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Tamils Paralyze Downtown Ottawa

posted by Stuart Neatby Geography: Ontario ottawa Topics: immigration, Sri Lanka, tamil

April 8, 2009

Tamils Paralyze Downtown Ottawa

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Approximately 500 Tamil protestors from Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and elsewhere converged on downtown Ottawa, blocking several major intersections and bus routes. Beginning with a rally on Parliament Hill, protestors broke off into several coordinated groups and proceeded to squat several intersections throughout the afternoon and evening until approximately 7:30 PM, when they were pushed onto the sidewalks by police. Up until late tonight, 100-150 demonstrators continued to rally at the corner of Metcalfe and Wellington in front of Parliament Hill. Many said they would continue an "indefinite protest" until the Canadian government brought "forth an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka."

Protestors decried the heavy civilian toll in the so-called "safe zone" in northern Sri Lanka, which UN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay has estimated at 2800. Many decried the banning of access of NGO's and journalists from the 14 kilometre-wide "safe zone" by the Sri Lankan government, within which 100,000 civilians are trapped.

The demonstration was vocally supportive of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam(LTTE). In recent days, the Sri Lankan military has claimed that it has killed hundreds of LTTE fighters, and that the rebel force has been cornered.

Although the recent death toll has been overwhelmingly composed of Tamils, various human rights groups have accused the LTTE of committing human rights abuses over the course of Sri Lanka's 26 years of civil war.

The traffic blockages have followed months of demonstrations and mobilizations from Canada's Tamil community. The largest such demonstration drew 45,000 people in downtown Toronto on January 30th, according to police estimates. Every person I spoke to in Ottawa told me that they had family within the "safe zone" in Sri Lanka, many of whom had dwindling supplies of food and scant access to health facilities.

More to come...


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Not all world Tamils are LTTE Supporters

A point of view by a peace loving Sri Lankan Tamil having spent 30 years in Sri Lanka and the later 30 years in the U.K.

The truth is as follows as I was a Sri Lankan Tamil born and brought up in Sri Lanka grown with the Sinhalese, Muslims and Jaffna Tamils.
I am a Colombo born Tamil; I know my father came from Tamil Nadu in 1912. My mother also Colombo Tamil, born in Gampaha and her grand parents may have come from Tamil Nadu. My mother's side all were Ceylon Government Railway (CGR) workers, under British administration and my father had a Government service with the CGR for 40 years in Colombo.
After my father’s retirement from Railways we lived in Kandy, I was a Trinitian went to Trinity College in Kandy. I had very good Sinhala and Muslim schoolmates and friends. We had good Teachers from Batticaloa, Jaffna and a very strict Sinhalese Principal. Sri Lankan Government services not oppressed me.
At this time of Sinhala and Tamil New year, I can remember the good old days, my mother used to give me a tray full of home made sweets to my Sinhala and Muslim neighbours to distribute and in turn we received sweets from them. I had great times with my Sinhalese and Muslim friends in harmony.
There were some problems in University places, jobs, land and political freedom not fairly distributed among people. These are basic problems in any developing country has to go through after independence from British Empire. The majority of Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslims were poor. When SWRD and Mrs. Srimao Bandaranaykes’ came to power, there was severe oppression. However, there were good mediators on Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim sides. There were democratic processes, if one correctly utilise the political processes, all problems can be resolved by negotiations and not by taking Arms and Bombs. I can remember those days when Dudley Senanayake and J.R. Jeyawardena, Premedasa were PMs. There were good politicians like Budduhideen Mohamed, Dr. N. M. Perera, Selvanayagam, Kadhrkamar and Ananda Cumara Swamy. There were bad forces within Jaffna people never followed the main line Politics with good leaders like Selvanayagam. There was a cancer growing within the Tamil groups to Separate Sri Lanka and rule, unfortunately who joined these groups are all separatists.
Even at that time, Jaffna Tamil people say that ‘I am not belonging to Jaffna’. Therefore, ‘I am a Northerner’ origin from Tamil Nadu, as I speak different Tamil.
Jaffna Tamil people say they speak pure Tamil and Tamil Nadu Tamils speak bad Tamil this is generally showing the superiority in their behaviour. The Tea estate Tamils were frowned upon as they were migrant workers brought by the British administrators to work in the Tea plantation. The Tea estate Tamils were very poor, ‘hand to mouth’ situation, there is nothing to look forward to, Thondaman lead these poor people in a union called ‘worker’s congress’.
Contrast to this, Jaffna Tamils (now a major LTTE group) from North and East of Sri Lanka, had good education by hard work. Their productive fertile land and coastal area for fishing were naturally giving advantages over rest of Sri Lanka. They were secularised and isolated and they tend to organise themselves in a self governing manner away from Colombo administration. They always try and find differences in communities and tend to secularise and isolate themselves perhaps this is how they wanted.
Jaffna Tamil’s secular idea of differentiating themselves from others is an ideology they practiced. LTTE not going to support for a unified Sri Lanka to include Indian Tamils and Muslims in it.
LTTE want a land of their own to practice what they believe is separatism and segregation. Their thinking formed the present armed group of LTTE.
LTTE’s are tactical people; whenever they need help they seek help from Tamil Nadu, yet they treat themselves a superior race than Indian Tamils. I am not going in to the roots of Jaffna Tamils. There are significant numbers of Jaffna Tamil sympathisers in Tamil Nadu causing political leadership problems in the Indian electoral system. This is dirty politics between parties to gain votes the voice of every party leader changes according to the nation’s tune of the Tamils. The party politics of Tamils in Tamil Nadu has a say in the Indian administration. Sri Lankan Tamil problem is a Political game for India.
LTTE paid the heaviest price in the history of Tamils through this unwanted civil war. They are now reaping the harvest sown by their ideological LTTE leaders. Isolation and secularisation made their suicidal type mental make up is very strong in a hypnotised manner, even as young as 5 years old waging the tiger flag and marching to the Hyde Park of London, for a cause further destroying the humanity and infuriating the host community and the peace loving people of the world. Especially the demonstrations in London to stop the war are not going to help LTTE unless there is sincere political hand shake to work with the government. If LTTE gets what they want, the Indian Tamils and Muslim settlers also have to flee from North and East of Sri Lanka.
LTTE group were armed to full fill their ideology and to reach their political ambition through civil war. World Tamils have no nation of their own therefore; well to do LTTE foreign settlers are supporting to divide a nation in to two sovereignties at any cost.
The time has come for these North and East people to live in harmony with other members of the communities, dismantling their tiger shields away. Some Tamils show their colonisation in the host communities too. They are not alone, there are Indian Tamils ands Muslims too, along with the Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. We need a common platform to solve our problems. It is our responsibility to build our Nation strong and economically healthy and to provide opportunity for all to prosper.
I have well observed LTTE’s mentality for years and my family’s personal experience as I have grown and lived in Sri Lanka for 30 years and living in U.K for the past 30 years. There should be one government and people should learn to live together respecting each other. Tolerance is the key, look for the common factors of humanity and don't look for the differences.
I have seen how Scotland went for separate Political platform in 1987 after a referendum and devolution of powers still keeping and respecting the main administration of the United Kingdom. The Sri Lankan Tamils should have followed a similar path and negotiated a referendum for their internal affairs and legal matters in their own political platform under the administration of Sri Lanka. These possibilities not explored, now completely wiped out by the LTTE’s terror wing and blindly following an offensive campaign to destroy humanity.
Those culprits, who supported LTTE for arming, should be responsible for driving these poor Northern and Eastern people in to this vast human disaster. Those LTTE political wing leaders are hiding under ground after causing maximum damage to the Tamil race untold in the history of Tamils. Where are these political leaders after Anton Balasigham no one coming out to face the world? Are they hiding in the bunkers with Gin and Tonic and flashing their pre recorded message on the Tamil satellite TVs, while their own race going through immense suffering.
LTTE paid a heavy price in this avoidable civil war. Those intellectual young men and women were wasted for a wrong cause. If Jaffna Tamils had good leaders, North and East of Sri Lanka would be thriving with trade with other countries due to its natural harbours and coastline. Abundance natural resources for manufacturing Cement and Chemicals, fisheries and harbours above all Jaffna Tamil’s intellectual mind. It is a shame that they got in to this mass hatred for Sinhalese people and the bad propaganda and the TV medias used by the LTTE for propaganda, to hate their own countrymen. There were no Tamil leaders, who had broad minded vision to form a prosperous country within the legal frame work of Sri Lanka; yet holding a prime negotiated position, within that Tamils can practice their culture and religion without hatred, contributing to the democracy and the economy of Sri Lanka and gaining the support of the Sri Lankan Government.
In this war, those Northern and Eastern Tamil elders not practiced tolerance; instead they resorted for terror and segregation this is because they were forced to believe in the armed struggle by some Tamil mobs. This only made the Jaffna people to believe in hatred. There are no diplomatic efforts made by the negotiators in the LTTE group to gain world sympathy. They have a task to prove the world that they are not the banned LTTE terrorist group. There are peace loving Tamils also in Sri Lanka want to live in harmony with the Sinhalese and Muslims.
Dismantling the US endorsed LTTE terror symbol is a tough one, as LTTE have well rooted international terror campaign. LTTE supporters, while having a lavishing life style in Europe, Americas, Australia, they sponsored Prabhakaran and his allies to absorb and convert the poor people of North and East of Sri Lanka. Morally wrong move, pure selfishness to divide the nation. If that happens no one can live in Sri Lanka. The LTTE symbol is a symbol of terror and any peace loving community will not sympathise with this terror symbol and the organisation with its past records.
In the recent LTTE mob attacks to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Norway and throwing Nehru’s statue from Indian High Commission at London are not going to help LTTE’s peace process. Pure madness and indecency in a civilised Society and mobs out cry without a peaceful leadership within LTTE group.
My talk with many ordinary Europeans reflects consolidation of their understanding of LTTE and making no sympathy for LTTE. What is left is to sincerely join hands with Sinhalese and make peace efforts wholeheartedly to make a new beginning by the help of the world.
Now the matter is humbly left to the Secretary of state for foreign and Commonwealth affairs David Milliband M.P, Rt. Hon. Des Brown MP appointed by the Prime Minister of U.K., to solve this Tamil issue and all those members of U.N to make a sincere effort to save the Tamils at this last minute. We do not need poor Sri Lankan Tamils suffering owing to the wrong doings of the LTTE.
LTTE in its present form should not be given the power for a new beginning in Sri Lanka; it is the Tamil people of Sri Lanka who decide their destiny in a referendum and possible devolution of powers to live in their native soil. I pray Her Majesty the Queen and the British Government to take this good cause forward to the U.N and mediate with Honourable Rajapakse for a new beginning for Sri Lankan citizens. I am sure Honorable Rajapakse will do the best for his citizens. God help him.

Re Demo in Ottawa

Unlike the Trium Vvirate the Caesars of Rome who powerfullly ruled the Roman Empire the trium virate megolamaniacs of Colombo, Mahinda, Gothbaya and Basil Rajapaksa are like Hitler and Sadam Hussein destroying not only the Tamil Nation but also the Sinhalese Nation. The demonstrations all over the world is a witness to the world community that we are all Tamil Tigers and we are pround to support the cause of Tamil libration from the hegemony of the rabid Sinhala racists and megolamanics Sri Lankan State. Like Sadam Hussein, the Rajapaksas have used chemical weapons and schorched to death thousdands o Taamils including some our best fighters.This is barbaric brutality unthinkable in the 21st century. The Rajapaksas are the issues of Viharamaha Devi, the mother of Dutugeminu, who wanted to drink the blood of the Tamils to satisfy her thirst while she was pregnant with Dutugeminu. This is where the genocide of the Tamils is springing from. Deep down this springs from the degrading low self esteem of the Sinhla race who are paranoid of the 80 million Tamils who would invade them and push them into the pacific ocean. This paranoia made the series of Sinhalese rulers to subjugate the Tamils if not destroy them. Reason shows it does and history show it did such behaviour is self destructive. We Tamils have to continue our struggle by accepting the fact that the battlefield of Vanny is now transferred to Diaspora Tamils to cdoncientize the world community to the truth.

Chemical weapon, a Cowardly waeapon by Srilankan army

Srilankan Army claims to have killed 420 Tigers in oneday. Never in the past to dream even to kill somany Tigers in a single battle. How come it was possible now. The answer is below.
Please copy the link and paste it in the address bar and enter. Confirmed answer is from Richard Anderson of WebNewsService, melbourne, Australia:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TOEQGl1FJ0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efacebook%2Ecom%2Fprofile%2Ephp%3Fid%3D647835374%26v%3Dfeed%26story%5Ffbid%3D148502955374&feature=player_embedded

Canadians will have their turn

I am not sure why Canadians have this habit of looking down to victims of injustice instead of helping and denouncing wrongdoings. I find it hard to believe that their hearts are genuinely fascists or nazis. My honest best explanation is that they fear their own government (without realizing it) and their peers if they would admit any association with victims or even sympathy. Their disdain is a part of survival. Otherwise, if they truly are innately of this disregard for humanity, I will be deeply ashamed of my own race. I already am ashamed but I want to hope that they behave this way because they feel powerless to do anything.

I wanted to add that Canadians do not realize that their own karma will come back to them and that they are a future victim of the fascist agenda and that they too will be blocking streets in the near future and realize who are the real terrorists. Canadians are just so clueless about the corruption of their own country and need to go back to school to study what happened in nazi Germany because right now they are just dumbly repeating the pattern. See link for the government's agenda to use the military against its own people:

http://www.infiniteunknown.net/2008/03/15/canadian-troops-to-patrol-us-cities-as-food-riots-feared/

Ask WHY

I think its disgusting that people are complaining about traffic disruptions rather than focusing on the WHY. In order to fix any problem you have to look at the source. WHY are there so many people protesting in the first place? Maybe then you would realize that this is a serious issue that affects so many lives of Canadians. They are protesting because nothing is being done and meanwhile there are thousands of innocent lives are being lost! Canada is known for peacekeeping and we should be proud to take a stand the resolve the conflict in Sri Lanka. The Tamils are fighting for justice and their rights! Is it wrong of them to ask for their basic human rights and peace from the Sri Lankan Government who denies it? The Tamil Canadians have been doing peaceful protests thus far and as a result what was accomplished? - nothing! That is why they are starting to take a more different approach in the hopes that now Canada can see the urgency! SO please help resolve the conflict now before more lives are affected!

I can appreciate the

I can appreciate the passionate response to the violence in Sri Lanka and the inumerable deaths; but how does holding the downtown core commuters hostage solve any of this? Canadian citizens trying to get to work/home/school have nothing to do with international conflicts and are just trying to peacefully go about their day. Find someone of more influence to bother!

STOP YOUR OWN TERRORISM

Your acts or terrorism against Canadian civilians by blocking public transport is an outrage. You people have no concept of peace and what is happening in your country is a reflection of what you are yourselves: pitiful terrorists.

how is terrosim? what is

how is terrosim?
what is happening in that country reflects on us..
All westen countries are equally part of this
they supply money thinking it is used for good for the people ,but the SL government is using for the guns and weapons to fight .Do you think that is right?

Do the the right thing in

Do the the right thing in the Canadian history .Not you but For people.It will be a permanent place in everyone heart. All we want is.....
1. Pressure the Sri Lankan and Indian Government to STOP KILLING civilians.
2. Lift the ban on LTTE, who are freedom fighters and BAN on Sri Lanka, they are the real Terrorists.
3. Recognize the right of the Tamils and help the Tamils to live in peace.
4. Recognize Tamil Eelam as a Country.

Harper Be a MAN do the Right thing, Come out of the Closet

Stephen Harper Be a Man do the Right thing, Come out of the Closet.

If you do the right thing in the Canadian history you will have a permanent place in everyone heart. All we want is
1. Pressure the Sri Lankan and Indian Government to STOP KILLING civilians.
2. Lift the ban on LTTE, who are freedom fighters and BAN on Sri Lanka, they are the real Terrorists.
3. Recognize the right of the Tamils and help the Tamils to live in peace.
4. Recognize Tamil Eelam as a Country.
Thanks
God Bless You

Talk about barbarian LTTE kilings

As all agree LTTE should lay down its arm and surrender to govt otherwise face the consequences. LTTE in the past has destroyed the lifes of the Sri Lankans. By googling ” LTTE Killings” anyone can see the brutality of the LTTE . Without any reason this rebel group has taken thousands of lives, so it most necessary to wipe-out this rebel group once and for all.

About Sri Lankan Problem.

Chemical weapon and massing killing is not a solution. You must be an alien with a monster heart to say this they should drop the weapon. The goverment is insane.

what about the SL army what

what about the SL army what don't they lay down the arms? why is only the LTTE . Do you think the SL army is right? what points do you have that the LTTE is only one that is killing? The LTTE is going fighting the SL army,but the SL army is going and attacking the common people that deserve this treatment..

Terrorist State

Is it the case of pot calling the lid black. The number of Tamils killed in the past 3 months by the Sri Lankan forces were well over 5000, over 2000 were killed in a day by spraying chemicals by the Sri Lankan Government, in Vanni, on its own citizen. The last time it was done by Iraq when it used chemical weapons on Kurdish. Only a Barbarian state like, Sri Lanka, would commit these crimes. Is this a Buddhist state? Do they understand the concept of buddhism? Have you dugged your head under the carpet and write about barbarism? Don't you know what is happening in Sri Lanka is a genocide? Sinhalese journalists are being killed who were reporting against the atrocities of Sri Lankan Govt and its para-military groups. White van abduction, kidnapping for ranson and disappearances, killing of MPS at churches and temples, killing of Sinhalese leaders who raise against the Terrorist state for its inhuman acts. Is this is the democratic way of solving the issues between the multi-racial country? Why not the Sri Lankan state let the independent observers to the war zone and report the facts to the world. Sri Lankan state should be tried for war crimes along with India.

When it comes to insurrection there are incidents of people are being killed randomnly. But you got to be careful that the innocent civilians should be protected. What the Sri Lankan Govt and its Defence Secretary request the people to move to safe zone and fire artilery to the safe zone and do mass killing innocent Tamils. This is genocide.

The only Barbarians' are the Sri Lankan Government

First of all the only thing the LTTE has done from the begining is fight for the rights and equal treatment of Tamils. This is something the SL government refuses to do. The LTTE is steping in and helping the Tamil people when no one else will. To call them terrorist is outragous, they are Freedom fighters. It is time that the international community opens their eyes and sees that the Sri Lanka is a country who's government is currupt and out to eliminate the Tamil population as a whole. There is no point of discussing the misfortune after 100,000's of tamils die in a matter of day. Take action now and help prevent the next Rwanda!!

Break the silence

First of all sorry for those that incured in convenience. Its not tamils intention to delay the public. tamils did many protest in peopleful means but no one dares to listen.
You may ask what does that have to do with canada.

canada is indirectly being part of the genocide.
1, they banned one part of the negotiation team while they were in negotations. which encouraged the government to wage the war against tamils. LTTE did nothing bad to canada or will never do that in the future. they are fighing to protect those people under its own land.

2, what is stopping canada to condemn or raise the voice against someone thats not obeying democracy, human rights.
Doesnt that mean they are supporting it

3, more then 300,000 people liveing in canada. A good law obeyading citizens of this country. Canada did not even dare to codemn or issue a press relese. what is Foreign minister doing in here (on holiday or what)

4, Sri Lankan government is using chemical weapons to kill tamils. Canada is approving it by being silent. Purposily, SL goverment did not allow any journalist or NGO in that area to hide the truth to the world.

COME ON, time to wake up CANADA

Lets be the leader to the world on democracy

Thank you
Prabha

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