Canada can help Sri Lanka

By Harini Sivalingam

(February 06, Toronto, Sri Lanka Guardian) We publish here a feature that appeared in the Toronto Sun February 4, 2009 by Harini Sivalingam. She is the wife of the prominent LTTE activist and founder member of the pro-LTTE Canada Tamil Congress, Garry Sangary. He is the son of Mr Ananda Sangary and politically he has taken a stand against his father.

Harini Sivalingam alias Harini Sangary has been an LTTE activist for many years. Her feature is a typical example of ignoring the real ground situation in Sri Lanka. She gives the impression that it is the Sri Lanka Armed Forces that have encircled 300,000 civilians without any reference whatsoever to the real situation that they are being held as human shield hostages by the LTTE.

It is remarkable the very forces that have funded Tiger terrorism in Sri Lanka are now in the desperate moves to avoid the total annihilation of Prabahakaran and his terror band, have taken the mask as campaigners on a humanitarian mission on behalf of the civilians. These civilians are at the mercy of the LTTE and are quite likely to be massacred by the LTTE. The likes of Harini Sivalingam should demand from the LTTE to release the hostages forthwith

Prabhakaran who has been on a murderous mission from the day he killed Mayor Alfred Duryappah in 1975 and has been known as one who will show no mercy whatsoever the way he exterminated other liberation groups and including his own Mathiah and his cadres is more likely to do the same with the hostages as an act of revenge.

Harini Sivalingam should inform herself of the October 1995 march of thousands from Jaffna who were force-marched as human shield by the LTTE to Wanni under treacherous monsoonal conditions also as well as to ensure they will have a cadre source readily available in Wanni.

Either she is totally ignorant of the situation in Sri Lanka or wants to champion terrorism at any cost unmindful of the truism terrorism will not solve Sri Lanka’s ethnic problems. Sri Lanka Guardian.

Toronto SUN, February 4, 2009: As the Sri Lankan government celebrates its independence day today, Tamils around the world will be mourning the loss of innocent lives due to the escalation of hostilities against Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka.

Instead of the mesmerizing displays of firework that usually mark such national holidays, Tamil children will be hearing the haunting sounds of artillery fire and shelling around them.

Despite the large Tamil Diaspora community in almost every Western nation, most of the world is ambivalent towards the 25-year-old armed conflict. It is not that they don't care, but rather little is really known about this conflict.

International media has long been barred from entering the conflict zone and without the watchful eyes of the media, the Sri Lankan conflict has in large part stayed a forgotten war.

However, over the past few weeks there has been growing international attention. Perhaps it is because an astounding 300,000 Tamil civilians are now entrapped within a 300 square km conflict zone without access to humanitarian aid. Or maybe because the Sri Lankan government has been carpet bombing declared "safety zones" killing hundreds of civilians in the process.

These clear violations of the Geneva Convention have drawn criticism from international non-governmental organizations, the United Nations, and local Canadian politicians. Yet these condemnations have failed to phase the Sri Lankan government's pursuit of a military option to "wipe out" the Tamil Tigers. The Sri Lankan government has stated categorically it will not consider a ceasefire.

LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION

Political analysts have called this the "end game" for the Sri Lankan conflict. However for the quarter-million Tamils on the brink of starvation this is not a game at all but rather a life or death situation.

There is no doubt the Sri Lankan conflict has reached a pivotal phase. International attention to this conflict is growing and on the cusp of building momentum for action that could drastically impact how this conflict does end.

Many members of the Tamil Diaspora, including myself, are feeling helpless as we watch the tragedy in Sri Lanka unfold, wondering what we can do.

From coast to coast Tamil Canadians have rallied together in unity in unprecedented numbers to create awareness of the plights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Tamil Canadians are looking toward our Canadian government to take a stance on the Sri Lankan conflict.

Canada has the ability to play a leading role to help realize a resolution to the conflict that takes into account the aspirations of the Tamil people. Canada played a leadership role in brining an end to apartheid in South Africa and bringing attention to the genocide in Rwanda.

It's time for Canada to step up to the plate on the Sri Lanka conflict and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Sivalingam alias Garry is a lawyer in the Tamil community
-Sri Lanka Guardian
Ellan said...

It is another one from the "diaspora in the Eelam illusion". They living well with their children getting a good education and having a bright future. What do they care about the poor in the Wanni?

Ananda-USA said...

Here is another supporter of the LTTE in the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora continuing the job they started three decades ago of demonizing the Sinhala majority community of Sri Lanka, and successive Sri Lankan governments that fought to preserve the integrity of the nation.

This war of liberation is not a catastrophe the author paints it to be, it is the ENDING OF THE CATASTROPHE that has been in progress for 30 long years. These people, sitting in comfort in Canada, shed crocodile tears on behalf of their kinfolk in Sri Lanka, yet they are the very people primarily responsible for all the pain and suffering inflicted upon the people of Sri Lanka.

These LTTE supporters funded the blowing to bits and the hacking to pieces of over 100,000 people in Sri Lanka in the hope of carving out a racist aparthied state in Sri Lanka. They enthusiastically supported the LTTE in ethnic cleansing in Sri Lanka's North and East, in eliminating every moderate Tamil in Sri Lanka who disagreed with them, sending hundreds of brainwashed youth as suicide bombers to kills thousands of innocent people, and kidnapping underage children of their own people to be used as cannon fodder. All of this was done on the pretext of liberating their people from alleged "intolerable discrimination" that never existed in Sri Lanka. It was a con-job of the worst kind from start to finish. Now, by making all kinds of outrageous accusations they are moving to win in peace the mono-ethnic aparthied state of Eelam that all of their monstrous methods failed to achieve through war.

When this war ends in Sri Lanka within a few weeks at most, the funds contributed to the LTTE separatist cause will quickly dry up as the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora emerges from the control of the LTTE mafia and refuses to be extorted further. Then, Ms. Karen Parker will find herself without a paying client. She had better arrange to receive her payment in advance, because a few weeks from now her clients will not be answering their phones.

The AXE murderers of the LTTE are now preaching non-violence, the virtues of democracy, and fair play to us, all smiles and tears. It is merely hypocrisy of the worst kind. Democracy there was, before all this violence was unleashed upon the people of Sri Lanka, and to democracy the entire island of Sri Lanka will return when this war is won in its entirety. One country, one people, one set of equal rights and equal responsibilities. No Eelams, no devolution of power to any community on ethnic bases.