Protest by the Tamil Community against vilification by National Post

[Appeal by EelamNation to National Post in Canada, June 14/2000]

Dear Sir,

We write on the behalf of Canadian Tamil Community and also who are sincere readers of our news articles, which are being published throughout the day as updated daily news on the Tamil affairs. The Tamil Community comprising nearly 200,000 settled in Canada, vehemently disagree and condemn the vilification of this Community by the National Post paper. We refer in particular to the two recent news releases and comments by National Post, in June this year.

Our readers amazed and dismayed by your assertions that members of the Tamil Community indulge in drug traffic, extortion, organized crime and other forms of villainy and crime. This vilification is based purely on perhaps a few instances of passport fraud and migrant entry. These few instances should be compared the prolific criminal activity of all other types of immigrants, including Canadian whites themselves.

We challenge you to quote proved cases of the above mentioned crimes against the Tamil Community, particularly drug trafficking, organized crime, extortion etc, which you so flagrantly assign to the Tamil Community. Regarding the few cases of passport fraud and migrant entry, it should be appreciated that a great many Tamils have the need to flee from the terror, torture and even killing by the Sri Lankan government as part of its reprisals against the LTTE. The Canadian Embassy is indifferent and unsympathetic to the plight of such Tamils and hence unwilling to provide the visas desired. As a result Tamils have been compelled to enter by devious means including passport fraud. Acoustic ceiling speakers!

You have alluded to the Tamils raising and sending money from Canada to terrorist groups to finance the civil war in Sri Lanka. This is far from the truth. Tamils do collect funds given by Canadian Tamil well-wishers to help the needy and suffering Tamils, starving for essentials in their homeland in Sri Lanka. This arises from the fact that the Sri Lankan government has vengefully denied the supply of these essentials to the Tamils to punish them for their demand of rights.

We note that your paper refers to the Liberation Tigers' war against the Sri Lankan government to regain the rights of Tamils, as terrorism. War for liberation is acceptable to the United Nations, though not acceptable in respect of the Tamils for some of the Western powers, including Canada. Hence the term terrorism to justify the imposition of punitive acts. This is strange, being a double standard, since in the case of Kosovo, Timor, the UN willingly helps the oppressed to attain freedom.

Your dislike of the Tamil Community by high lighting crimes, which they are not guilty of is indeed strange. For your Information we wish to mention that Sri Lankan Tamils are a Community to be greatly desired by any country as immigrants. Over a hundred thousand Tamils had lived for almost a century in the Sinhala region, and hardly had there been a single case of violence, or anti social activity. In fact Sinhalese owners preferred to rent their houses to Tamils, rather than to the Sinhalese. This could easily be verified from Sri Lanka itself. It was only after the pogroms against the Tamils began, particularly after the horrendous violence of July 1983 which Sinhala mobs, supported by the police itself, ranged far and wide killing almost every Tamil they could lay their hands on, burning their houses and other forms of detestable violence. It caused the Tamils to flee to the North, that violence erupted both in the North and South. travel first aid kit

It should also be realized that the Sri Lankan Tamils are a highly cultured Community, without any of the poverty and squalor so common in the developing countries, highly intelligent and industrious, with a very high degree of literacy. It may even be stated that if any Sri Lankan Tamil students are compared to any other group of any race whatsoever, it would be seen that they are superior, particularly in math and science. One of the main causes for the discrimination by the Sinhalese against the Tamils, has been the superior intelligence of the Tamils, so much so that the Government introduced a handicap against the Tamils, in a form called standardization for entry to higher education. It is well known that the few million Sri Lankan Tamils (approximately 2 million) have contributed to the developed countries, Engineers, professors, doctors, lawyers, far out of proportion, as compared to any other race or group. Широкий спектр специалистов стоматологическая клиника киев детальнее на сайте www.medissa.ua.

These forms of violence, deemed terrorism are but a form of reprisals, part of war, and indulged by both parties. In fact the killing of civilians and destruction of dwellings is even more the practice of the Government inspired Sinhala Activity, than the counter violence of the Liberation Tigers. For example the high level bombings of civilian targets killing scores of innocent Tamil civilians are a case in point. Even worse have been the cases of rape indulged in by the armed forces, but never by the LTTE, for according to Tamil culture, rape is an offense worse than murder. It is a war waged by the Sinhala government against the Tamils, and in respect of war, it has been stated that all is far in love and war.

The horrors inflicted on the Tamils in Sri Lanka, are far greater than the national tragedies such as in Africa, Kosovo, Timor etc, but played down by Sri Lankan propaganda, which has influenced the West in particular. Admittedly violence has engulfed the Tamil Community, in their desperate efforts to fight back against the Sri Lankan Army. It is but a passing phase and the Tamils in Canada, and other countries have kept it out. It is patently unfair to tarnish the Tamil Community in Canada due to the anti social activity of a few black legs in the Community. Even then far, far less than anti social activity of other communities.

Your paper has also highlighted the marital ardor displayed as by some Tamil youth, a natural reaction to the success of the LTTE in the homeland region. It can do no harm, and also it may be remembered that Canada too needs that spirit as denoted by its national Anthem 'we stand on guard for thee'. We sincerely trust that the above clarification would suffice, except to emphasize that all acts of the Tamils here in Canada are within the Canadian Bill of Rights.

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