Tamils don't have a voice?

One thing I hear often at Canadian Sri Lankan expatriate gatherings is that the Tamil population doesn't have a voice.

The pro-LTTE Tamil diaspora claim that they have been inadequately represented in parliament and the upper echelons of civil service since 1956, when the Official Language Act was enacted. The pro-Sinhalese extremist crowd claim otherwise and point out that the current setup allows representation by population and best serves the needs of the country.

The more moderate members of Canada's Tamil diaspora believe that the LTTE Terrorists were a group of power hungry profiteers who played on the fears of the county's Tamil and represented the needs of the Tamil population no better than the Sinhalese Buddhist politicians in parliament do. Like the more moderate Sinhalese diaspora they too, speak in favor of power devolution and provincial autonomy.

Its a web of discord, but one thing stands out clear: The Tamil population don't have a strong political presence to represent them democratically.

For decades the LTTE terrorists suppressed any contrary socio-political movements or any noteworthy individuals amongst the Tamil population that could be considered a threat to their dominance or their ideals. Fortunately for the Tamil population of Sri Lanka that menace has been eradicated and they now have an opportunity to seek democratic representation sans para-military intimidation or pseudo Tamil political organisations that represent the needs of the Sri Lankan Government rather than the needs of the Tamil population.

The present split political climate is ideal for a Tamil political organization to strategically lobby its way into prominence; as neither of the two main presidential candidates can oust the other without the support of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.

And that's why the Tamil populace need to scour their ranks to find strong leadership during this presidential election. Leadership that can represent the values and ideals important to its voter base democratically without pandering to the terrorist elements that still smolder or without wilting before extremist Sinhalese movements.

Easier said than done; but if its to be done, now's the time.

arson at the temple AGAIN???

And now......?

Vino Raja weeps for missing family members in Sri Lanka as she attends a Tamil demonstration on University Avenue yesterday (Craig Robertson, Sun Media) .....she pretty much sums up the sentiment I get from the pro-LTTE protesters here in Toronto: concern. They are shocked by the swift fall of the LTTE in Sri Lanka and believe Tamils in the conflict areas will now be victimized by the Sri Lankan army. Most are skeptical that the Tamil people from LTTE controlled areas will be treated fairly in Sri Lanka. Interestingly what most pro-LTTE protesters omit or choose to ignore is that the majority of Sri Lanka's Tamil population actually live and work in Government controlled areas. Even when the LTTE was at the height of its dominance and had established a defacto state in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka only 43% of Sri Lanka's total tamil population chose to live there...but I digress; the protesters on the streets of Toronto are concerned.

They are concerned for their friends and family who might be amongst the mass of displaced civilians now dependent on outside forces for food, shelter, medicine and basic needs. They are concerned and so am I.

I fear for the civilians not because I believe they will be victimized or denied food and shelter but because of the sheer numbers involved. I fear medical and relief organizations in Sri Lanka won't be able to cope with the immense numbers of displaced civilians and think the Government of Sri Lanka urgently needs to seek the collaboration of international relief agencies if a catastrophe is to be avoided.

Whether the pro-LTTE diaspora's fear of the Sri Lankan Government is ludicrous or otherwise; their concern for the displaced civilians is certainly one I support.

Pro-LTTE Protest shuts down the Gardiner

The Pro-LTTE Terrorist protests have been getting really disruptive of late.

Running up the Spadina on-ramp and causing the Gardiner Expressway to be shut down last Sunday for six hours or so was insane. We're lucky this didn't happen on a weekday for the city core would have literally shut down.

Kudos to Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair for curtailing the use of excessive force against the mob and getting the situation back under control while ensuring that the safety of the protesters was given first priority.