Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1, Canada

16 December 2012

Hon. Bob Rae, PC, OC, OOnt, QC, MP
Interim Leader of the Liberal Party
House of Commons, Ottawa

Dear Bob:

While I thank you for your consciously judicious and careful comment in your- Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae on the Situation in Jaffna, Sri Lanka ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” I wish to share with you my observations on your statement.

Firstly I want to thank you for being judicious when you were not prepared to pullƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  unsubstantiated numbers out of the air of theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  alleged numbers of civilians that died during the last five months of the Eelam war.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The numbers have varied incredulously from 7,000 to 100,000, and that was ridiculous and stupid.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And these numbers have been parroted by everyoneƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Human Rights organizations that want to get at the Sri Lankan Government for eliminating the most ruthless terrorist group ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the world, the Tamil Tigers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And there was a reason why.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Tamil Tigers were too lucrative financially to let go this goose that was laying golden eggs for them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Canadian politicians, the Human Rights organizations like Amnesty International, the arms traders, the Tamils who got a chance to get out ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sri Lanka and apply theirƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  creative minds onƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  money-minting projectsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  like, credit card scamming, extortion, drugƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  trafficking, car insurance scams, passport and foreign immigration documentƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  scams and human smuggling, and a whole lot ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  other criminal projects. Who doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t want to become a millionaire in a jiffy, Bob!

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You said, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That number too seems to be high, when the guestimate of civilians caught in the conflict area when the Eelam 4 War began on July 2006 was always 300,000.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And when the war endedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  on 19 May 2009, theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Tamils who were liberated by the Sri Lankan soldiers and registered were 295,873.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Our Grade 5 arithmetic will give us a difference and add a few thousandsƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  more, which will give us the plausible 7,000 the UN quoted originally. We could debate these numbers until the cows come home, but I resent the people like Gordon Weiss who came up with the number 40,000 which he canƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t even substantiate. He was a Weiss-man anyway!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  He was another one of those money hungry people who wantedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  to piggyback on the Tamil terrorist war and pick up a quick buck or two by peddling his book on the war The Cage, among his target audience, the Tamils who sure would buy that book.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  There were several who became millionaires off this war, and some happen to be young Tamils in their late 20s and early 30 by human smuggling, credit card scamming, car insurance crooks, Canadian passport forgers, you name it, and Canada has them all.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And I have said under my breath ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” serve us Canadians damn right being gullible and fools accepting the Tamil whiner fairy tales.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And there certainly were ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”sickkosƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ among the Sinhalese community too who padded their pockets with fair bundles of dollar notes, being the arms buying agents for the Sri Lankan forces.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  They got their commission in the thousands of dollars and converting them into rupees they became instant millionaires too.

Bob, letƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s get honest with ourselves. You and I have lived as University students in 1967-68 when a wave of University protest movements swept across Europe.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And the year 1968 was known as the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Year of the barricadesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. I had just come down to London from Swansea having completed my undergraduate years at the University of Wales, and I believe you had and were just about to enter Balliol College at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. And I am sure you felt the wind of these riots when you arrived at Oxford.

TheseƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  European student riots got out of hand, and the army and police riot squads had to move in and make arrests without warrants.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But now the Canada parliamentarians like NDPs Wayne Marston are complaining that the Jaffna students were arrested without warrants. Surely Bob, what is good for the white man, surely should be good for the brown man too, donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you think so?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The pretence that Anglo-Saxon blood is superior to Asian bloodƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t worth a grain of sandƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  from the Nandikadal lagoonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s beach.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And to show your arrogance and say yes, we are allowed to do it but not you Sri Lanka, is a bit presumptuous, isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it?

But, hey, you Canadian ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ parliamentarians in search for Brownie points with the vote carrying Tamils seem to have short memories.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Let me take you back to January 29, 1969 when over 400 coloured students occupied MontrealƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Sir George William University Computer Labs.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The occupation was sparked by the University mishandling of racism allegations.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But when things got out of hand and became rowdy and the labs were trashed and the computers thrown out of the windows, do you know what Bob?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Canadian riot police came over and forced these students out of the building and 97 Canadian University students wee arrested without warrants. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And now Canadian parliamentarians are slapping the Sri Lankan Government for arresting the Tamil students who were suspect of throwing petrol bombs into an office near the Jaffna University campus without warrants, they say.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Surely, Bob, what was good for the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”White manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ should be good for the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Brown manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ too?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That is what I want in my world, just not stupidity by the vote hungry Canadian politicians.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And that is the bottom line,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Bob, ask Senator Anne Cools as she was involved in that 10-day sitting andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  riot, and she will tell you all about that University riot and how the Montreal riot police handled the situation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And you will find that it wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t much different from the Sri Lankan Army and Police who were there at the Jaffna University campus to sustain law and order.

It has been alleged that a few students had thrown petrol bombs at the office of the Sri-TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Eelam Liberation Organization (Sri-TELO).ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This was a law and order situation and any country would want to nip such a riot that would escalate to something big in the bud.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That’s a reality check for you.

Bob, you remember what 1970 Canada did which NDPs Wayne Marston has forgotten completely.?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  When a few bombs planted by the FLQ in letter boxes went off in Montreal and Quebec which escalated to more radical trouble and got out of hand to the point of the Quebec Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte was kidnapped and killed,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Prime Minister Pierre TrudeauƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Liberal Government responded by invoking the War Measures Act on 16 October 1970 by an Order in Council thus suspending the civil liberties of all Canadians without reference to the people through their elected representatives.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This brought the army out to the streets in Montreal and Quebec and began to arrest several suspected individuals.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And you andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  NDPs Wayne Marston have the audacity and temerity to preach the white manƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s hypocritical philosophy to the Sri Lankan Government.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I am sure it wonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t cut mustard with them and they would ask you all to go and jump into the icy waters of the Ottawa River beside the parliament building.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And IƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  wouldnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t blame them.

Do you recall what Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau told a reporter when he rebuffed his critics?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-There are a lot of bleeding hearts around who just donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t like to see people with helmets and guns. All I say is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Go on and bleed.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I could well hear those very words echoed through Sri Lanka President Mahinda RajapaksaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s voice saying to you, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Bob Rae, go on and bleed, and let me govern my country!ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

Let us not be critical and penalize the Sri Lankan Government for curbing the students from celebrating the Mahaveer Day in campus, which is really extolling the martyrdom of their Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ terrorist serial killer.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The Mahaveer day is the Birth day of Prabhakaran.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These Jaffna students knew exactly what they were doing and were up to a lot of mischief.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Well, if they decided to make their own beds, let them sleep on them, Bob, and stop sympathizing for them in the name of freedom of speech and human rights. There is a certainƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  thin line that divides the freedom of speech and the abuse of that freedom of speech.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Go figure that one out and educate these TamilƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Jaffna University students.

As I told you earlier, donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t penalize the Sri Lankan Government that want to stop the hero worshipƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  in public of a terrorist as a martyr like Prabhakaran as even the Americans have denied such celebrations..ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was the very reason why the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma CityƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  which was truck bombed byƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Timothy McVeigh on Wednesday, April 19, 1995,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  was demolished not to haveƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  McVeigh celebrated as a martyr with candles, and flowers at each anniversary of the bombing.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  So the US demolished that building completely, and where it stood is a memorial for the 168 people who died in that terrorist attack.

And that is the very reason why Osama Bin LadenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s remains were thrown into the sea after he was assassinated by the Americans.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And that is the very reason when the Germans found out that Rudolf HessƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s grave was becoming a shrine for neo-Nazis, that his body was exhumed secretly, cremated and the ashes scattered at sea. ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s how the cookie crumbles Bob.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And if the Jaffna students defy the intentions of the Sri Lankan government that watched for 27 bloody years its peoples killed, maimed and suffer psychologically because of the bombing, and their rights violated by the Tamil Tigers, the Jaffna Tamil University students better face the music and not croak and cloak themselves with the words ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Freedom of Speech and Human Rights.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is that simple and not wait for people like the Canadian LiberalƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Party leader Bob Rae, who is apparently not well received at the Immigration desks at the Colombo Airport, to come to their rescue.

If I were you Bob, I will keep my nose clean and not poke into the internal affairs of Sri Lanka who are digging themselves out after a 27 year bloody war, and let them do what they have to do for the welfare of its 21 million peoples who want to forget the Tamil Tiger leader Prabhakaran, who is linked to the Mahaveer Day, and get on with their lives and live in harmony with the majority Sinhalese.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  These people deserve that break.

Wishing you warm and friendly wishes for the Holiday Season.

Sincerely,

Asoka Weerasinghe (Mr.)