Heroics at York University

Like most expatriates, I've been distracted lately. Distracted by the daily grind, the economy, and well by life in general. Once the seething mass of pro-LTTE Tamil and their cries of 'genocide' receded away from the streets of Toronto the war in Sri Lanka and its related aftermath slipped from slipped mind.

I'm a bit embarrassed, but its true. Like most Canadians, if people aren't protesting on a highway or holding up my subway-line, I'm content to do my nine to five and let the daily grind wash over me.

However I DID hear of something that really made me sit up and take notice and also make me very much aware of my own apathy.

This apparently happened at the start of summer, during one of the pro-LTTE protests that the York Tamil Students Union organized. Apparently towards the tail end of the proceeding after the Tamil Students Union march around campus waving the LTTE flag and making a general ruckus about the LTTE Terrorist group; a Sri Lankan flag was held up and torched.

A Sri Lankan international student who was watching the proceedings apparently ran into the mob of pro-LTTE supporters grabbed the flag away from them, put out the fire and triumphantly held up the burnt remains of the Sri Lankan national flag.

Now the pro-LTTE supporters here in Canada are a violent bunch to say the least, and have been known to carry firearms and various blunt and sharp weaponry; so for a lone individual to rush in to grab a burning flag off these louts and symbolically put it out; is in my opinion a pretty big deal.

You'll see what I mean when you see the attached video: The flag burning starts at around 6.01 in the timeline and almost immediately you'll see someone rush in and grab the burning flag, put it out and walk around definitely with it.

Its a pretty gutsy thing to do I must say:

York University's Tamil Student Association (YUTSA) stages a protest in support of the LTTE Terrorist Organization

York University's Tamil Student Association (YUTSA) staged a protest on the 18th of Feb claiming genocide by the Sri Lankan government towards the Tamil people in Northern Sri Lanka.

Despite waving the LTTE flag around, burning the Sri Lankan national flag and making a general ruckus; the claims raised during that protest of genocide and marginalization by the Government of Sri Lanka have no basis or fact.

1. Claims of Genocide: There is no genocide in Sri Lanka. If any claim of genocide to be made; it should be made against the LTTE Terrorist Organization. The UN claims the LTTE is preventing civilians from leaving conflict zones. The BCC has a collaborating article which goes onto state that despite evidence to the contrary, the LTTE disputes claims that its using civilians as human shields. But who are we going to believe? The UN or a terrorist organization that is guilty of orchestrating a suicide bomb attack on a relief camp setup for very population that they are claiming to be protecting?

While the terrorists are doing their level best to disrupt the flow of civilians from the conflict zones to areas where they are safe and can obtain food and medical assistance; the Sri Lankan Government has been providing them with food, medicine and working with International aid organizations to facilitate safe passage for the people caught in the crossfire. So what's all this about genocide again? Did someone say false propaganda?

2. Marginalization: What a lot of people fail to recognize is that the modern socio-economic environment in Sri Lanka is a far cry from the Sri Lanka of 20 years ago. Just because African Americans were marginalized 20 years ago in the southern American States does that mean its like that now? No, exactly. Modern Sri Lanka is a multicultural society. Diversity laws are in place to ensure that Sinhalese and Tamil members of Sri Lankan society have equal access to schooling and equal opportunity in the workplace. These diversity laws allow individuals from minority groups and rural areas preferable access to higher education, much like the system that is in place here in Canada. In fact before he was assassinated by the LTTE terrorist organization Lakshman Kadirgamar, an eminent Tamil lawyer and Sri Lanka's former Foreign Minister, was the favoured prime-ministerial candidate of the political party that was in office at the time. Its akin to Obama becoming president; and if it wasn't for the LTTE terrorist organization like Obama, Sri Lanka too would have had a person from a minority in high political office. Lakshman Kadiragama is only an example, in actuality the LTTE terrorist organization has assassinated many other prominent members of Sri Lanka's Tamil community. For a minority having elected politicians to promote issues that are important to them as a group is often the best way to fight marginalization. So how come the LTTE terrorist group keeps assassinating these individuals while groups that support the LTTE terrorist organization such as York University's Tamil Student Association (YUTSA) keep harbouring on about marginalization? It doesn't make sense does it?

In my opinion the protest was based on fallacy, and was merely an excuse to misguide York's student body. If anyone can substantiate any of the claims made by this group, I'd be very interested to hear them.