Noticed another article in the Toronto paper today, thought I would throw it out for ppl to read. Again, the language that is being bandied about by the two sides in this 'war' takes on epic proportions. Terrorism & genocide. The LTTE is considered to be a terrorist outfit, which I suppose is accurate as any group that furthers their cause using suicide bombers against civilian targets should be portrayed. Therefore it is illegal for Canadians to support them. This has gone a long way towards drying up the cash flow to LTTE in Sri Lanka and subsequently allowing the government troops to have more success in their offensives.
But what happens to a terrorist group that is loosing? I expect to see a spike in bombings around the country in the days to come.
Again, notice the language used by both sides. They both are claiming genocide, which is extreme given the numbers involved.
TheStar.com | GTA | Thousands of Tamils protest against genocide
Jan 30, 2009 02:14 PM
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Lesley Ciarula Taylor
Immigration Reporter
Thousands of Tamils from across Greater Toronto formed a human chain stretching along Front Street and up University Avenue this afternoon to protest against what they call the genocide of the Tamil people in their homeland, Sri Lanka.
Many held up copies of photographs of children maimed and killed in the violence. Others wore armbands or carried banners denouncing the deaths of civilians in this latest bloody phase of a civil war that has gone on for a generation.
The Red Cross in Sri Lanka said today there are 250,000 civilians trapped in an area of jungle and villages in the north, which is dominated by the Tamils, who are a minority in the rest of the country.
The government insists there are fewer than 120,000 civilians in the war zone and has denied reports of 300 civilians killed in fighting.
University of Toronto graduate student Supanki Kalanadan, who helped organize the massive rally, said the only hope now is for a ceasefire.
"People have no access to food or shelter," she said. "Everyone here has someone back there who is affected."
Similar demonstrations were planned for Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.
In Toronto, Tamil Catholics planned a 12-hour night vigil starting tonight at 8 at the Church of St. Joseph and Our Lady of Health, 172 Leslie St.
Toronto is home to the largest concentration of Tamils outside of Sri Lanka.
Tamil student associations from universities and high schools in Greater Toronto helped mobilize people because, said Kalanadan, "we were lucky to have been educated here and to grow up with Canadian freedoms. We respect the Charter of Rights and we want the rights of Tamil people respected, too."
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said top U.N. officials were "seriously alarmed" about the fate of civilians in the north.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war, which grew out of complaints by Tamils who have suffered decades of marginalization at the heads of successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority.