Are you concerned about international human rights issues – yes. However, based on the above, it appears that you do not seem to have any concern about the death and destruction that Canadians caused in Sri Lanka by extreme terrorism which is a gross violation of human rights. Canadian politicians of all political parties backed this terrorism and based on this mailing it appears that you want to continue harassing Sri Lanka for votes in Toronto. Should you want to stop pretending that you have concern for human rights, your first step would be to acknowledge the part Canadians played in terrorism in Sri Lanka – that is accountability which Canada keeps talking about. The next step is to take responsibility for Canada’s actions, issue an apology and compensate. The hypocrisy of Canada’s representative at the summit, Mr. D. Obhrai, was clearly evident to all Sri Lankans just as much as yours in talking about “human rights”.  In his ignorance he laid the wreath at Elephant Pass, the area that had seen heavy fighting and which in 2000 was the scene of the LTTE killing over 1000 soldiers in their attempt to separate the Jaffna peninsula from the mainland. In all the land area he had to lay a wreath, this was a poor choice unless he was commemorating the LTTE success on behalf of Canada. Even in that his bias and duplicity was illustrated. In English the wording on the wreath read “in memory of all innocent Sri Lankan victims of violence” however in Tamil violence was changed to war and “all Sri Lankans” was changed to “minority”.  In Sinhalese too it was not violence but war. However,  it is addressed to Sri Lankans, not a “minority”. Perhaps Mr. Obhrai believes that the people can not read and are as ignorant of what took place as he is. His gesture was treated with the contempt it deserves because Sri Lankans know that this was a gimmick to get Canadian votes and he is supporting the terrorists who died . The same applies to you asking for “feedback” on Mr. Harper’s decision and your attempt to show concern for human rights in Sri Lanka because your government is certainly not on the right track to “protect and promote equality on human rights at home and abroad”. This farce was carried out to get votes in Toronto and voters know it. You may get some but you will also lose some. Those who oppose terrorism hope that your losses will far outnumber what you get by this charade. 
 
Mr. Harper’s decision to boycott the Commonwealth Meetings – it should be obvious to you by now that I do not agree. It was a decision not based on principles or ethics but merely to pander to those who were responsible for terrorism in Sri Lanka and have now chosen Mr. Harper to lead them in the continued harassment of Sri Lanka to achieve their goal of dividing the country. 
 
If you believe that sending out this inane request for feedback is going to get you the votes of  non-Tamil Canadians of Sri Lankan origin, while you are competing for the votes of the Tamils who supported Tamil terrorism in the Toronto area with the Liberals and NDP, the other Sri Lankans who did not and do not support Canada’s support of the Tamil terrorists, will certainly not vote for you. Unlike you and Mr. Harper, they have concern for the human rights of their friends and relatives in Sri Lanka who have been terrorised with Canada’s help.  Now that the scourge of terrorism has ended in spite of Canada, they would not give you any encouragement to start the process again. 
 
Yours truly,
 
Ira de Silva
Ontario, Canada