Sri Lanka Tamil Issue Raised Again in Canadian Parliament!

[ TamilCanadian ] - [ Sep 30, 2011 16:46 GMT ]

Liberal Party member of Parliament for Scarborough—Agincourt, Hon. Jim Karygiannis and New Democratic Party member of parliament Ms. Rathika Sitsabaiesan representing Scarborough—Rouge River and requested the prime minister to urge the Commonwealth to revoke Sri Lanka's membership until it holds the war crime perpetrators to account and to urge the international community to take action against Sri Lanka.

Here is the transcript of the debate which was taken place on September 29th, Thursday – 2011 and answered by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. John Baird .

Hon. Jim Karygiannis (Scarborough—Agincourt, Lib.): 
Mr. Speaker, during the last days of the civil war, the Government of Sri Lanka killed thousands of Tamil non-combatant refugees. International and United Nations human rights organizations have condemned the Sri Lankan government's cover-up. The government did nothing when thousands of people were butchered.

Will the Prime Minister take steps today to urge the Commonwealth to revoke Sri Lanka's membership until it holds the perpetrators to account and they are judged in international courts? Will he support calls from the international community for action against the Sri Lankan government?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of Foreign Affairs, CPC): 

Mr. Speaker, I can say that the Prime Minister has spoken out loudly and clearly on this very important issue of human rights. I have certainly relayed the Government of Canada's position to both the high commissioner and directly to my counterpart, the minister of foreign affairs of Sri Lanka, to express our concerns on the lack of accountability for the serious allegations of war crimes, the lack of reconciliation with the Tamil community and with events that have taken place since the end of the civil war. Canada will continue to speak loudly and clearly on behalf of human rights around the world, especially in Sri Lanka.

Ms. Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Scarborough—Rouge River, NDP): 

Mr. Speaker, last night, I joined MPs from all parties in hosting a screening of the documentary, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields . It moved me, as it did everyone else there.

Sadly, Canada and the rest of the world has stood idly by for far too long. Human rights organizations around the world are calling upon the United Nations to launch an independent inquiry into the possibility of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka.

A Conservative MP helped sponsor the event last night. Will his government now stand in the House today and finally commit to fighting for justice for Sri Lankans and call for a United Nations inquiry?

Hon. John Baird (Minister of Foreign Affairs, CPC): 

Mr. Speaker, we did not sit idly by at the United Nations on Monday where I brought the plight of human rights violations to the floor of the General Assembly. The Prime Minister did not sit idly by when he expressed grave concern about attending a future summit of the Commonwealth in Colombo. We did not sit idly by when we spoke with the high commissioner to Sri Lanka and raised our concerns. I did not sit idly by last week when I met with the foreign minister of Sri Lanka to express our significant concerns.

We have not sat idly by. We will continue to stand up, do the right thing and fight for human rights around the world, especially in Sri Lanka.

Source:Parliament Debate

Screening of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields":

Courtesy: TamilCanadian
Published on: Sep 30, 2011 16:46 GMT

The Channel 4 TV trail promoting Sri Lanka's Killing Fields

Video