The political climate in Sri Lanka is quite unfortunate and includes the arrests and imprisonment of individuals without charges, disappearances, kidnappings and torture of individuals, journalists, and, sadly, women and children by each side.Most alarming of all is the Sri Lankan government's prevention of independent verification of the realities on the ground.
The Tamil survivors of this civil war have been sent to Internally Dispersed Persons camps in northern Sri Lanka, where some have reported approximately 1,400 people are believed to be dying every week due to intentional execution and starvation -- a fact that is not substantiated because of the refusal of the government to allow international agencies, or even Canada, to review.
This is not an atrocity of a distant land. This is a tragedy breaking the hearts of our very own neighbours and friends in Barrie.
Aaron and Ranji Sureshkumar are among 40 Tamils living in Barrie. Ranji came into my office in tears because she fears for the safety of her uncle, who is stranded in these Sri Lankan government camps.
I feel for Ranji, because I sense the world can do more to protect her family back in Sri Lanka.
I believe Canada has a role to play by punching beyond our weight to protect human rights, as well as minority rights in Sri Lanka.
We should act expeditiously to ensure direct assistance such as food, shelter and medical aid -- including medical professionals from Canada -- actually reach the thousands of Tamils in the conflict zone, something the Sri Lankin government is prohibiting.
Our $7.5 million in international aid is a positive step in this direction. Aid is desperately needed in these camps, and Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has set a strong example for other countries to follow.
Canada should advise the Sri Lankan government that it risks suspension from the Commonwealth should the government continue to prohibit humanitarian aid and international observers from reaching innocent civilians in the conflict zone.
Canada's Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Deepak Obhrai, is to be commended for visiting the camps, but it is chilling to know that other international observers are being put through hoops to even get glimpses of what is really happening in Sri Lanka.
Lastly, we should remind the Sri Lankan government that it has a responsibility to protect innocent civilians and to treat prisoners of war humanely according to the Geneva Convention. Their lligerence is an affront to their role as a member of international bodies -- including the United Nations and the Commonwealth.
Canada is currently engaged in building a Museum on Human Rights in Winnipeg. I hope that the apathy internationally that resulted in the ethnic massacre in Rwanda and Germany is not repeated in present-day Sri Lanka.
Global silence and apathy today could lead to a Museum of Human Rights detailing the history of the persecution of Tamils in the not too distant future.
I, for one, hope the world has learned from past mistakes.
Posted By PATRICK BROWN
