Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.) Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . Canada

3 June 2011

Hon. Andrew Scheer,
MPƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada
House of Commons, Ottawa

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Permit me to congratulate you on your appointment as the Speaker of the House of Commons yesterday, to which you were elected democratically after the sixth round of a secret ballot.

While you carry an enormous responsibility at your young age to preside over the House of Commons, to be an impartial observer, referee and an umpire to maintain order and decorum, I reckon that it is also incumbent up on you to see that the business of the House has some validity and value given back to us tax payers, who voted you all into parliament as care takers of our great country. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And also to see that unwarranted Emergency Debates on issues outside the shores of our vast land which really do not concern us be rejected.

One such incident as you know happened during the 40^th ParliamentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s 2^nd session on Wednesday, February 4, 2009.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This was the Emergency Debate on Sri Lanka called by the NDPƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Jack Layton, who was then the fourth party leader in the House and yesterday took the Chair as the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Mr. Speaker that was the day when the Chamber of the House was turned into a mock Theatre of a Tamil Tiger Blarney Gong Show, as none of the actors then, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ like Jack Layton, Paul Dewar, Judy Sgro, Jim Karygiannis, Bob Rae, Olivia Chow, and John McKay, and the Parliamentarians Maria Minna, Robert Olipahnt, and Andrew Karnia who lost their seats, and Derek Lee and Albina Guarneiri who retired from politics could stand under the Peace Tower with a clear conscience and tell Canada, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-See, what we said about Sri Lanka that day were true and we used our time in Parliament productively and effectivelyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, as absolutely none what they said were true.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And if I may use an unparliamentary language, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-every one of them lied through their teeth about Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

That evening Jack Layton said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Let me open with the traditional greeting that we share when we meet the many members of the Tamil community in Canada.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Too often when tough times are hitting at home, we forgot that many around the world are suffering from violence, displacement and deprivation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  In Sri Lanka renewed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) has created a humanitarian crisis of profound proportion.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  At least 250,000 civilians ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…”innocent men, woman and childrenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬‚are at immediate risk.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Mr. Speaker the ground reality in todayƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  is that ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s President Mahinda Rajapaksa, his armed forces and its peace loving peoples are having the last laugh at us Canadians for our lies during our theatrics that day in parliament, as on 18 May 2009, just over three months after that famous Emergency Debate on Sri Lanka, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the most ruthless terrorist group in the world that was bannedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in Canada on April, 2006, were militarily eliminated after they haemorrhaged that island for 27 ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ long years and killed scores of thousands of unarmed innocent peoples.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Doing so the Sri Lankan government quite rightly gave back to its 22 million peoples their ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”right-to-lifeƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ that was hijacked by the Tamil Tigers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  On that day 300,000 Tamils were rescued from the clutches of the Tamil Tigers who used them as a human shield having herded them for 30 months like cattle from the west coast to the east coast, housed them in temporary welfare camps, fed three meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ making sure that a million meals a day were prepared by the majority Sinhalese who we were told by these MPs were discriminating these minority Tamils. Almost all of these 300,000 Tamil refugees have been sent back to their homes after having them repaired, renovated, and rebuilt from the ground up, etc.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  What the world witnessed was the biggest humanitarian operation that ever occurred in recent history by liberating these 300,000 Tamils from the jaws of death by a most principled armed forces with no intention to inflict harm on the Tamil civilians.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And there was no ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”genocideƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ as we were told that day by five members of parliament, Derek Lee, Jim Karysgiannis, Robet Oliphanmt, Judy Sgro and Albina Guaneiri.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The North and East which were destroyed and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ devastated by the war are now being rebuilt fast and are now prospering. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And there is reconciliation between the two peoples who were at war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And all these are facts.

What we ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ have today in parliament is one of the Tamils,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Rathika Sitsabaiesan, the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ NDP member of Parliament for Scarborough Rouge-River, who quite proudly announced her affiliation to the Tamil Tigers when she had the Tamil Tiger flagƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  displaced prominently in her Facebook pages just after she won her election on May 2.

This rookie MP, Rathika Sitsabaiesan clearly and blatantly announced her priority when she said during a BBCƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Sinhala Service Sandeshaya interview that, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-she will take the initiative to form an All Party Parliamentary Committee (APPC) to look into 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‚

Mr. Speaker, that statement announcing her priority in Canadian parliament says it all.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Her agenda is what happened to the Tamil Tigers, members of her Tamil people, who she has shown her affiliation quite clearly through her Facebook pages.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This I hope will not lead to a sequel of Theatre of the Tamil Tiger Blarney Gong Show 2 in the House Chambers in the near future, which should be stopped even if the lead is taken by her boss Jack Layton, the Leader of the Official Opposition, who was the architect of the first Tamil Tiger Gong Show on February 4, 2009.

It is obvious that the priorities for the Canadians such as the budget which will be tabled on Monday, debating of the extension of CanadaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s military mission in Libya,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  legislation to place a limit on how long senators can sit in the upper chamber, ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ health care, the environment, the immigration bill to crack down on human-smuggling which the Tamils are involved with the coming of the Ocean Lady and Sun Sea, pensions and care for the Seniors doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t seem to have much consequence to this rookie MP.

Mr. Speaker, if the European Parliament has castigated the UN Secretary-General Ban ki-MoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s mock expert panel whose Report Rathika Sitsabaiesan wants to have a forum of all ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Political Parties ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in parliament to study it, I am not certain why Canada ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ would want to touch it ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ even with a barge pole.

Mr. Speaker, this is what was reported from the European Parliament on this Report. ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The European parliament on 13^th May 2011, defeated an attempt to seek the immediate establishment of an international justice mechanism on Sri Lanka during an urgent debate called by the Socialist Green Parties at the Strasbourg Plenary Session, to draw attention to the so called UN panel report, on accountability issues in Sri Lanka. However, the remarks made about the Sri Lankan judiciary was baseless and unwarranted.

Geoffery Van Orden heading a group in the EU Parliament said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We regret that we are having to debate today. I suspect that it has been prompted by extremist elements in the Tamil Diaspora ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” the same people who have helped to sustain the LTTE terroristsƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ campaign over many years, through political activities and funding, often from proceeds of crime.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Instead of trying to bring together the peoples of Sri Lanka, there are those that seek to continue a campaign of hatred and division.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They see this Darusman report as a weapon in this campaign and just want to put the Sri Lanka Government in the dock. This approach is malicious and counter productive.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Thus Mr. Speaker, may I humbly share with you my observations, that a Report that has found scorn and rejection in the European Parliament should have no currency in the Canadian parliament, and please see that rookie NDP MP Rathika SitsabaiesanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s cunning to get the Canadian parliament involved in studying this Ban Ki Moon-Darusman Report on Sri Lanka ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ be rejected in toto, and that the Canadian parliament be more active in dealing with extremists amidst you all and see that they focus on issues that will be relevant for the good of Canada and the quality of life of its peoples.

Very sincerely,

Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)