Sri Lankan diaspora backs Liberal reconciliation push
Tamils hopeful minority rights will be promoted
OTTAWA • The message of tolerance at the heart of the Trudeau government’s international outlook is now being put to the test in one of the world’s most ethnically scarred postwar countries — Sri Lanka.
The ultimate success of Canada’s re-engagement with Sri Lanka, which was formalized last month when Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion visited the South Asian country, will have domestic political implications for the Liberals government in the years ahead.
That’s because Canada is home to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Tamils, the Sri Lankan minority group that fought a 26-year civil war against the mainly Sinhalese central government that ended in a final wave of bloodshed in May 2009.
In the aftermath, the previous Conservative government downgraded relations with Sri Lanka’s government as the Tamils continued to face persecution. At the same time, the Colombo government resisted international pressure for an independent investigation of war crimes committed by its military and the Tamil rebels in 2009.
The stars realigned last year with the election of a more conciliatory Sri Lankan government and the arrival of Canada’s Liberals. It raised hopes among many Canadians of Sri Lankan descent, including the large Tamil bloc mainly centred in Toronto.
Canada’s Tamils don’t mind the Liberals talking to the Sri Lankan government again, but only if it continues to push for minority rights.
“It’s a good step in the right direction. But we want more to be done,” said David Poopalapillai of the Canadian Tamil Congress.
“Having the largest Tamil diaspora in this country, Canada is in a unique position.”
Canada is seeking a seat on the UN Security Council, Poopalapillai noted, and now has the opportunity to show it can help forge a permanent peace in Sri Lanka.
“Mr. Dion can be Lester Pearson in the months and years to come,” he said, as long as he can “make sure things move quickly and move fast.”
During his visit, Dion urged the Sri Lankan government to seize the moment and push for real reconciliation, along with strengthening government institutions and the economy.
Dion announced a fiveyear, $11.2-million contribution to help the Sri Lankan government deliver government services in the Sinhalese and Tamil languages.
He also encouraged the Sri Lankans to embrace “peaceful pluralism,” reiterating the core message Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has consistently delivered to international audiences: “Canada is strong not despite but because of its diversity, which is a source of openness, acceptance, progress and prosperity. Why should it not become true for Sri Lanka?”
Mahesh Abeyewardene, 30, a Sri Lankan-born Canadian journalist with Toronto’s monthly newspaper, the Sri Lankan Reporter, said, “There’s a lot of lessons that can be learned from Canada in Sri Lanka, in terms of bilingualism, intergovernmental affairs.”
At his joint press conference with Dion, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said his government wants help from Canada’s Sri Lankan community to help the reconciliation efforts.