Canadian Embassy in Sri Lanka attacked

The troubles in Sri Lanka seem to be far from over, with or with out the LTTE.

There is no necessity for these sinhalese extremists to threaten canada. Canada is one country where every ethnic people have their respect and live peacefully, unlike sri lanka. Instead of pointing to other countries, sri lanka should atleast send those 300,000 tamils kept inside concentration camps back to their home.. there are so many children separated from their family ..many of them don't know if their parents are still alive.. who is there to talk for them ??

If it is really attacked where are those Photos.Why candaian Gov not realeased photos.When see thease pictures It is clear no damge to the Building.No stones in peoples hand.

Absolutely rubbish. No attack what so ever.

All I can say is, Freedom of Media has been attacked by keep on publishing factually incorrect or copied versions from other websites.

What can Tigers do now? Trying to help IDPs?  It is over.

Just get on with your job and look after your kids without brainwashing them too.

If there was any attack done to the embassy, it is absolutely wrong ! I personally don't agree with these protests either, but it is their choice, but they should know the limits of any protest. One of the biggest nuisances in Sri Lanka is these various protesters who sometimes get into clashes with the police and create havoc.

As for news agencies - more and more news agencies are in the game of distorting news.

When Ban Ki-Moon visited SL few days ago, I was listening to CNN news report on that and a spokeswoman from UN said that Ban had said, "I have traveled around the world and visited similar places, but this is by far the most appalling scenes I have seen," about what he saw below when he took a helicopter ride above the battle field. She was very clear in what she said, and I heard this with my own ears.

Next day TamilNet reports the same words saying that it's what Ban said about the IDP camps.

Then that's not all, look at this CNN report which was published later, http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/26/sri.lanka.surrender/index.html

CNN also has published a report that misleads one to think Ban said the above words regarding the IDP camps. Why? What's the purpose? (Only guess I have is that the author being one Iqbaal Athaas, who's credibility is in serious doubt.)

It is ok for Tamil Tigers to attack Sri Lankan Embassies in EU, UK , Canada ,  properties owned by Sri Lankans in Australia, Canada, UK , Europe . The authorities had not arrested anyone for those terror activities. When Sri Lankans protest against the Canadians for not taking action against terrorists in their countries for terror acts carried out , it becomes a big issue.

Actually, the LTTE had until recently one of their biggest funding and arms operations running from Canada. The Canadian govt. refused to proscribe the LTTE as a terrorist organisation and let their funding and arms rings run in the country, despite Sri Lankans enduring 60,000 deaths through suicide bombings, claymore mines, child soldiers, etc. 

It was only after much persuasion and the ultimate failure of the very last peace process, when the Canadian authorities realised that the LTTE were in fact not interested in any peaceful solution to the Sri Lankan issue, that they decided to proscribe the outfit - a good 30 years after the whole thing started! 

If anything, Canada and other European nations where the LTTE had an official presence and openly ran their funding operations, are complicit in the deaths of thousands of Sri Lankans from both sides of the conflict. Their constant wavering in pushing the LTTE to come to a peaceful negotiation and the increasing international recognition they gave to the organisation, despite it's continued violation of the Cease Fire Agreement through suicide bombings and assasinations, were one of the main catalysts in the LTTE abandoning the peace process in the belief they had enough international clout and support to fight the Sri Lankan civil war successfully. A war crimes probe in fact should be levied against these very countries, to determine how they managed to permit such a large organisation function so openly in their countries when people were dying in their thousands in Sri Lanka. 

Canada, Britain and other European nations continued to host prominent LTTE leaders, who openly made statements regarding the conflict and had official positions in the organisation. In fact, the death of one, Anton Balasingham's funeral was held in Alexandra Palace in the U.K.! This is the equivalent of Sri Lanka playing host to prominent Al Qaeda leaders, where they would constantly be issuing statements on their plans and hatred for Britain, Europe, U.S.A and Canada from the island. By looking at what happened in Afghanistan to the Taleban for playing host to Al Qaeda, the same fate would have fallen on Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka however pushed through diplomatic means to fight for the LTTE to be banned and was often shunned away in this struggle. 

Yes, there are many things that need to change in Sri Lanka and the process of reconciliation will be long and tedious. But it is best in such instances to encourage and work with these war weary nations in solving their problems - not pushing solutions down by nations that were largely responsible for creating and enhancing the problems in the first place. 

But it is also important to note a few things about Sri Lanka which neither Canada or any other country can claim in terms of inclusiveness:

1. Although Tamil citizens make up only 12% of Sri Lanka's population - 30% of Sri Lanka's elected MPs are from a Tamil speaking community and 18% are directly Northern Tamils. 

2. The religious, cultural and historical festivals of all communities in Sri Lanka are national holidays. This includes Christmas and Muslim festivals, religions practised by only 6% of the population. 

3. Both Sinhala and Tamil are official languages of the State. All road signage, official documentation, transport and public as well as private facilities are found in fact in the three languages of English, Sinhala and Tamil. It is mandatory to study all languages in school (where facilities are available) and all new public servants must sit a mandatory exam in either Sinhala or Tamil (whichever language which is NOT their mother tongue).

4. Sri Lanka's capital and largest city Colombo is only 40% Sinhalese - 60% are from Tamil speaking communities and 40% are exclusively Northern or Indian Tamils. 

5. The Govt. has made a public apology for all the riots of the past and for errors of the state in creating the problem. 

6. Sri Lanka has had top politicians from the Tamil community, inc. former Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgama and highways Minister Jeyeraj, both who were ironically assasinated by the LTTE.

7. Even after the conflict flared up in 2006 - following 6000 violations of the Ceasefire Agreement by the LTTE and only about 600 by the Govt. of Sri Lanka (recorded by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission), an attempted assassination of the Army General by a PREGNANT Suicide Bomber and following a series of bomb attacks in Colombo and outside - the Sri Lankan govt. continued to provide gestures of goodwill to the LTTE to come to the negotiating table. This includes continuing their policy of attending to the health needs of LTTE leaders by flying them down to the best hospitals in Colombo for any treatments. Gratitude was often expressed through another bomb. 

8. Both of Prabhakaran's children were educated in State schools at the expense of Sri Lankan tax payers, whose own children had to be victims of bombings, etc. across the country. The Sri Lankan govt. held special exams for Prabhakaran's children to sit for the O Levels and A Levels separately and enrolled them into State University. When security risks were feared, the Sri Lankan govt. also assisted and sponsored the children to travel to foreign universities for education. The eldest son, Charles Anthony, returned to Sri Lanka and started to attack the very citizens whose tax money and goodwill paid for his education and foreign travels, with the airplanes that the LTTE managed to acquire during the CeaseFire Agreement. 

9. The recent restrictive access to aid agencies in the displacement camps or concentration camps (whatever one may call it), is only a restriction on vehicle usage within the camps and not any other aspect of their operation. This restriction only came about following incidents of people being smuggled out of these camps in aid agency vehicles. This was accepted by Gordon Weiss - UN Spokesman Sri Lankan Spokesman.

Hi Johnfromcentral,

Do you know or have any document  that proves the following?

Thanks

The Govt. has made a public apology for all the riots of the past and for errors of the state in creating the problem.

If this story is true (I am sure it is), then the arrogant Sinhalese have at least learnt something from us patriotic LTTE diaspora !

Yet it's very naive and juvenile that they could not break the neck of some statue at the Embassy ………

I m not aware of the current post LTTE scenario in SL. Also do the people in the south live in communal harmony? is that so for a while now? Is the problem only in North of Lanka? What is the feeling of general public in the country ? Some unbiased opinions please...

Ravi

Canada is home to about half a million Sri Lankan Tamil "refugees" who wield substantial political power in that country. The attack on the Canadian high commission is seen by many as retaliation for Canada's inability/refusal to protect Sinhalese citizens and businesses in Canada from Tamil attacks. Many Sinhalese have been brutally attacked in recent times in Toronto and Montreal, and at least one restaurant and a temple have been burnt. Many Tamil "refugees" in Canada are in fact retired Tamil militants and their families.

Canada is home to about half a million Sri Lankan Tamil "refugees" who wield substantial political power in that country. The attack on the Canadian high commission is seen by many as retaliation for Canada's inability/refusal to protect Sinhalese citizens and businesses in Canada from Tamil attacks. Many Sinhalese have been brutally attacked in recent times in Toronto and Montreal, and at least one restaurant and a temple have been burnt. Many Tamil "refugees" in Canada are in fact retired Tamil militants and their families.

These Sinhala mobs, sponsored by the Sri Lankan Government of course will not get prosecuted for what they did, this is Sri Lanka for you if you are Sinhalese, you even get away with mass murders of innocent people!

DISGUSTING, Sri Lanka is probably one of the most unjust countries in the world!!!

Ravi,

Just to give you an idea...the Sinhalese and Tamils marry each other...such intermarriages continue in the South, happening even now. That scenario is not there in the North.

Sandy,

Are you talking of the innocent people that were put in the line of fire by a (now dead) murderer? Sad, you seem ignore or not recognise the fact that the same (now dead) murderer killed innocent commuters, pilgrims, clergy, sleeping villagers etc, en masse at a time, along the years.

S.