My Support of the Tamil Community in Canada – Explained

by John Laforet
posted on May 12th, 2009 at 20:26:53 pm

It’s worth explaining. I’m taking some heat for my stance, and although not prepared to change a view I’ve held for years, I am more than willing to explain why, and how and to what degree I support the Tamil community. Apologies for doing so in 2000 words or so. 

I am someone who feels sympathy for the treatment of Sri Lankan Tamils, someone who felt outrage the first time a Tamil friend shared with him personal stories about how ‘Black July’ impacted his family and his friend’s families. As an individual I live my life with open eyes and an open mind, and often find myself trying to understand problems, and their possible solutions. 

I think the ultimate solution in Sri Lanka will not be achieved militarily by anyone. I don’t believe violence is in this case, or ever the answer. That being said, understanding the events of ‘Black July’ and the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka post Black July there is a clear path to violence that however unconscionable was foreseeable and the lasting damage probably irreparable. 

The treatment of the Tamil community in Canada by government officials has also been a cause of concern to me. While I understand the listing of the LTTE as a terrorist organization, I think the ensuing witch hunt and suspicion of every Tamil as being a possible ‘tiger supporter’ has tested the strength of the multiculturalism we hold to be so inherently Canadian. 

I have attended Tamil events, rallies, protests and vigils over the last five years. In fact, on Canada Day last year, I joined with hundreds of members of the Tamil community and rolled up my sleeve and donated blood for the first time in my life. I thought about that again last month when I donated blood again. When I lay in a blood clinic last, I recognized that the blood drive the Tamil community ran last July has made me a more active citizen than before, a blood donor.

Through my political involvement as a former candidate in a part of Toronto with a very large Tamil population and as a Liberal Riding President in a riding that has one of the largest, if not the largest Tamil Canadian population of any riding in Canada, I’ve had the opportunity to have a number of frank and honest discussions with members of the community about the war in Sri Lanka and other issues. As a student at a high school with a large Tamil population, it was hard not to be aware of the war then as well. 

The situation in Sri Lanka is a good example of how polarization, ethnic tension and violence can happen. It is also a demonstration of the importance for majorities to respect the minorities and ensure government policy does not shut them out of decision making or deprive them of recognition and equality. Years before violence broke out, the Tamil community in Sri Lanka was being  culturally and economically disadvantaged by the majority Sinhalese. I’m not defending the resulting violence, but am merely pointing to conflict on the island being deeper than real estate in the north and the east. 

Having studied what has been over forty years of struggle between the Sinhalese and Tamils, and being aware of how it has intensified in the last decade, it is clear to me that even if the violence stops tomorrow, it would be impossible to reconcile and have a united country free from violence, oppression and political struggle. 

For this reason, I do support the right of the Tamil people to achieve independence, not through violence, but through a United Nations monitored, self determination process followed by free and fair elections. My opposition to government sponsored ‘disappearances’, abuses of a minority population, systemic barriers to full participation in society fuel my support for the Tamil community’s attempts to raise awareness and get help from loved ones at home through our government. 

I believe that Canada has a moral obligation as the adopted homeland of the largest Sri Lankan Tamil population outside of Sri Lanka to use it’s role in the world to push Sri Lanka towards a process that will recognize minority rights, see an end to violence and allow for a path to independence in line with United Nations principles around Self Determination. 

To date, Canada’s approach to the violence in Sri Lanka has been to entirely focus on the tactics and actions of the LTTE, and while I recognize the purpose and necessity to condemn assassinations, suicide attacks and other tactics that we morally oppose; our government’s decision to take Sri Lankan Embassy officials at their word, and not condemn state sponsored terror, attacks on civilians, politicizing humanitarian aid and other unconscionable acts has, in my view, hurt the Tamil community in Canada. 

On October 1st 2008, I saw up close some of the total misunderstanding of the Tamil community in Canada in disgusting attacks a partisan blogger known as ‘NB Tory Lady’ had made against the community. NB Tory Lady was closely affiliated with now Cabinet Minister Keith Ashfield’s campaign for election to the House of Commons. It was unconscionable, I couldn’t let it go unanswered. I challenged him on her racist statements which included calling the 200 000 Tamil Canadians who live in the GTA ‘terrorists’ and ‘rebels’. He disassociated with her in a written statement, she took down his web banner. I still didn’t let it go. That wasn’t good enough. Her statements represented what is wrong with the approach to Tamil Canadians so I continued to push. On day two, she defended the statements, by day five they were deleted, and finally on day six, she was out of blogging. Below are the links to those pieces.

On Conservative Ignorance and Bigotry – October 1st 2008

UPDATE – Have Tories heard of Print Screen in Fredericton? – October 1st 2008

Conservative Kieth Ashfield’s Response – October 1st 2008

Keith Ashfield Supporter — NB Tory Lady Stands By her Racist Statements – October 2nd 2008

Keith Ashfield Supporter, NB Tory Lady Backs Down from Racist Statements – October 5th 2008

Keith Ashfield Supporter NB Tory Lady Deletes Entire Racist Blog – October 6th 2008

The Tamil community has been protesting for weeks now, holding regular protests across the street from the US Consulate. They’ve largely fallen on deaf ears, as the media gives them a passing reference – even though they are a daily, twenty-four hour event. 30 000 Tamils showed up on Parliament Hill and the government refused to have someone address them. Michael Ignatieff sat with organizers and told them straight up that not a single Liberal MP would address them either. 

It wasn’t until Tamil protesters shut down the Gardiner for a few hours in an unprecedented protest that they hit the front page, and were able to stay there for two days and counting. I watched it unfold on TV, and recognized this was a dangerous situation. I was pessimistic that it would end well. I made the decision to head down to the protest and do what I could to provide a voice to protesters by twittering their story, taking pictures and just being present to document what happened, in case there was violence. This is the link to my pictures. My Pictures From the Tamil Protest on the Gardiner Expressway.

I was met with ‘thank you’, pats on the back, and by one man an apology for shutting down the Gardiner. My response to him was pretty simple. ‘If I was upset, I wouldn’t be here. I am here, because I understand’. I made my way up the ramp, through the crowd and wrote what I was seeing to share with others a view from the ground. I made it clear I have sympathy and empathy for the Tamil community in Canada, and that I did stand with them in their calls for a free press, a ceasefire and for the government to stop shelling safe zones. 

I watched as on Twitter some truly hateful messages were put out against the Tamil community. We witnessed unconscionable racism, stereotyping and the find of hateful and divisive behaviour that threatens the social fabric that is Canada. I saw Tamil Canadians called ‘terrorists’, likened to supporters of the Taliban or Al Qaeda. I read Canadians calling for police to use tear gas, water cannons, charge the crowd, arrest five thousand people en masse. It was not commentary that made me proud to be a Torontonian or a Canadian and know that these were the views of some of my fellow Torontonians or Canadians. I can only imagine how it made Tamil Canadians feel. 

My responses were pretty simple. ‘protesters are not terrorists’, ‘they are not members of the LTTE’ ‘find me a single conviction’ ‘ I stand with the Tamil Community in Canada – no qualifiers needed’ 

I do stand with the Tamil community in Canada and do not need to qualify that statement because the Tamil community in Canada is calling for things that all Canadians could and should support. They are calling for a free, independent press, they are calling for a ceasefire for humanitarian purposes, they want a free flow of aid to Tamil areas of the war zone and they want a right to independence. These are all things that fit nicely into Canadian values. Support for some of the LTTE’s tactics doesn’t, but not a single person chanted ‘more suicide bombings now’ ‘let’s assassinate (enter name here)’. 

As for the flag. This has been the lightening rod of pro-Sinhala and anti-Tamil commentators and has been used to attack all those who participated in rallies. In many ways this is one of the complications in trying to differentiate the dream of a Tamil Eelam, an idea that existed before LTTE, from LTTE which has been the dominant force in fighting for such a state. Below is the Tamil Eelam Flag, and the LTTE Logo. Best described as ‘similar, but different’.

This is the Official Flag of Tamil Eelam

                                         

LTTE Logo 

The red flag is not seen by the Tamil community as a ‘terrorist flag’. Those who fly it are not ‘terrorists’. They are folks who support an independent, separate homeland for the Tamil people. If you see the logo below, with the writing, that would be a flag of a designated terrorist organization in Canada. 

I am known for being outspoken, and often finding myself in positions that many would see as controversial. This isn’t by design, but more by circumstance really. Once again, in taking a position that I feel is principled has resulted in me being personally attacked. This isn’t new, but the level of attack certainly is. Being accused of associating with terrorists is not something I take lightly. Associating with terrorists is not something I would ever do. This isn’t about political maneuvering either. I’m not a candidate for anything and have zero involvement in federal politics in Canada at the moment. I’m not handing out business cards, or trying to build a base for anything and have always understood that the safest politicians are generally the smartest politicians – at least at the politics. Ducking is always the safest position in a fight. It also happens to be one I’m not very good at and certainly don’t practice. 

I support the Tamil community in Canada’s efforts to gain recognition and action to address the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. I do not support acts of terror or violence as a means to achieve a political end. Neither do those I stood with at any of the rallies I’ve attended. In fact, not a single Tamil I’ve ever spoken to has defended acts of terror. I believe Tamils, like all the world’s people should have the right to self determination and the ability to establish an independent state democratically. I think all Canadians need to work on understanding, and the Tamil community needs to try to communicate a clearer position on some of the unfair attacks levied at them, to make it easier for non-Tamil Canadians to stand with them.

That being said, I am prepared to take the abuse that comes from taking a principled position, until such a time as the debate shifts back to where it needs to be; about basic human rights, decency, access to fresh water, food, medicine, aid and a democratic process to end decades of violence. Attacks will not now, or ever silence my voice, and I only hope others will stand strong as well in the face of personal attacks.

In closing – if you want to talk about this, email me. Whether you agree or not. john.laforet@laforet.ca

Posts written since this one:

My Heartfelt Thanks To You

A UN Mandated Force Needs to be on the Ground in Sri Lanka

Tags: Black July, Canadian Tamil Community, ceasefire in Sri Lanka, LTTE, Sri Lankan Civil War, State Terrorism in Sri Lanka, Support for Tamils in Toronto, Tamil Community, Tamil Eelam, Tamil Flags in Canada, Tamil Protest, Tamil Protests in Toronto, Tamil Rallies in Toronto, Tamil right to self determination, Tamil Vigils in Toronto