Mahinda Gunasekera Tambrook Drive  Agincourt, ON  M1W 3L9

Dear Madam Jean Yip,

MP Gary Anandasangaree’s baseless campaign to push for a Mono-Ethnic Separate State in the North and East of Sri Lanka

I am a resident of Scarborough-Agincourt for the past 38 years having migrated to Canada in 1975.  I understand that MP Gary
Anandasangaree who is a member of the Liberal Party caucus has arranged a Zoom meeting for parliamentarians on the 10th of
February to canvass support for a resolution on Sri Lanka aimed at establishing a Mono-Ethnic Separate State encompassing 35
percent of the island’s land area and 60 percent of the coastline and adjacent territorial waters for Tamils numbering approximately
5 percent resident in the region. Majority of the Tamils in the range of 55 – 58 percent live outside the region in mixed ethnic
surroundings cohabiting peacefully with the Sinhalese, Muslims, Malays, Indian Tamils, and Burghers living in the rest of the country. 
The Tamil community which stood at 12 percent in 1981 has declined to around 10.5 percent with a million or more immigrating
mainly to western countries, while the Sinhalese are around 75 percent, with the Muslims accounting for about 9 percent, the
Indian Tamils brought in by the British in the 19th and 20th centuries for work on plantations making up about 5.5 percent and the
balance 0.5 percent made up of Malays, Burghers and others. Gary A seems to be more interested in creating a separate state for
Tamils in Sri Lanka than the welfare of Canadians and the advancement of Canada although elected to Canada’s parliament.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which was designated an international terrorist movement by the UNSC in September 2001
has been described as the most ruthless terrorist group by the FBI, and similarly proscribed by Canada in April 2006.  Canada also banned
the World Tamil Movement (WTM) designating them a terrorist group in 2008, as they were found to be raising funds for the LTTE’s terrorist
activities.  Soon after a new organization called the Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) was formed with new faces while the activists of the WTM
operated from behind the scenes.  Gary A claims to be the Legal Advisor to the CTC, and has been among the first to meet with former LTTE
cadres and supporters who came by boat to Vancouver to seek asylum in Canada aboard the Ocean Princess and Sun Sea apparently to coach
them to navigate the legal procedures prior to grant of refugee status. 

Following the adoption of a motion by the extremist Tamil political parties in 1972 called the ‘Vadukkodai Resolution’ to set up a separate
state called “Eelam”, where they envisaged the youth to take up arms, violence spread throughout the areas predominantly settled by Tamils
with the youth targeting and killing unarmed police officers, local politicians, the Mayor of Jaffna, needing the introduction of emergency
regulations. India which had close ties to the Soviet Bloc at the time did not like Sri Lanka building ties to the USA with broadcasting rights
being granted to the Voice of America. India the regional power stepped in to arm, train and fund the Tamil guerrilla groups in Indian military
bases in order to destabilize her tiny neighbour Sri Lanka. The LTTE led by Velupillai Prabhakaran engaged in internecine warfare with the other
Tamil rebel groups killing large numbers to gain ascendancy of the separatist armed warfare. With the funding received from India, Tamilnadu
and expat Tamils, the LTTE grew into a formidable fighting force with a land army, naval wing called the Sea Tigers, a large fleet of ocean going
vessels to transport and store armaments, a miniature night time bombing air force, a squadron of 600-750 suicide bombers, Over five thousand
abducted and conscripted Child Soldiers used as storm troopers in unceasing waves many of them under 15 years making it a war crime, and a trained people’s army of around 12,000 called the Makkal Padai.  

In addition to money raised through human smuggling, drug smuggling, passport fraud and other illicit activities, the LTTE amassed a huge war
chest by extorting Tamil individuals and businesses sums extending from $5,000 to $100,000 to launch their so called final war of liberation at
the end of 2005.( Refer: https://www.hrw.org/report/2006/03/14/funding-final-war/ltte-intimidation-and-extortion-tamil-diaspora ). The LTTE
cut off drinking and irrigation water to 30,000 families dependant on waters from the Mavil Aru in July 2006.  The Sri Lankan authorities sought
to have the water restored with the intervention of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission made up of Nordic representatives, but as they failed to
have the LTTE resume the water supplies from the sluice gate even after two weeks, the Sri Lankan authorities were compelled to take military
action to compel the LTTE forces to withdraw.  The withdrawing LTTE forces next threatened Sri Lanka’s naval base at Trincomalee thereby
extending the military confrontation to other regions as well. The Sri Lankan Army succeeded in forcing the LTTE forces spread out throughout
the north and east to retreat from their strongholds.  The retreating LTTE forces compelled the Tamil civilians living in the regions  usurped by
them to accompany them from the northwest coast to their final stronghold in the northeast in Mullivaikkal.  They used the Tamil civilians to
exploit them for their labour, conscript them to replace fallen cadre and serve as a human shield in the final battleground which is a war crime.

The ICRA reported that over 50 percent of the LTTE fighting cadres battled in civilian attire thereby blurring the distinction between innocent
civilians and their armed fighters.  The LTTE did not allow the civilians to move out of their area of control despite Sri Lanka declaring two 48
hour ceasefires in February and April 2009, and even fired on those Tamil civilians that attempted to flee to safety including artillery fire and
suicide attacks to keep them from abandoning the LTTE fighters.  This is confirmed in dispatches sent by Britain’s Military Attache in Colombo,
Colonel Anthony Gash in his reports submitted to the UK Government’s Foreign Office, according to the presentation by Lord Naseby in the
British House of Lords.  Col. A. Gash has estimated a total of around 7000 deaths of which 25 percent or more is attributed to the LTTE shooting
at fleeing civilians and not the hundreds of thousands claimed by LTTE supporters. The military action taken against the LTTE was successfully
concluded on May 19, 2009.

The UNSG appointed a Panel of three led by Marzuki Darussman on his own accord without the sanction of the UNGA or the UNSC which reported that 40,000 had been killed during the latter
stages from January 1 to May 18, 2009 without distinguishing between LTTE fighters and civilians. The panel admitted that their report did not meet the standards of a UN report and based their
conclusions on what they claimed are “Credible Allegations”.  They claimed that tens of thousands had perished during the latter stages in 2009 which they estimated at 40,000 without
distinguishing between LTTE cadres and genuine civilians. The UNSG’s panel of experts recommended that their one sided report prepared from their offices in New York without visiting Sri
Lanka be locked away for the next 20 years till the year 2031.


 ICRC which ferried injured for treatment stated the total WIA was 18,439.  The injured normally is 2-3 times the KIA which makes the injured total to be between 80,000 and 120,000. Gordon
Weiss the UN Spokesperson in Colombo claimed a total of 7721 deaths to May 13, 2009 based on verified information gathered from UN/INGO employees, doctors and pastors within the
battleground. In his book titled ‘The Cage’ he claimed 40,000 deaths with an eye to profit from sales to the over one million Tamil expats living in the west. 

The Tamilnet a propaganda arm of the LTTE reported a total of 7398 deaths. The GOSL carried out a census in 2012 using teachers and public
servants from the Tamil community as enumerators to arrive at a figure of 7432 deaths.  Lord Naseby revealed in the UK House of Lords that
according to the British Military Attache, Col. Anton Gash, the total killed was about 7000. Amnesty estimated 10,000 deaths while the US
embassy fixed the death toll at 5,000. The Pro-LTTE groups, Yasmin Sooka of ITPJ, and Frances Harrison reported deaths in excess of 100,000
without a shred of evidence.   Amnesty and HRW commissioned a report from AAAS to study the satellite imagery of the final battleground
where they determined a total of 1346 burial spots in three sites within the Civilian Safety Zone which did not support the alleged high
casualty figures.

295,873 persons including 12,000 former LTTE fighters plus a further 594 child soldiers were rescued, provided medical attention and place in
welfare/rehabilitation camps before being released following the demining of their villages.

To deal with the complex questions of international law relating to internal armed conflicts, the Justice Maxwell Paranagama Commission was assisted by a panel of globally recognized legal
luminaries headed by Sir Desmond de Silva,QC. (UK), Professor Sir Geoffrey Nice, QC. (UK) and Professor David M. Crane (USA), who had earlier been appointed by the UN to prosecute cases
filed against those tried for HR and IHL violations before the ICC.  This panel was assisted by Mr. Rodney Dixon, QC.(UK), Prof. Michael Newton (USA), Prof. Nina Jorgensen (Harvard,USA),
Commander William Fenrick (Canada), and Maj. Gen. Sir John Holmes former Commander of the SAS (UK) who looked at the military aspects  to determine if the loss of civilian life could be
deemed as collateral damage if it occurs in the performance of a military necessity and proportionality in terms of IHL. In fact, I do not believe that the strategic difficulties of resolving the last
phase of the war have been fully appreciated by military strategists until relatively recently” he says.  Holmes concludes, on the evidence, that the SLA’s operations, in broad terms, were
proportionate in the circumstances”. 

Following the conclusion of the military action, Sri Lanka undertook a massive rehabilitation and reconcilation program, some aspects of which are noted below for your information:

(1) Over 300,000 resettled in 3 years

<https://www.unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/download/?url=Fh2XB3>

(2) 92% of the land cleared of mines

<https://reliefweb.int/report/sri-lanka/sri-lanka-declares-first-district-safe-landmines-thanks-work-mag-deminers>

(3)  12,500 former terrorist fighters rehabilitated

<https://reliefweb.int/report/sri-lanka/rehabilitation-ex-ltte-cadres-nearing-completion>

(4)  Not a single bombing took place in the island after 2009

(5) 594 Child soldiers rehabilitated

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuW9c0ufiHY>

(6)  Economic boom in the region, with GDP growth of 27% in 2011 and 22% in 2012 

(7)  Over 360 km of roads rebuilt, rail links restored laying 150 km of track, plus over 1,000 schools rebuilt.

<https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/30303/restore-war-torn-sri-lankan-infrastructure.pdf>

(8)  Democracy returned to North after decades , with Provincial and local council elections being held

<https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-41626420090808>

Sri Lanka holds first post-war polls in north

N. Parameswaran

Sri Lanka on Saturday held the first elections in 11 years in two towns at

the edge of the area formerly ruled b...

<https://www.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-41626420090808> 

If further information is needed, please contact me or the Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada (SLUNA).

Yours sincerely,

Mahinda Gunasekera

Tel. (416) 498-0783