Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grover Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada

28 May 2011

Hon. John Baird, MP., PC., Minister of Foreign Affairs
Hon. Vic Toews, MP., PC., Minister of Public Safety
Hon. Peter Van Loan, MP., PC., Leader of the Government in the House ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Commons
Hon. Jason Kenney, MP, PC., Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism
Hon. Julian Fantino, MP., Associate Minister of National Defence

Dear Ministers Baird, Toews, Van Loan, Kenney and Fantino:

Re:ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Rathika Sitasabaiesan, NDP MP for Scarborough Rough River : her ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ set priority in the House ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ is to form an All Party ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Parliamentary Committee to study the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ unapproved Security Council UN (Darushman) Report on Sri Lanka

Honourable Gentlemen, permit me to congratulate all of you for winning your ridings to represent your constituents in Parliament and being appointed to the Cabinet.

It is fair dinkum for me to bring to your notice how aghast I was when I read a news report of what our rookie NDP MP, the Special advisor on Tamil affairs to NDPs ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Jack Layton had said during an interview with BBCƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Sinhala Service Sandeshaya that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-she will take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee (APPC) to look into the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last stages of the war, and that she would get the APPC to come up with recommendations for the Canadian government over the UN expert panel report will be a priority.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

As a senior I was absolutely shocked and disappointed by this rookie MPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s announcement of her set priority coming just out of the gate, which did not resonate with older Canadians like me, not prioritizing to address pension reform, caregiver support, poverty among pensioners and elder abuse.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These are the pressing issues for us seniors to move quickly on rather than tying up parliamentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s valuable working time with a UN unapproved report on Sri Lanka ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on alleged war crimes, which most of us couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t care two washed up capelin on the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador.

I suppose this rookie couldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t care less whether parliament would act swiftly or not to improve the quality of life for all Canadians as we age, but what she wants is to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee to look into the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka during the last five months of the Tamil Eelam War when the Tamil Tigers were wiped out militarily on 18 May 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is obvious that this is a concern for her as her Facebook pages did display the Tamil Tiger flag prominently before it was taken out a few days after she was elected to parliament on May 2.

1. 1. The ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”UN Expert Panel ReportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ : that she is quoting is the one that Ban ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the UN got done without being sanctioned by the UN Security Council.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is a report compiled on a private initiative by Ban ki-Moon and had no nexus with the UN.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Secretary General Ban ki-Moon clearly violated his functions under Article 100, Clause 1 of the UN Charter which provides guidance for him as the Secretary-General to maintain his strict neutrality.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Thus this possible request by the rookie NDPƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  MP should not be accommodated by the Conservative caucus.

1. 2. The UN Expert Panel appointed by Ban ki-Moon is a cause for concern regarding the partiality of these panelists and should not have been appointed in the first place.

The panel was headed by by Marzuki Darusman, a former Attorney General of Indonesia who was also a member of the International Group of Eminent Persons (IIEGP).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This Group was invited in March 2008 to observe Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Presidential Commission looking into alleged serious violations of Human Rights.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I am afraid, Darusman left the IIEGP in a huff disagreeing with the Sri Lanka Government and yet signed the IIEGP Report without paying a single visit to Sri Lanka to ascertain himself the actual ground situation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is such a report that rookie MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan wants you all to spend your valuable time in an All Party Parliamentary Committee to study it!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Would you?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t touch it even with a barge pole!

The second panelist appointed by Ban ki-Moon was Steven Ratner an adviser to a non-Governmental Organization known as Human Rights Watch (HRW) that has been very critical of Sri Lanka and not the Tamil Tiger terrorists from the very inception of the Tamil terrorist Eelam War.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Ratner has also co-authored a book with Jason Adams titled Accountability for Human Rights: Atrocities in International Law beyond the Nuremberg legacy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  On page 123 of this book he has stated that the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”convention on banning apartheid should be invoked in relations to countries such as Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  With this backgrounder Steven Ratner should have been dismissed instantly as a panelist to undertake this assignment.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is such a report that rookie MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan wants you all to spend your valuable time in an All Party Parliamentary Committee to study it!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Would you?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t touch it even for a sack full of North West Territories diamonds.

The third panelist was the South African Yasmin Sooka who is a close associate of the South African Tamil Navi Pillai who is the patron of the Sooka Foundation, and also responsible for the failed resolution that was brought against Sri Lanka before UNHRC in May 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This clearly shows her bias and should not have been a panelist.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This UN Darusman Report is an embarrassment and a joke coming out of UN Secretary-General Ban ki-MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s office.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is such a report that rookie MP Rathika Sitsabaiesan wants you all to waste your time studying it in an All Party Parliamentary Committee! Would you?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t, not even for all the silk in China.

1. 3. You will be wasting your time as this ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Moon-Darusman ReportƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ is incurably flawed. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The panelists begin insisting that they have no investigative power and not embarking on any investigation at all.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And yet, on the first page of the executive summary, they say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The panelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mandate however does not extend to fact finding investigation.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Yet, on page 3 of the main report, it says ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The panel has not conducted fact finding as that term is understood in United Nations practice.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Then again on page 6 of the main report, it says ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The panel and United Nations officials repeatedly made clear to the government the scope of its mandate as an advisory panel to the Secretary-General including that it was not engaged in any investigation.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And once again on page 14 it stresses that ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the panelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mandate precludes fact finding or investigation.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Thus, these are repeated emphatic statements that this report by this Ban ki-Moon-Darushman is not a UN panel and was not a fact finding body and that it has no investigative authority whatsoever.

As such what has been this rookie NDP MPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s problem wanting to study this report by an All Party Parliamentary Committee tying down the valuable parliamentary time unnecessarily?

1. 4. While the UN celebrated the killing of Osama bin Laden the leader of Al Qaeda, the UN tried to help the most ruthless Tamil terrorist group ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to flee in May 2009, before they were wiped out after haemorrhaging that little island for nearly 30 years that saw over 100,000 die together with two heads of state, Rajiv Gandhi of India and President Premadasa of Sri Lanka.

The question that needs to be answered is, was this embarrassment meted out to the UN by the Sri Lankan Government that made Ban ki-Moon to try to get a one-up revenge attack by getting his three person Expert Panel produce this report?

The surviving Tamil Tiger leader Selvarasa Pathmanathan ( aka KP) the former chief arms smuggler for the terrorists told Indian Website Indian Post that the UN, the world body was trying to arrange a ship for top figures to flee in May 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He said that the UN together with a Western government tried to save Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Tamil Tiger leadership from the final offensive that eventually wiped them out.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This was reported in the Indian media on 24 May.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I smell a rat among the UN personnel when coming to deal with this Moon-Darushman Report which the rookie NDPƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  MP wants to give credence to.

1. 5. Tamil-Canadian children growing up being brain-washed about the Eelam war. It is important to place this intention by NDPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s rookie MP, Rathika Sitasabaiasan into perspective when she said that her priority in parliament would be to take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee to look into the alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka in Moon-Darushman Report (UN Expert Panel Report).

Most of us who watched the CTV reports on television during the April and May 2009 demonstrations by thousands of Tamils on Parliament Hill and along Wellington Street in Ottawa, saw a television reporter approaching a child at a road barrier, perhaps six years old wearing a T-shirt with the portrait of the Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran on his chest and waving a red Tamil Tiger flag.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  When he was asked by the reporter, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Why are you demonstratingƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, he said without batting an eyelid, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Because they are killing our peopleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, referring to his Tamil people.

When asked by the reporter ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Who are they?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ promptly came the reply, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  When the reporter pointed to his chest and asked him, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Who is this person on your T-shirt?ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The answer came pat, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Such was the brain washing of the Tamil children, who should have been attending school, and not standing on roadsides taking part in this circus with their parents and families waving the Tamil Tiger flag which had little meaning for them, yet wanting to support their ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ parents who want their mono-ethnic, racist, Tamil state Eelam and requesting the Canadian Government to save the Tamil Tigers who were now cornered in a sliver of beach sand in the east coast andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  going down to oblivion by every approaching day.

On parliament hill that afternoon, a very senior TV reporter interviewed a young female who was introduced as a student from a university in Toronto.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  During her defense on why she was demonstrating carrying a Tamil Tiger flag, she said, to this effect, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-You people donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know, when we Tamils land in Colombo we are shot dead by the government soldiers on the tarmac.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What disappointed me was that this senior reporter wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t quick on the draw to ask her, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-You surprise me with your comment.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You Tamils must be having a death wish when you know that you are being shot dead when you step onto to the tarmac from the plane, then why are your people going to Sri Lanka in plane loads?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You all shouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t be going to Sri Lanka, anyway, if you and your parents arrived in Canada as convention refugeesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That is indeed the story of the lies of the brain-washed Tamil children growing up in Canada, blinkered to the ground reality back in Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Knowing nothing, having being brought up in Canada and having their minds poisoned and programmed by the adults against the majority Sinhalese community in Sri Lanka and the islandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s government.

According to the EMBASSY it is also important to note that this rookie NDP MP was brought to Canada by her parents when she was 5 years old.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  If her parentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s intention was to provide her a better life away from Sri Lanka, then I doff my hat to her as she is a product of a success story of new Tamil immigrants, who has not let her parents down and done well in life with three University degrees, I believe, and now a member of parliament. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I say, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Way to go girl!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

At the same time, she should also thank her lucky stars, as it wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t have been the government soldiers that she should have been worrying about but the Tamil Tigers who would have kidnapped her on her way to school and forced her to become a Tamil Tigress in their over 5000 odd Baby Brigade and trained her to fight the adult Eelam war on the front lines to die with gun shot wounds, or trained to become a suicide bomber and blow herself up for the wanting of an adultƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mythical Eelam.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  She should also be ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ thankful to her parents to have brought her over, and yet resentful towards ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the Tamil Tigers who she seems to have, according to her Facebook pages some affiliation, to have expected her to bite on the cyanide capsule strung around her neck when she was cornered by the Government soldiers,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  but yet the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ leaders of the Tamil Tigers, Prabhakaran, Pottu Amman and the rest being cowards not wanting to bite on that cyanide capsule but wanted the international community to save their ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ lives by whisking them and their families out of the troubled battle ground.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That is a reality check for this rookie MP.

1. 6. While this rookie NDP MP is trying to search for her roots and trying to correct through the Canadian parliament what she perceives has gone wrong in Sri Lanka where she came from, I wonder whether she found out the truth and not got things horribly skewed in her mind because of ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the cunning and false information given to her by other Tamils.

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Gentleman, did she find out that when the Tamil-Sinhalese riots occurred on July 25, 1983, that Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s top cop, the Inspector General of Police was a Tamil; the islandƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was a Tamil; that the Attorney General was a Tamil; that three of the top diplomatic postings abroad including London (UK) ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ as well as several junior postings were enjoyed by the Tamils, and did she ask the question, and if this is so why were my TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  people fighting and massacring the Sinhalese as they did at Dollar and Kent Farm in Welioya on 30 November 1984, killing 62 unarmed Sinhalese including women and children?

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Gentlemen, did she find out that when the Tamil-Sinhalese riots occurred on July 25, 1983, that according to the census of 1981, that unemployment among Tamils were 6.7% compared to 25.9% among the majority Sinhalese, and did she ask the question, if so why did my Tamil people shoot and kill 120 Sinhalese Buddhist devotees who were meditating under the Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura on 14 May 1985?

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Gentlemen, did she find out that when the Tamil-Sinhalese riots took place on July 25, 1983 that among her 12.6% Tamil population 35.1 % were doctors, 24.7% were dentists, 32.8% were veterinary doctors, 41.5% were life scientists, 30.2% were medical technicians, 29.9% were surveyors, 24.3% were engineering technicians, 27.8% were survey draughtsmen and 15.9% were top public sector administrators, and did she ask the question, if this is so why did my Tamil people shoot and kill 122 Sinhalese including woman and children in the Kithuluthuwa Bus attack on the Habarana-Trincomalee Highway on 17 April 1987?

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Gentlemen, did she find out that when the Tamil-Sinhalese riots took place on

July 25, 1983 that even when her low caste Tamils had to worship their deities standing outside the Hindu Kovils in the hot sun while her high caste Tamils worshiped inside the same Kovil but the low caste Tamils were allowed to worship inside shrine rooms of Buddhist temples where the Sinhalese worshipped, and yet did she ask the question, if so then why were my Tamil people fighting the Sinhalese and stop a bus carrying 33 Buddhist novice monks and their chief monk-mentor massacre and brutally mutilate them in Aranthalawa on 2 June 1987?

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· Gentlemen, did she find out that when the Tamil-Sinhalese riots took place on 25 July 1983 that the Jaffna Educational District had 555 Government Schools for a mainly Tamil student population of 207,524, where as Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka had 251 such schools for a multi-ethnic student populationƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  of 231,690 students, and the Sri Lankan-Tamils enjoyed a literacy rate of 88.3% compared to 86.5% for the majority Sinhalese, and yet did she ask the question, why so then did my Tamil people fight the majority Sinhalese asking for a separate Tamil state ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ saying that we have been discriminated and persecuted and bombed the Colombo-Pettah bus stand on 21 April 1987 killing 110 civilians and injuring 298 others?

Gentlemen she certain will not get answers to all the above by forming an All Party Parliamentary Committee to study theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Ban ki-Moon-Darusman Report of the alleged war crimes that took place during the last five months of the 27- year long Eelam war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  As I have pointed out the Tamil Tiger terrorists wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  no innocent Saints nor were they Babes-in-the-Woods as their killing sprees went back to the early 80s converting all of Sri Lanka into a ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ huge sickening killing field.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I hope she understands this and sees through the cunning fairy tales by her senior Tamils.

Sri Lanka has just celebrated two years of peace with no Tamil Tiger bombs going off willy-nilly in every nook and corner of the island killing unarmed innocent civilians since the ruthless Tamil Tiger terrorists were wiped out on 18 May 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The world has watched President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government engaged in bringing the two communities that were in conflict together through a process of restorative justice and development in the North and East. Unfortunately, this controversial Darusman Report that the rookie NDP MP feels it is her priority to use to meddle with Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s internal affairs with an intention to have a retributive justice to punish the victorious party for getting rid of the Tamil Tiger terrorists of her tribe, is not sound nor helpful at this juncture.

However, if she thinks that the last 5-months of the 27 year-old war is what is important to pin Sri Lanka to the wall on the alleged human rights violations which amounts to war crimes, perhaps she should be at least be fair to her conscience and expand her field of vision of human rights and consider the following with the present ground situation as a reality check on Sri Lanka and its democratically elected government.

• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· By wiping out the Tamil Tigers on 18 May 2009, President Mahinda RajapaksaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s governmentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  gave back to the 22 million Sri Lankans, and that includes the Tamils, the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”right-to-lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which was hijacked by the Tamil Tiger terrorists of her tribe who were branded as the most ruthless terrorists in the world by the UN;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· No longer do morning commuters get on buses and trains making the signs of the cross or putting their palms together in prayer, wanting to get back home in the evening in one piece and not in a casket filled with a puzzle of flesh, bones, arms, legs and parts of the brain having been blown ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ to smithereens by a bomb planted by the Tamil Tigers, members of her tribe, which was almost a daily occurrence in Colombo and its suburbs;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ over 700 of the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ government soldiers also died during the last five months of the war trying to save 300,000 Tamils, members of her tribe who were held hostage by the Tamil Tigers for a harrowing 30 months as a human shield and shot at by the Tamil Tigers when they tried to escape;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lankan soldiers were the angels of the day when they carried the oldƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tamil grandfathers and grandmothers and the feeble cradled in their armsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  like babies, dodging Tamil Tiger bullets to safety, and the old folk planting kisses of thanks saying ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-theruwan saranai puthaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ (May the triple gem Bless you, son);
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That when the 300,000 Tamils, members of her tribe were liberated from the Tamil Tigers clutches by the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lankan soldiers and brought to safety that it were the members of majority Sinhalese ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ community who cooked a million meals a day to feed these Tamil refugees breakfast, lunch and dinner a day, and no one went starving;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That when just over a 1000 child Tamil Tiger Baby Brigade soldiers were saved by the Government soldiers, they were well looked after by the Government and provided ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ special class room tutoring and most of them are reading to enter University to become, doctors, lawyers and engineers, not let them waste away with despair;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That two years after the end of the war that 95 percent of the Tamil refugees who were housed in temporary camps have been sent to their original homes after having them being repaired, rebuilt and the infrastructures made good, the terrain demined, and the villages that were devastated by the Tamil Tigers during the war being normalized;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That five months ago when I visited Sri Lanka that I walked a mile long shopping drag in the heart ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  the capital Colombo (Main Street, Pettah) and 90% of the shops were owned by Tamils and patronized by the Sinhalese;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That 41% of the population of the capital of Colombo were Tamils and were happily living there and earning a very profitable living as entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers, engineers, accountants, public servants, diplomats, and you name a profession and the Tamils are well entrenched in it;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That 75% of a well-to-do-rich real estate ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ColomboƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s suburb, Wellawatta, the OttawaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Rothwell Heights of Colombo, are owned by Tamils, her people, and no Sinhalese has asked them to pack their bags and go up north.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ it is heartening to know that there are inter-marriages between the Tamils and Sinhalese almost every month;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That over a million Tamils who refused to get on a plane to land at Lester Pearson International Airport in Toronto and ask for refugee status saying that they have been discriminated, stayed put as they enjoyed equal rights and not felt discriminated in Sri Lanka;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That Trincomalee District in the East of the island is normal and prospering since the war ended and there are no evidence of war damage remaining either within the huge Trincomalee Fort or outside;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· That the small towns in the North are prospering again with shops filled with local and imported goods that they had never seen for 27-years during the Eelam war, and the faces of the Tamil people are full of smiles and they are happy and they certainly want to live peacefully and happily ever after;
• ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚· The Jaffna farmers in the North among the best in the island have shown their resilience by expanding their agricultural production within two years after the war ended.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Amazing stuff!

Gentlemen, letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s give PEACE A CHANCE in Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  She deserves it and she has earned it after 27-years of death and destruction at the hands of the ruthless Tamil Tiger terrorists.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not have this rookie NDP MP ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ be the spoiler for her Tamil people in Sri Lanka, especially in the North and East ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and ruin it for them who want to live there happily ever after and who ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ have no compunction to get on a plane and land at the Lester Pearson Airport and say that they are refugees, because they donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t feel that they have a reason to feel that way.

LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s tell this rookie NDP MP that there are other priorities that the Canadians would very much like her to engage in, for which she was elected to perform ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” like the economy, universal-public health system and the Canada Health Act, to maintain stable federal funding while increasing accountability for health care spending, to work collaboratively with the provinces and territories to renew the Health Accord and to continue to reduce wait time; the environment, pensions for seniors, and much more.

Let us ask this rookie NDP MP to put a sock in her mouth regarding wanting to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee to study a private Darusman Report on Sri Lanka whichƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is flawed all over.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Let us be smart about this report.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This is not a UN report nor does it bear the stamp of the UNƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦zip.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It was not initiated by the members of the UN nor its prime body, the Security Council as I have explained earlier.

Let us keep the Conservative Caucus out of her destructive Tamil ploy.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s give Sri Lanka, her long wanted Peace a Chance.

Sincerely,

Asoka Weerasinghe