Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, it's an honour and privilege for the Association of Sri Lankan Graduates of Canada to be invited for this presentation. I wish to extend our deepest gratitude for this invitation.
The Association of Sri Lankan Graduates of Canada, ASGC, was formed in 1989 as a non-profit organization. It is run by university-educated volunteers of Sri Lankan heritage, and ASGC has no political affiliation. For the past twenty years, ASGC has continued to elevate the educational and professional profiles of our community and successfully help the community to integrate with the Canadian mainstream.
Having observed the recent developments in Sri Lanka, the association--for the first time--decided to get involved in the Sri Lankan crisis as the lives of the entire community here are being affected directly or indirectly by the unfolding human tragedy in Sri Lanka.
In an emergency session the committee passed three resolutions, a copy of which has been attached to this report as addendum A. The resolution, as it pertains to the two warring parties, has the following recommendations: lift the embargo on food, medicine, and other essential items flowing to the affected areas; stop indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian areas; cease fighting immediately and work towards a permanent and lasting solution; allow local and international NGOs and other humanitarian workers to provide much needed assistance to the trapped civilians; allow access to the independent media; and allow civilians to move freely to areas of their choice.
In the international arena, Canada has an excellent reputation as an impartial peacekeeper in conflict areas around the world. As the largest Tamil diaspora outside of Sri Lanka have chosen Canada to be their home, it is our sincere wish that our Canadian government will take an active role in resolving the Sri Lankan crisis. Therefore, in the resolution we have requested that Canada play a major leadership role in resolving this crisis.
To improve your understanding of this crisis, I must give you a glimpse of the history. It is documented that in Sri Lanka, in those days known as Ceylon, there were three separate kingdoms--two Sinhalese and one Tamil—before colonial Britain conquered all kingdoms and established one unified rule for administrative purposes. During British rule they brought Indian Tamils to work in the plantations. After giving independence in 1948, the British left the island as a secular state, with English as the administrative language. In 1956 the language of administration was changed to Sinhala only. Since then the various Sinhala majority governments have ruled with policies that discriminated against Tamils in employment, education, and political representation. Each time a Sinhalese party tried to correct some of the mistakes, they ended up unilaterally abrogating the pacts when there was a protest from the opposition Sinhalese party or the Buddhist priests.
The country was proclaimed as a free, sovereign, and independent Republic of Sri Lanka. The name was changed from Ceylon to Sri Lanka in 1972. Under this constitution Buddhism also became the official religion of the state, relegating Hindus, Christians, and Muslims to being second-class citizens. With the new republican constitution, the language is Sinhala only; the state religion is Buddhism; the new name is Sri Lanka; the flag is the lion with a sword, symbolizing the Sinhalese. The government sponsored the colonization of Sinhalese in traditional Tamil areas so that the country could now effectively be known as a Sinhalese land. Government-sponsored armed groups also burned down the largest Tamil library in the Tamil area that had all the priceless Tamil history.
In the 1977 election the Tamil parties fought on one issue—a call for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka—and won 95% of all seats in the traditional Tamil area. But nothing happened to resolve the issue. Therein lies the birth of Tamil armed struggle and the current situation. Tamil militancy started with many groups; now the only active group left is the LTTE.
Since 1956, thousands of Tamils have had to stand by and watch as their houses were set on fire, their businesses were looted, and their relatives were burned to death. There were three major riots--in 1958, 1977, and 1983--and many minor ones. The Tamils were forced to become refugees in their own land, all because they spoke a different language.
I have added more detail of the history in addendum B.
Since 1980, violence has taken over the island. As the Tamils felt their grievances were not addressed through peaceful means, various Tamil militant groups started guerilla warfare, in many instances with the support of a neighbouring regional power. This guerrilla warfare became armed resistance, funded and supported by this power. Unfortunately, this interference by this regional power continues in different ways even now.
Since 1983, though various governments were elected with a promise of solving the problems, none have come up with a realistic working solution. Both the LTTE and the various governments have to accept joint blame for this status quo. Violence has been committed by both parties, as documented by various organizations, and innocent Tamil people have been at the receiving end of all these brutalities.
While violent acts committed by LTTE often get reported in the post-9/11 era, the violence perpetrated by states is often ignored and justified as an act against terrorism. The Sri Lankan army, even before the LTTE was formed, has used the most violent measures to quell any type of even peaceful Tamil protest, as from 1958 they have considered themselves to be an army of occupation in Tamil areas. In the recent past, in their effort to gobble up territory held by the LTTE, the government forces have shelled populated areas indiscriminately.
To sum up, it is not one party or the other causing this violence, but both of them. The current Sinhala government, in addition to giving a free hand to the army for its ruthless action in the traditional Tamil areas, has also suppressed or manipulated Tamil politicians and curtailed press freedom and freedom of expression and assembly, not to mention barring all types of third-party presence, whether it be non-partisan NGOs, humanitarian personnel, or media-related personnel in the affected Tamil areas. Recently a number of newspaper editors have been arrested or simply shot dead.
The current situation in Sri Lanka begs for the involvement of the international community. Whether the international community agrees or not, it is generally accepted among the majority of Tamils that the only group that is steadfast in defending Tamil rights, notwithstanding the violence, is the LTTE.
There have been other groups from time to time that have been eliminated by the LTTE or coerced or bribed over to the government side. Many Tamils consider the actions by LTTE are justified. They feel that had the LTTE not existed, the Tamil population would have been wiped out or it would have suffered more at the hands of the Sri Lankan armed forces.
I am sure you would agree that violence from all quarters must be condemned, especially if it is coming from an elected government. The Sri Lankan government has taken measures to silence the Tamil-elected politicians who were not toeing the government line--for example, within the past two years two of my former classmates, who were members of Parliament for two different parties, were assassinated for supporting the Tamil cause.
While we talk about the LTTE and the government, we are all ignoring the power and influence the Buddhist priests have exerted on various Sinhalese governments. If you study the history of the pacts that were signed before the violence broke out, you will see they were always abrogated when the Buddhist priests marched, stating the Sinhalese government was giving too much to the Tamils.
The Sri Lankan constitution says the Republic of Sri Lanka shall give to Buddhism the foremost place and accordingly it shall be the duty of the state to protect and foster Buddha Sasana. I quote from the recent article from the East-West Centre in the United States:
A fundamental tenet of that nationalist ideology is the belief that Sri Lanka is the island of the Sinhalese, who in turn are ennobled to preserve and propagate Buddhism. The ideology privileges Sinhalese Buddhist super ordination, justifies subjugation of minorities, and suggests that those 5 belonging to other ethno religious communities live in Sri Lanka only due to Sinhalese Buddhist sufferance.
As recently as February, there were four motions brought forward in our Canadian Parliament against a bill tabled in Sri Lanka called the anti-conversion bill.
In view of all of this, in our opinion, as suggested in the resolution, Canada should take a leadership role and use its good offices to pressure both parties to come to a peaceful solution soon. If necessary, we feel that Canada should work towards imposing sanctions and take the matter to the United Nations. Simply put, force them to sit down at the negotiation table and come out with a lasting solution. We don't think there is any better country in the world with the same credibility as Canada to better interfere in the Sri Lankan issue. Thousands of Tamils have braved the weather and have been protesting to gain the attention of Canadians to solve this problem as soon as possible. We think Canada is the only hope left to avoid a disastrous situation unfolding there.
History has shown there can be no long-term military solution to any ethnic conflict in any part of the world. LTTE is not the cause of the problem; LTTE is a by-product of the problem, and that's why the root cause of the problem must be solved. While we cannot say from here what type of solution is acceptable after nearly 61 years of suffering there, we can only voice what our association feels, that any solution arrived at must be acceptable to Tamils, and it should be modelled after what we have in Canada, with provinces adopting their own powers in an evolved form of federalism.
Presently, our main concern is that the fighting ceases and that NGOs, like the friends we have today, and other agencies, including all media, be given free access to all areas. I'm sure we will need the help of all NGOs, because without them, our people would not have survived for so long. When the conditions are favourable in Sri Lanka, NGOs and other international agencies can help in building a prosperous and peaceful Sri Lanka.
In conclusion, we would like to urge our government to do everything within its powers to bring peace to this island, known as the pearl of the Indian Ocean.
Thank you.