LankaWeb Editorial

 Finally In the face of sweeping genocide allegations against Sri Lanka, Canada takes a firm stand, debunking the claims and highlighting political opportunism as succinctly reported in prominent recent News Media.

The Canadian Government has officially communicated to the Sri Lankan  Government that there is no credible evidence supporting the  occurrence of genocide in Sri Lanka. This information was reaffirmed by reliable sources within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo and, surprisingly, only one local newspaper in Sri Lanka  apparently covered the news. It is astonishing that such a significant development did not receive broader coverage from the country’s mass media.

The false allegations of war crimes and genocide against Sri Lanka  have had a detrimental impact on its reputation and created many issues in many areas. Opportunistic individuals, both local and foreign, with ulterior motives, have  exploited these accusations for personal gain. Politicians in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada have leveraged the perceived plight of Tamils of Sri Lankan origin and other migrant populations to secure and maintain their power, capitalizing on  reduced voter turnover of natives in their constituencies. It should  be acknowledged that among these Tamils, there are individuals who have taken advantage of the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka for personal gain and financial opportunities.

 Regrettably, even Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has embraced this falsehood as inspiration. These individuals are inclined to accept false information as truth and strive to prove the existence of a misconceived genocide in Sri Lanka. Their basic strategy revolves around propagating ideas created by various parties without considering the  truth or supporting data.

 Officials who have served in Western embassies in Sri Lanka have  repeatedly confirmed that no genocide took place in the country. They  acknowledge the sacrifices made by the Sri Lankan security forces to  end the war in May 2009, which could have concluded much earlier. The  primary objective of the Sri Lankan security forces was not the elimination of civilians, as seen in the history of the United States, its allied forces and may other dictatorial countries around the world. Their focus was on safeguarding and serving the maximum number of unarmed civilians. However, these statements have been disregarded and replaced with manufactured falsehoods by several parties which are truly incredible!.

 Various parties, driven by their political goals, have attempted to  conceal information and disseminate false narratives. Ban Ki-moon, the  former Secretary-General of the United Nations, is one such leader who  engaged in such deceitful practices.Erik Solheim former Norwegian  Ambassador to Sri Lanka is another guilty of misrepresentation in a  combined list of many perpetrators with similar objectives. While documenting unsubstantiated data, they propagated false information about Sri Lanka, presenting  themselves as  guardians of humanity within the international  community. It is ironic that such  individuals were warmly welcomed into our parliament, along with opportunistic politicians who have embraced false ideologies.

 However, this welcoming approach was not extended to Imran Khan, then  Prime Minister of Pakistan, a leader whose country has  historically stood in solidarity with Sri Lanka. This discrepancy  further underscores the unfortunate politicization of our local  politicians, revealing their disgraceful motives.

 While the pursuit of unaccountable power and personal wealth seems to  be the motivation for these politicians, it is commendable that the Canadian state, the bureaucracy, has responded rationally to the false  accusations against Sri Lanka, distancing itself from opportunists at  various levels. We do not deny that there were casualties among  unarmed civilians during the war against the Tamil Tigers, which is an  unfortunate reality in any conflict albeit in the case of Sri Lanka never one sided as the Sinhalese too suffered heavy casualties.

Nevertheless, it is important to maintain a balanced perspective and avoid undue exaggeration regarding  the overall extent of damage caused. Regrettably, certain politicians and Western-funded NGOs have amplified these issues beyond proportion.

 However, we hold the belief that the Canadian Bureaucracy has come to a discerning realization, acknowledging the need for a more nuanced understanding of the situation.

What seems to have been missed  is the rank disregard towards  co-relating facts to align with what  the reality of the situation was and that the   Government Sri Lanka was from every perspective within its bounden and constitutional right towards  the people of Sri Lanka to defend her Sovereignity and Territorial Integrity from armed terrorists insurgents whose objective was to overcome the Nation of  Sri Lanka causing turmoil and its smooth functioning as a Democratic Country in the name of Tamil Tiger Terrorist Dogma and a misconceived plight of so called  minority Tamil sufferers and that  the mass hysteria caused by those who failed, on the international scene are still being catered to by unscrupulous politicians weaponizing it towards their own agendas both globally and locally and is  indeed a travesty of justice which has been to all intents and purposes finally acknowledged.