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.

Weird Statistic? Or intimidation?

I was discussing Sri Lankan groceries with an acquaintance recently, and was shocked to find that in this city of over 80,000+ Sri Lankans there happens to be no Sri Lankan Sinhalese run grocery stores anywhere in the Greater Toronto region. Every single retail Sri Lankan grocery store or supermarket is run by members of the Tamil diaspora. Add to that the fact that there are only two Sri Lankan restaurants featuring Sinhalese food (one's downtown Toronto and the other one is in the suburbs of Brampton) in the city and you have a truly skewered statistic.

Upon inquiry from one of Toronto's whole sale Sri Lankan food and grocery importers as to why there were no Sri Lankan Sinhalese grocers plying their trade I was told it was because "it is too much trouble; see even that Sri Lankan restaurant serving Sinhalese food in Brampton got burned."

A skewered statistic or intimidation?