{"id":149983,"date":"2025-06-01T16:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T23:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=149983"},"modified":"2025-06-01T16:19:55","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T23:19:55","slug":"letter-from-the-citizens-of-sri-lanka-to-the-government-and-people-of-canada-erect-monument-for-canadas-genocide-against-indigenous-peoples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/06\/01\/letter-from-the-citizens-of-sri-lanka-to-the-government-and-people-of-canada-erect-monument-for-canadas-genocide-against-indigenous-peoples\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from the Citizens of Sri Lanka to the Government and People of Canada: Erect monument for Canada\u2019s Genocide against Indigenous Peoples"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To the Prime Minister and Members of the Canadian Parliament,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We, the citizens of Sri Lanka, write to express deep concern over the growing political narrative emerging from Canada that seeks to label Sri Lanka with charges of genocide\u2014without credible legal basis, independent verification, or contextual understanding. These allegations are largely promoted by LTTE-affiliated diaspora groups and run counter to global counterterrorism designations of the LTTE as one of the world\u2019s most brutal terrorist organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We respectfully ask: How can a country with an unresolved history of its own genocide\u2014against its First Nations, M\u00e9tis, and Inuit peoples\u2014sit in judgment of others without first reconciling its own past and present injustices?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada\u2019s Indigenous Genocide: A Documented and Ongoing Crime<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Colonial Seizure<\/strong>: Canada is a settler-colonial state. Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now called Canada for over12,000 years<\/strong>. European colonization began in the\u00a0late 1400s<\/strong>, with permanent French and British settlement from the\u00a0early 1600s<\/strong>. Over centuries, Indigenous land was systematically seized, cultures suppressed, and treaties violated. Euro-Christian settler institutions were imposed without consent, undermining native governance and sovereignty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Residential Schools (1880s\u20131996)<\/strong>: More than150,000 Indigenous children<\/strong>\u00a0were forcibly removed from their families and placed in church-run residential schools aimed at cultural erasure. Over\u00a06,000 children<\/strong>\u00a0are believed to have died from abuse, starvation, neglect, or disease. The\u00a0Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015)<\/strong>\u00a0labelled this a form of\u00a0cultural genocide<\/strong>\u2014recent mass graves only confirm its horror.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Indian Act (1876\u2013Present)<\/strong>: This colonial-era legislation still exists. It strips Indigenous autonomy, imposes federally controlled councils, governs land rights, and defines legal status\u201d in a way that sustains systemic marginalization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Poverty, Incarceration, and Water Crises<\/strong>: Indigenous people compriseover 30% of Canada\u2019s prison population<\/strong>, despite making up less than 5% of the total. Dozens of First Nations communities still lack access to clean water, proper housing, and health services\u2014shocking in a G7 democracy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • MMIWG Genocide Declaration<\/strong>: A 2019 National Inquiry officially declared thatCanada\u2019s treatment of Indigenous women and girls<\/strong>\u00a0constitutes\u00a0genocide<\/strong>, citing systemic neglect, racism, and failure of justice institutions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Sri Lanka\u2019s Record: A Contrast in Democratic Maturity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • Universal Franchise Since 1931<\/strong>: Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) granted universal suffrage to all adults\u2014men and women\u2014regardless of ethnicity, decades before Canada (1940 for women, 1960 for status Indians).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • No Apartheid Laws<\/strong>: Sri Lanka has no equivalent to Canada\u2019s Indian Act. Tamils have held the nation\u2019s highest offices, including Chief Justice, Central Bank Governor, Foreign Minister, and Leader of the Opposition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • Victory Over Terrorism<\/strong>: The Sri Lankan military defeated theLTTE<\/strong>, not the Tamil people. The LTTE was globally banned for suicide bombings, use of child soldiers, and civilian massacres. Over\u00a0300,000 Tamil civilians were rescued<\/strong>, not killed. Did these LTTE affiliated groups prevent a single Tamil child being turned into a child soldier by LTTE over 3 decades?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      Hypocrisy in Canada\u2019s Foreign Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Is Canada\u2019s vocal support for LTTE-aligned narratives rooted in human rights\u2014or vote-bank politics<\/strong> in Tamil diaspora-heavy electorates like Ontario and British Columbia?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Consider Patrick Brown<\/strong>, disqualified from the 2022 Canadian Conservative leadership race amid finance irregularities tied to promises of Tamil jobs and recognition of Tamil genocide.\u201d As Brampton Mayor, he funded the Tamil Genocide Memorial<\/strong>, promoting a biased narrative that aligns with pro-LTTE groups\u2014not human rights principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The same diaspora circles support both the Khalistan separatist movement<\/strong> and LTTE commemorations\u2014an alarming convergence of radical ideologies Canada allows on its soil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Tamil Genocide Education Week \u2013 Indoctrination, Not Education<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In 2021, the Ontario Legislative Assembly<\/strong> passed a bill institutionalizing Tamil Genocide Education Week<\/strong>, which mandates teaching children an unverified, politicized narrative as historical fact. This initiative:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Whitewashes LTTE terrorism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Rewrites history through a distorted lens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Pressures educators and students to conform to a diaspora-driven myth, not historical reality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        No credible international tribunal has declared a genocide in Sri Lanka. Teaching this narrative in schools violates educational neutrality and truth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Double Standards in Sanctions Policy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Canada has placed unjust sanctions on decorated Sri Lankan military leaders<\/strong>\u2014individuals who led the humanitarian rescue of civilians from a ruthless terror group. These are war heroes, not war criminals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Meanwhile, Canadian institutions that oversaw the systematic abuse, death, and cultural destruction of Indigenous children<\/strong> remain largely unpunished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        This double standard reveals that Canada\u2019s moral posturing is not rooted in justice\u2014but in diaspora appeasement and geopolitical expedience<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        A Call for Reflection and Honesty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Before Canada lectures others on reconciliation and justice, we urge your government to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Acknowledge your genocide as genocide (not only is there evidence of past atrocities, there is also evidence of ongoing atrocities & discriminations against Canada<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Uplift Indigenous communities beyond symbolic gestures.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Cease endorsing diaspora-driven propaganda that distorts Sri Lanka\u2019s history.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • End sanctions on Sri Lanka\u2019s war heroes and restore foreign policy integrity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Until then, moral credibility must be earned\u2014not assumed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Instead of erecting monuments for terrorists, Canada must honor the actual victims of its own genocide\u2014the Indigenous children and communities who were stripped of life, language, land, and dignity. In the absence of this, we would like to propose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Shenali D Waduge<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          On behalf of Concerned Citizens of Sri Lanka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Shenali D Waduge To the Prime Minister and Members of the Canadian Parliament, We, the citizens of Sri Lanka, write to express deep concern over the growing political narrative emerging from Canada that seeks to label Sri Lanka with charges of genocide\u2014without credible legal basis, independent verification, or contextual understanding. These allegations are largely promoted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-shenali-waduge"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149983","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=149983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149983\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}