Commonwealth waits for Canada
Posted on June 11th, 2014
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada
10 June 2014
Editor (Letters)
Winnipeg Free Press
1355 Mountain Ave
Winnipeg, Manitoba , R2X 3B6
Dear Editor:
It is not too often that one reads an excellent clinical essay on Canada’s boycotting the Commonwealth Summit in Colombo last November and also its treatment on Sri Lanka, and Stuart Mole’s ‘Commonwealth waits for Canada’ is one of them.
Canada is being foolish with its misplaced ‘We are Holier Than Thou’ arrogance pointing its finger at Sri Lanka as they perceive it lacks democracy and human dignity.
See who is talking! Canada is one country who has not thus far acknowledged that the Sri Lankan Government by wiping out Tamil Tiger terrorism militarily on 19 May 2009, after a debilitating 27-year separatist Eelam war, gave back the most precious human right, the right-to-life to 22 million of her peoples which had been hijacked by the Tamil Tigers, thus has no moral right to question the alleged failings of human rights in Sri Lanka.
Canada which has failed to recognize since 19 May 2009, the classic text book example of liberation of 295,873 Tamils who were herded like unwashed cattle from the west coast of the north of the island to the east coast for 30 months as a human shield by the Tamil Tigers, Canada has no moral right to question the alleged failings of human rights in Sri Lanka.
Canada which has failed to acknowledge the classic text book example of restoring human rights and dignity of peoples, when the Sri Lankan government prepared a million meals a day to feed these 295,873 Tamil refugees three hearty meals- breakfast, lunch and dinner, every day and not let them starve to death, Canada has no moral right to question the alleged failings of human rights in Sri Lanka. This performance was a miracle for a puny island nation and this went on for months and years.
And Canada which has failed to acknowledge that the present Sri Lankan government held democratic elections for the Northern Province in September 2013, which had been suppressed for 25 years by the Tamil Tiger terrorists when they ruled a de facto separate state by bullets rather than by ballots, Canada has no moral right to question the alleged lack of democracy in Sri Lanka.
Canada’s hocus-pocus nonsense to whip Sri Lanka and its odious grandstanding is all for the 300,000 Tamil community’s eyes and ears, who are mainly concentrated in Scarborough, Markham and Brampton in the Greater Toronto Area, to garner their votes at the next federal election to hang on to the Conservative majority in the next parliament.
What has surprised me is that Stephen Harper’s Government has not understood that if the present Chair of the Commonwealth, Sri Lanka, would use human rights violations as the norm not to invite any of the 52 Commonwealth nations for a Commonwealth-Colombo Orange Pekoe Afternoon Tea Party with Bibikkam, I doubt Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa would find a single squeaky clean nation to join him, the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, and a representative of the Queen. And, of course, ‘We are Holier Than Thou’-Canada wouldn’t have a snow ball chance in hell to get an invitation having been lambasted by the UN for Canada’s failings of Human Rights on our native First Nation Women. Further with the charges by the female members of the Canadian army accusing their male colleagues and superiors of sexual misconduct, Canada has no moral right to challenge Sri Lanka for the alleged human rights failings.
That is indeed the rub for Canada’s top politicians Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Foreign Minister John Baird. And that is how the cookie crumbles and they should stop painting themselves as lily-white.
Asoka Weerasinghe
June 11th, 2014 at 1:52 pm
It is unfortunate that Canada has NOT yet suffered what SL suffered from terrorism.
Even world wars spared Canada.
Hopefully Canada will experience war so that the Canadian govt. will come to realize what it is.
June 11th, 2014 at 8:12 pm
“Lorenzo Says:
It is unfortunate that Canada has NOT yet suffered what SL suffered from terrorism.”
It won’t be long when the spoon fed tigers will turn the guns on their white masters…violent people live and breed violence and they do not care who the target is.
June 12th, 2014 at 9:04 am
“Canada which has failed to acknowledge that the present Sri Lankan government held democratic elections for the Northern Province in September 2013,”
“Failed to recognize”? how polite?. No, Canada WILL NOT recognize anything other than what her pro LTTE Tamil population dictates. Canada is using “the diplomacy of a bully” with nations she can get away with. Canada and the US have been neighbors for close to 4 centuries. Canada knows of ALL the human rights violations the US has committed and WILL NOT address them.
I am glad that this article points to Canada’s double standards, but lets get real Canada nor any of the cabal of nations with Tamil populations WILL NOT change their bullying tactics with Colombo unless Colombo really acts in a drastic manner with them. I would say along the same lines as Vladimir Putin who unlike Sri Lanka will not put up with the nonsense from the Western nations.
June 12th, 2014 at 10:59 am
Main problem is many illegal immigrants giving FALSE information about Discrimination, Harssment & other excuses to get to Europe & North America. Sad part id these host countries BELEIVE THEM.
Once they are here THEIR AIM is to not finding a job, but get into human smuggling, TERROR activities & prostituton to name a few. If you open a newspaper today its all about HOW GANGS of Tamils continue to steal, make accustaions that are false just to get sympathy from HOST COUNTRIES.
This is where the host countries of North America & Europe MUST investigate these false accusations BEFORE accepting words & complains about Sri Lanka by Tamils. THEN & then only the correct way to show HOW DECEPTIVE & False the immigrants complains are.
Because of the VOTES in the coming elections, everyone is so quiet & do not want create trouble for the ruling parties. As the army has just informed that CRY OF RAPE has become an excuse to get ENTRY into NORTH AMERICA & EUROPE..
June 13th, 2014 at 7:00 pm
Jayasiri
What you have written is spot on and this is the very message I am giving to the politicians and people here.