{"id":115918,"date":"2021-07-08T16:04:22","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T23:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=115918"},"modified":"2021-07-08T16:05:03","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T23:05:03","slug":"erasing-the-eelam-victory-pt-21-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/07\/08\/erasing-the-eelam-victory-pt-21-b\/","title":{"rendered":"ERASING THE EELAM VICTORY Part 21 B"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The\nTamil Separatist Movement appears to have started its   Genocide charge in 2014. 28 Members of the\nNorthern Provincial Council and 5 members of the Eastern Provincial Council\nsent a joint letter on 17th<\/sup> August 2014, to United Nations High Commissioner for Human\nRights, Navi Pillay. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letter said, <\/strong>The\nTamil people strongly believe that they have been, and continue to be subject\nto Genocide by Sri Lanka. The Tamils were massacred in groups, their temples\nand churches were bombed, and their iconic Jaffna Public library was burnt down\nin 1981 with its collection of largest and oldest priceless irreplaceable Tamil\nmanuscripts. Systematic Sinhalese settlements and demographic changes with the\nintent to destroy the Tamil Nation are taking place. We request the OHCHR\ninvestigative team to look into the pattern of all the atrocities against the\nTamil people and to determine if Genocide has taken place\u201d.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

P. G.\nRavindra Nirosha of Nugegoda wrote to the Court of Appeal saying that the IGP\nand the Attorney General has failed to enforce provisions of the Penal Code\nagainst the 28 members of the Northern Provincial Council and five members of\nthe Eastern Provincial Council who had written to the United Nations\nCommissioner on Human Rights, that the Sinhalese are committing genocide\nagainst the Tamils and that Sinhalese settlements are being set up in Tamil\nareas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npetitioner had requested the Court of Appeal to issue a mandatory order on the\nIGP and the Attorney General, to take action under Provision 120 of the Penal Code.\nThe respondents included IGP, Attorney General, K.  Shivajilingam, a member of the Northern\nProvincial Council and 32 others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The public of Sri Lanka must be thankful to Ravindra Nirosh\nfor coming forward in this manner, said Shenali Waduge. TNA and LTTE propaganda\nmachine have escaped the law till now. Ravindra Nirosha has issued a Writ of\nMandamus against authorities demanding that they take action using Section 120\nof the Penal Code. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February\n2015, Northern Provincial Council unanimously passed a resolution<\/a> saying that\nthere has been continuous genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka since 1948, and that\nthe UN must investigate and submit a report at the next session of the UN Human\nRights Council and refer its findings to the International Criminal Court for\nfurther action. The Resolution was tabled by Chief Minister Justice CV\nWigneswaran<\/a>, and adopted by the Council unanimously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a\nlengthy Resolution of 5241 words. It is a rambling, sometimes nonsensical statement,\nmore like a lament than a Resolution. It is based on material from Human Rights\nWatch. One source cited is the film maker Callum MacRae. This Resolution has examined\nthe five activities that qualify as Genocide and have made claims for three of\nthem.  Excerpts from the Resolution are given\nin Appendix 1.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2016,\n\u2018Tamils for Obama\u2019 and \u2018American Tamil Forum\u2019 two major Tamil Diaspora groups,\nin the USA, alleged that around 70,000 Tamils were killed in the six months of\n2009 and that this could amount to Genocide.  \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019 a\nPrivate Member\u2019s Bill (Bill no104) titled An Act to Proclaim Tamil Genocide\nEducation Week was placed before Ontario Legislative Assembly, Canada   by Vijay Thanigasalam, MP for\nScarborough-Rouge Park. Vijay Thanigasalam is a LTTE supporter.  The move had been facilitated by the\nCommittee on Regulations and Private Bills coming under the purview of Logan\nKanapathi also of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. The Bill claimed\nthat 146,679 were killed in the final days of the Eelam War that civilians were\nstarved and Tamil children were forcibly taken away from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The progress\nof this Bill was closely watched by the anti-Eelamists in Canada. . Several Sri\nLankan organizations strongly opposed the Bill. Submissions were made in\nwriting to the Standing Committee on regulations and Private Bills.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bill\nstalled at the second reading, Chandre Dharmawardene said. Only 59 supported\nit. 66 either refrained from voting or said \u2018No.\u2019 The Bill was then referred\nback to the relevant committee for want of required support.  In the meantime anti-Sri Lanka resolutions\nwere passed in Brampton, Pickering and Toronto Municipal Councils, though the\nmatter was outside local politics.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On May 6,\n2021   Ontario Legislative Assembly,\nCanada, voted in favor of the Bill. It was carried through without a vote\ntaking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic which had restricted the\nparticipation of the majority of members. Vijay Thanigasalam declared the\npassage of the Bill \u2018a historic event for Tamil people in Ontario and across the\nworld.  Ontario is the first government worldwide\nto pass such a law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newly\npassed Tamil Genocide Education Week Act establishes a week each year, May 11\nto 18, during which Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about, and\nto maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that\nhave occurred in world history. However, the Bill would not become law until\nOntario Lieutenant Governor General gave her consent on behalf of the Canadian\nGovernment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Analysts saw\nthis Ontario move as very   significant. This\nBill is an attempt to legitimize the claim that a Tamil Genocide happened in\nSri Lanka. Such projects intended to legitimize war crimes accusations, should\nbe nipped in the bud they said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would be a serious mistake, on Sri Lanka\u2019s part, to consider\nthe genocide rap as a project of the Ontario Legislative Assembly instead of a\nCanadian move. The Canadian move is severely inimical to Sri Lanka. The Ontario\nproject would further strengthen the Geneva-led campaign meant to weaken Sri\nLanka, said Shamindra Ferdinando. The Geneva onslaught will take a new turn with\nthis Genocide charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\nacted promptly. The Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa protested. Foreign\nMinister Dinesh Gunawardena   conveyed Sri Lanka\u2019s deep concern over the\nadoption of Private Member Bill 104 on \u2018Tamil Genocide Education Week\u2019 by the\nOntario Legislative Assembly on 06 May 2021 to Canadian High Commissioner David\nMcKinnon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti Eelamists\nin Canada also responded. Dr. Neville Hewage[1]<\/a>    <\/strong>went to Supreme Court against the Act. He\nsaid that Ontario Legislative Assembly did not have the jurisdiction to pass\nBill 104 and the facts presented in Bill 104 were completely false.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahinda Gunasekera\nsent an open letter to.<\/sup> Prime Minister, Ministers, Premier of\nOntario, Members of the Federal Parliament\/ Ontario Legislature and GTA Mayors\non the matter [2]<\/a>He pointed out that Eelam war IV was a\ncivil war not a genocidal one and its was initiated by the LTTE not the\ngovernment, that the UN has not declared the Eelam war to be genocidal and that\nOntario Provincial Legislature does not have the authority to determine\nGenocide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ontario\nCentre for Policy Research organized a webinar on LTTE Terrorism and Alleged\nTamil Genocide in June 2020 to discuss the Ontario Bill. The panel consisted of\nNeville Hewage, Sarath Chandrasekera and Chandre Dharmawardana.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 3 2021, those\nwho opposed Eelam issued a joint statement. We are pleased to announce that the following\nSri Lankan-Canadian organizations have joined as a united front to fight a Superior\ncourt case against the Ontario law on Tamil Genocide Education Week. Sri\nLankan Canadian Action Coalition (SLCAC) Canadian Sri Lankan Center for Social\nHarmony (CSLCSH) Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada (SLUNA) Sri\nLanka Canada Association of Brampton (SLCAB). A 12-member steering committee\nwill address aspects of the proceedings and fundraising campaigns, we hope to\ndraw attention to the misinformation contained in the Act, and see that Tamil Genocide Education Week Act is repealed,\nthey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Canada\nhas this image internationally of a great defender of human rights violations,\nthe protector of human rights throughout the world, but in its own backyard it\nhas \u2019 violated the rights of   the\nindigenous inhabitants, said critics. Canada\u2019s\nugly record of Genocide is described in Appendix.\n2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appendix\n1.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nResolution said that Sri Lanka\u2019s genocide against Tamils began with the\nisland\u2019s independence. This Council is of opinion that during the period\nextending from 1948, successive Sri Lankan governments have perpetrated\ngenocide against Tamils. Extensive evidence demonstrates that acts have been\ncommitted that constitute four of the five enumerated genocidal acts in the\nGenocide Convention:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A series of\nanti-Tamil pogroms, fueled in part by fabricated rumors about Tamil violence\nagainst Sinhalese, began with the passage of the Sinhala Only Act, or the\nOfficial Language Act, in 1956 In Gal Oya, from June 11\u201316, Sinhalese mobs, who\nwere galvanized by false rumors about Tamil-initiated violence, killed around\n150 Tamils, injured about 100 more, and destroyed many Tamil-owned properties<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \\<\/em>In May 1958, Buddhist monks and\nother Sinhala nationalists organized anti-Tamil pogroms throughout Sri Lanka\nfrom May 22\u201327 estimates indicate that 300 Tamils were killed, over 1,000 were\ninjured, and 200 women were raped<\/p>\n\n\n\n

.From August\n12\u201320, 1977, Tamils were attacked on the train from Jaffna to Colombo, through\nthe country from Anuradhapura to Colombo, and in the Hill Country. About 300\nTamils were killed, over 1,000 were injured, and 25,000 were displaced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most\nhorrific anti-Tamil pogroms, known as Black July,\u201d occurred July 23\u201330, 1983,\nand involved state-sponsored Sinhalese mobs attacking Tamils and destroying\ntheir properties across the country, beginning in Colombo.. Over 3,000 Tamils\nwere killed, 500 women were raped, 8,000 homes and 5,000 businesses were\ndestroyed, and about 500,000 Tamils fled the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Vanni\ngenocide of 2008-09 had previously been rehearsed in the Eastern Province. On\n28 August 2006, the Sri Lankan military began a multi-pronged offensive against\nthe LTTE- administered region stretching from Sampoor to Vaharai. <\/em>According to UN estimates, 60\u2013100,000\nTamil civilians were killed over the course of the 27-year-long war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sri\nLankan government intentionally corralled Tamils into the so-called No Fire\nZones in 2009, in a calculated and deliberate attempt to destroy as many Tamils\nas possible. .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of\nJanuary 2009, government forces were killing approximately thirty-three Tamil\npeople each day, with these casualties increasing to 116 people per day by\nApril 2009. According to the Permanent People\u2019s Tribunal on Sri Lanka, this\ntoll surged, with an average of 1,000 civilians killed each day until May 19,\n2009.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In a submission to the Lessons Learnt and\nReconciliation Commission, the Bishop of the Mannar Catholic Diocese, Rt. Rev.\nDr. Rayappu Joseph, stated that according to the Government Secretariats, the\npopulation in the Vanni region in early October 2008 was 429,059. However, only\n282,380 people emerged from the Vanni into government-controlled areas,\naccording to UN OCHA 2009 statistics. Thus, over 146,679 people in the Vanni\nare not accounted for after the 2009 atrocities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nobligation to prevent and punish genocide under the Genocide Convention is not\na matter of political choice or calculation, but one of binding customary\ninternational law. This Council urges OCHRC to comprehensively investigate and\nreport on the charge of genocide in its submission to the UN Human Rights\nCouncil in March 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The UN Security Council should refer the\nsituation in Sri Lanka to the International Criminal Court for prosecutions\nbased on war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Alternatively or\nconcurrently, domestic courts in countries that may exercise universal\njurisdiction over the alleged events and perpetrators, including but not\nlimited to the United States, should prosecute these crimes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case of\ngenocide in Sri Lanka is unique among genocides in history because it occurred\nover several decades and under different governments before intensifying into a\nno- holds-barred war for nearly three decades and culminating in the mass\natrocities of 2009. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is\naccordingly vital that Sri Lanka\u2019s historic violations against Tamils, in\naddition to the 2009 attacks, are addressed through an international mechanism\nin order to combat Sri Lanka\u2019s institutionalized impunity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\ninternational intervention, coupled with action to promote the respect of human\nrights, is necessary to ensure a sustainable future for self-determination,\npeace, and justice, in Sri Lanka and for the Tamil people.  (End of Resolution.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appendix\n2.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada has\nits own ugly record of Genocide. Canada destroyed the indigenous people of\nCanada. There was forced sterilization. Canada created a special school system\nfor the indigenous children, the Resident or Industrial School system run by\nthe Federal Government and the Church. Residential Schools were part of a\npolicy to eliminate Aboriginal people as distinct peoples and to\nassimilate them into the Canadian mainstream against their will.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This school system\nremoved children from parents, who were not permitted to visit their children.\nThey in fact never saw their children again. The result was children, who\nlacked family love, and parental guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 70% of\nchildren were tortured, sexually abused by school teachers, priests, and\nnuns. When they left school after 10 years, their level of knowledge and\neducation was at the level of a Grade 2 child. They did not receive higher\neducation or skills. They often resorted to larceny, drug and alcohol\naddiction, ending up as urban poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five\ngenerations of children went through this school system. Between 1890-1970 over\n100,000 children were forced to attend 139 resident schools. The Truth\nand Reconciliation Commission of Canada in 2015 released its final report,\ndocumenting the tragic experience of at least 150,000 residential\nschool students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s\ngenocide was camouflaged as state policy and it was carried out with state\npatronage and blessings.  In 2008 Prime\nMinister of Canada, Steven Harper, apologized to the indigenous people. (Continued)<\/strong>
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KAMALIKA PIERIS The Tamil Separatist Movement appears to have started its   Genocide charge in 2014. 28 Members of the Northern Provincial Council and 5 members of the Eastern Provincial Council sent a joint letter on 17th August 2014, to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. The letter said, The Tamil people strongly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}