Sri Lankan HR Situation and Canada’s Mr. Obhrai
Posted on December 6th, 2013
Ira de Silva Canada
It appears that Canada has found another bone to pick with Sri Lanka and is again misusing the concept of human rights. Mr. Obhrai who represented Canada at the recent Commonwealth summit in Colombo now claims that he was deprived of air transport to Jaffna. There are many accusations made against Sri Lanka by Canada without any basis. If Cameron was able to go without any problem, why would the third string representative from Canada be not allowed to go? Was it because the necessary arrangements had not been made for him by the mission in Colombo? Why had he not instructed the Canadian High Commissioner in Colombo to make these arrangements – they could have even chartered a plane. What proof do they have that they were denied air transport? An easy method to substantiate this claim is for the Canadian mission in Colombo to provide documentation to support this accusation. The silence of the Canadian mission could be taken to be that they are unable to support Mr. Obhrai’s claims. Sri Lankan officials are reported to have accompanied Mr. Obhrai – could they confirm that there were no arrangements made to travel by air?
It is another illustration of the fact that Canada’s policy on Sri Lanka is geared to it’s domestic politics and desperation to get the Tamil votes of those who supported the LTTE during the war that Mr. Obhrai has also “reported” back to the Tamils in the Toronto area on his return. Minister Jason Kenny who came to Sri Lanka in January this year did the same – reported back to the Tamils in the Toronto area. All this reporting back to a segment of Canadian Tamils who supported the LTTE and maintain their anti Sri Lanka campaign with the goal of dividing the country gives the impression that the current Government of Canada represents only the interests of this ethnic minority.
Mr. Obhrai has declined to divulge the identities of those who he had met in addition to the Bishop of Jaffna, Northern Province Governor and the proprietor of Uthayan and his excuse is that “their lives could be at stake”. Is it not possible that he did not have the time nor any intention of meeting people because he had to rush to Elephant pass to lay a wreath to provide pictorial evidence to his Canadian Tamil supporters? When Cameron went to Jaffna and was mobbed by Tamils, the whole world was able to see them so it is clear that Obhrai’s claim that lives being at stake is not acceptable and just an excuse. Even in that subterfuge he attempts to fault Sri Lanka. The duplicity of this episode of laying the wreath is illustrated by the fact that the messages in English, Sinhala and Tamil were not the same. That he was pandering to his Tamil vote base is clearly evident in the fact that although in English it was in memory of all Sri Lankan victims of violence, in Tamil violence was changed to war and “all Sri Lankans” was changed to “minority”. In Sinhala too it was not violence but war. However, it is addressed to Sri Lankans, not a “minority”. This clearly shows that either no one in the Canadian mission in Sri Lanka is able to translate from English to Sinhala and Tamil with any accuracy or it was a deliberate change to satisfy the LTTE supporters in Canada. As for Mr. Obhrai alleging “that there hadn’t been any progress on the ground even in the absence of war” he either travelled with his eyes deliberately closed or slept throughout the journey. It is unfortunate that the Canadian High Commissioner did not brief him on what he had not seen or perhaps she too was asleep most of the time. In north America before and after pictures are the rage. Is it not possible for those Sri Lankan officials who accompanied these two to Jaffna to give them some pictures of before 2009 and after 2009?
As for Mr. Obhrai describing Elephant Pass as a neutral place, obviously he was not aware that it was there that in 2000 over a thousand Sri Lankan soldiers lost their lives in the war. On the other hand may be he had only heard about the great victory of the LTTE at Elephant Pass because that murderous event was celebrated in the Toronto area.
Yours truly,
Ira de Silva
Canada
December 7th, 2013 at 5:40 am
This guy Obhrai is an Indian colonial parasite from Tanzania.; now an Indian vermin in British Canada. I have heard his father was very active anti Sri Lankan guy in the seventies and eighties. The story is he went to Canada with a fortune he made from the poor Tanzanians. He is no different to other Indian colonial parasites. Those who live in Canada should research about these people.
December 7th, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Here comes a TNA MP bearing a “Gift Horse” to undermine the Sri Lankan Troy!
NEVER involve international parties in any “accountability” effort in Sri Lanka … as this Tiger Nominated Agent proposes!
Like Norway’s involvement which saw the slow legitimization of a terrorist group on the world stage, such an act will SLOWLY UNDERMINE Sri Lanka’s Sovereignty and INSTEAD OF ENDING the allegations will open up a CONTINUOUS PROCESS of foreign interference in Sri Lanka.
NEVER AGAIN should such a thing be contemplated.
We warned the GOSL that FAILURE to hold the Tiger Nominated Agents of the TNA ACCOUNTABLE for their support of LTTE terrorism and their TREASON against Sri Lanka at many different levels including inviting foreign invasions of our country, and EMPOWERING them through the Northern PC Election, will ONLY ENCOURAGE MORE TREACHERY.
And as WE PREDICTED it has come to PASS that Sri Lanka’s difficulties have INCREASED, not ABATED by the ABJECT CAPITULATION to Terrorist Separatists and Foreign Powers plying their own agendas.
At least NOW, the GOSL should backtrack, and implement the following
9-POINT PROGRAM for Peace & Security in Sri Lanka
1. REPEAL the 13th Amendment
2. DISMANTLE the Provincial Council System
3. ELIMINATE Indian Involvement in Reconstruction & Rehabilitation efforts in the North & East
4. REDUCE Indian Involvement and Investment in Sri Lanka’s economy
5. END Military cooperation with India; they can’t and don’t help SRi Lanka with any weapons ANYWAY!
6. SECURE Sri Lanka’s coastline with coast guard and naval bases within EYESIGHT of each other to protect Sri Lanka’s Maritime resources and PREVENT illegal immigration, gun running, and goods smuggling
7. LAUNCH a thorough investigation of the CITIZENSHIP STATUS of the residents of Sri Lanka to IDENTIFY & DEPORT upto 1.6 MILLION ILLEGAL aliens from TAmil Nadu as indicated by the 2012 Census.
8. ADOPT Ethnic Integration as National Policy with the goal of achieving a UNIFORM ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION nationwide, without REGIONAL ethno/religious concentrations.
9. INCREASE the number of Armed Forces camps and Personnel in former LTTE-infected territories, PERMANENTLY SETTLE military personnel AND their FAMILIES in the North and East as part of Ethnic Integration, providing land, good hmes, schools, hospitals and other INFRASTRUCTURE to INCENTIVIZE PERMANENT SETTLEMENT by Sinhala people in these areas. In the Final Analysis, Ethnic Integration of this kind is the only permanent hope for peace and security of the people of Sri Lanka.
The END of CHOGM, and the CLEAR DISPLAY OF ENMITY by India, Tamil Nadu, and Western Nations with large Sri Lankan Eelamist Tamil Populations, has given the GOSL the PERFECT OPPORTUNITY to IMMEDIATELY IMPLEMENT the above 9-POINT PROGRAM in the National Interest.
Carpe’ Diem! Seize the Day!
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Sri Lanka’s accountability issue will not go away unless government agrees to international involvement – Tamil MP
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Dec 07, Colombo: Sri Lanka’s major Tamil political party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) says international involvement is needed to resolve the accountability issues and bring reconciliation.
TNA parliamentarian, M.A. Sumanthiran has said in parliament that that if the government agrees to an international inquiry or at least an international involvement in the process of resolving the differences, it will move the country forward.
He noted that Sri Lanka now has a great opportunity to agree to a process under the aegis of the United Nations.
Pointing out that questions of accountability will never go away until they are met squarely and sincerely, Sumanthiran said the government must make use of the opportunity to bring an end to the misery suffered by people for decades in the country.
He added that the External Affairs Ministry should take note of this fact and redirect its course.
According to Sumanthiran, the time between now and the next UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions that is less than six months away is enough if the government acts with sincerity.
The international community is pressuring Sri Lankan government to conduct a credible and transparent inquiry into the allegations of war crimes and human rights violations to address the accountability issue.
British Prime Minister David Cameron warned the government that UK will use whatever in their power at the UNHRC to bring an international probe if Sri Lankan government fails to conduct an independent probe by March 2014.