Thursday, 17 th April, 2014
Lakshman I. Keerthisinghe LLB, LLM, MPhil, Attorney-at-Law
He who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song bird in a cage. -
Khalil Gibran - The Prophet (on Morality)
It was recently reported in the media that Canada has decided to suspend voluntary funds to the Commonwealth over Sri Lanka's alleged human rights issue during Sri Lanka's tenure as current chair of the Commonwealth. Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced that Canada will suspend its voluntary contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat and reallocate the funds for the next two years.
John Baird
The Minister further stated that Canada remains deeply concerned about the absence of accountability for alleged serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian standards in Sri Lanka. "As host of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and current Chair in Office, Sri Lanka has a duty to take meaningful action on human rights, political reconciliation and accountability. However, Sri Lanka has failed to realize progress on any of these issues," Baird said in a statement issued by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.
"As Prime Minister Harper has stated, Canada believes that if the Commonwealth is to remain relevant it must stand in defence of the basic principles of freedom, democracy and respect for human dignity, which are the very foundations upon which the Commonwealth was built," said Baird.
He also said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada took a strong and principled stand in not attending the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, and the present announcement is an extension of that leadership. Commenting on that decision before the CHOGM, Leader of the House and Irrigation and Water Management Minister, Nimal Siripala de Silva said there is no rationality in Canada's decision to boycott the CHOGM. When the former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney has criticised the decision, it shows that this is a biased decision. This decision has been taken due to undue influence exerted on the Canadian government. The Minister also said that "This is what we have been reiterating, which is that the pro-LTTE diaspora in Canada is influencing Canadian leaders to take wrong decisions. Canadian Prime Minister boycotted the Commonwealth summit held in Sri Lanka last year.
Stephen Harper
Voluntary contributions
While Sri Lanka is Chair in Office for next two years, Canada's $10-million annual voluntary Commonwealth contribution will instead go toward supporting initiatives that "espouse the Commonwealth's values" and help to deliver results for those who need them the most. Canada will allocate the $20 million contribution to assist in combatting the practice of child abuse, early and forced marriage, and help Commonwealth civil society advance the promotion of human rights. "Canada will continue to work with its partners to uphold the Commonwealth's core values, which are cherished by all Canadians," Baird said.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma expressed disappointment at Canada's decision to suspend voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth over Sri Lanka's human rights situation but looked forward to the resumption of the contributions. In a statement Sharma said the Government of Canada has informed its decision to suspend contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation over the next two years during which Sri Lanka holds the chairmanship of the Commonwealth.
This mutual and voluntary fund is the principal means for provision of technical assistance to Commonwealth countries. He recalled that Canada has a long and valued record of support for the work of the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation. Sharma said the difficult adjustments to Commonwealth development programs would be made, and expressed confidence that important priorities agreed by Commonwealth member states collectively can still be delivered, with results and impact for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth in accordance with the current strategic plan.
It seems compellingly obvious that the present Canadian Administration of PM Stephen Harper has made a Faux Pas by suspending Canada's voluntary contribution towards the Commonwealth Secretariat chaired by Sri Lanka through circumventing the responsibility of allocations to the Commonwealth Secretariat where Sri Lanka will be denied through the suppression of about Canadian dollars nine million where the reasons given for this are linked to the accusation against Sri Lanka's alleged violation of human rights during the Tamil Tiger insurrection without tangible evidence towards the claim albeit instigated at times quite melodramatically by Sri Lanka's adversaries including the Tamil Tiger supportive Global Tamil diaspora.
Global Tamil diaspora
Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry accused Canada of "using its voluntary funds to the Commonwealth Secretariat as a political tool based on the dictates of electoral compulsions, thereby holding the membership of the wider Commonwealth to ransom, through competing claims for power," which statement appears to have more than a ring of truth to it while also being indicative of a need to continue Canada's never ending pursuit of Sri Lanka based upon hearsay, cooked up evidence and, falsified depositions that are spewed all over the globe in a splash that defies comprehension on the instigation of Sri Lanka's enemies whose chief promoters quite visibly are the disillusioned group known as the Global Tamil diaspora.
They are categorically a group of frustrated and disillusioned Tamils scattered around the globe who were unable to suppress Sri Lanka through their support of terrorism but appear to have succeeded in misleading nations such as Canada amongst others into believing their version of what really transpired in Sri Lanka during the insurrection or a rebellion against the lawfully elected Government of Sri Lanka, which has been at times wrongfully defined as a 'civil war'. Concern has been expressed amongst the wider Commonwealth circle that the countries which provide the majority of the finances seek to unduly influence the working of the Organization. This action by Canada stands in evidence of such machinations, "The spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry said that Sri Lanka upholds Commonwealth values and has never sought their change and Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird's comment in justifying Canada's action is a castigation of the organization as a whole, and Sri Lanka believes that the wider Commonwealth stands in solidarity against such manipulations."
External Affairs Ministry statement which bears testimony to a degree of duplicity and a double standard by Canada which needs to be widely publicized is that the action taken by Canada is at variance with the underlying spirit of the Commonwealth as a voluntary Organization of sovereign nations, with diversity being its hallmark.
It seems regretful on the part of Canada that without a shred of real evidence which would stand up in an International Court of Law, to persist in the persecution of Sri Lanka which regrettably also seems to be contradicting Canada's policy of non alignment, impartiality and self righteous proclamations that at times ring empty and perhaps putting Canadian credibility towards the entire situation at risk. This is especially so when there is much evidence to the contrary where Sri Lanka campaigned militarily to overwhelm a three decades long internal armed insurrection or rebellion by the Tamil Tigers and supportive Tamils which is now history and perhaps even academic.
Home-grown solution
It was indeed affirmative action on the part of the Government of Sri Lanka to preserve Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Sri Lanka in the face of a terrorist uprising initiated mainly by the Tamil diaspora also suspected of instigating Canada to the extent of sanctions such as those outlined above, where no human rights violations on the part of the GOSL and the armed forces ever took place towards the definition of the accusations and there is much credible and tangible evidence to prove that this was indeed something perpetrated on all of Sri Lanka by Groups supportive of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or the LTTE.
It also needs to be maintained that the heroic Armed Forces of Sri Lanka were indeed responsible for liberating innocent civilians from the clutches of the terrorists where a multitude of those freed and willing to testify towards the accuracy of this presently exists in Sri Lanka with much gratitude towards the Governmental actions which truly restored their freedoms and values. It is indeed the Government of Sri Lanka which is best placed to continue the evolution of a home-grown solution for its people in accordance with a realistic time-frame," as widely publicized in the local media and hopefully has attracted global attention.
The announcement by Canada is not a surprise as when the Canadian Prime Minister announced his non attendance of the 2013 CHOGM in Colombo, he also alluded to the issue of cutting back his Government's contributions to the Commonwealth. Further, during conversation with a Canadian Government representative in Sri Lanka over a year ago it was mentioned that Canada was considering the rationalization of their contributions to international organizations including the Commonwealth. When Sri Lanka was to assume Chairmanship of the Commonwealth, the Canadian Government sought to make their reservations in this regard as the reason for the cut.
Canadian leaders
Finally, what seems most surprising about Canada's stance is that despite the realities involving Sri Lanka's relentless struggle for nearly three decades against armed insurrection by the LTTE once known as the most barbaric and brutal terrorist group in the world led by its diabolic leader Prabhakaran, where a greater part of the world applauds the precedent setting termination of terrorism by Sri Lanka which has presently taken on a global perspective and Sri Lanka's total termination of the menace despite attempts to revive it, Canada instead of applauding and recognizing the beneficial effects that have been achieved towards ridding the world of terrorism, has chosen to continue to hound and persecute Sri Lanka at the behest of pro LTTE diaspora, in whose grip the present Canadian leaders appear to be tottering influenced by their franchise and most possibly by their immense wealth.
There is a saying that the person who pays the piper calls the tune. Perhaps, the Canadian leaders could follow Khalil Gibran when speaking of morality Gibran stated 'He who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song bird in a cage.'
http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=features/dominance-canada-pro-ltte-diaspora
