National Post

Recently, National Post, a Canadian Newspaper that caters to the Extreme Right in Canada, and is known amongst the Tamil Community for taking a one sided stance with regards to the Sri Lankan Conflict, published an editorial titled "The Post editorial board: The Liberals' LTTE disgrace."

Initially, when I read it, I was filled with anger, not necessarily because NP was taking an anti-Tamil stance, but because the National Post often uses our suffering to further their agenda of bashing the Liberals, like it did in this editorial.

But then as I read the comments posted on the same page by it's readers, my anger subsided. There were comments posted by both the Pro Sri Lankan Government, and Pro LTTE people. For the most part, the comments speak volumes about what kind of people support the view point of the editorial - hateful people, who are only a very small minority of the beautiful multicultural Canada.

Anyhow, here are some letters written by John Mckay, Liberal MP, and someone named Dr. Nicolaas Paul L.G. Verhoeff, Toronto, who seemed to have understood the repercussions of Tamilchelvan anna's assassination.

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Killing a peace negotiator

John McKay, National Post

Published: Friday, November 09, 2007

In its rush to judgment about my reasons, as well as those of my Liberal colleagues, for attending a Markham, Ont., vigil for S.P. Thamilselvan, the National Post has produced an editorial that appears to have completely missed the vigil's point ("The Liberals' LTTE Disgrace," Nov. 7). Mr. Thamilselvan was the chief peace negotiator for the Tamil Tigers. He was working to bring an end to Sri Lanka's protracted and bloody conflict between the Tigers and the Sri Lankan government.

The peace process in Sri Lanka is shaky at the best of times. Even so, the negotiations offered a glimmer of hope amidst the country's vicious civil war. Though he was indeed seen as a revolting character by many, Mr. Thamilselvan played a role that was constructive enough to warrant the government of Norway, which was mediating the peace talks, to describe him as "an important contact point in the facilitation of the peace process." With his assassination, that hope for peace dims considerably.

Just as the government of Israel regarded PLO leader Yasser Arafat as a repugnant individual, even as the Israelis' dealt with him during the Oslo and Camp David peace talks, I am sure that the government of Sri Lanka holds a similar view of Mr. Thamilselvan. Unfortunately, though, one does not get to choose who will negotiate on behalf of one's enemy. The best that can be expected from a civilized government is that officials, in the search for a resolution, will hold their noses and pursue peace talks with the other side, regardless of who is sitting across the table from them.

Mr. Thamilselvan's death casts doubt on the Sri Lankan government's commitment to peace. Yet its conflict with the Tamil Tigers will not be resolved through military force. Unfortunately, the National Post's editorial ignored this fact. Instead, the article dwelled on the largely irrelevant Toronto-area ethno-political implications surrounding the response to Mr. Thamilselvan's assassination.

The Post editorial board should be condemning the government of Sri Lanka for aborting the peace process by killing Mr. Thamilselvan, and calling on both sides in this conflict to return to the negotiating table. Where, I wonder, is your thundering editorial condemning state-sanctioned assassinations of peace negotiators? Peace in Sri Lanka is obviously not top of mind at the Post. Launching broadside attacks on Liberal MPs is.

What is of concern to me are the deaths of thousand of Sri Lankan civilians, the creation of more refugees and the destruction of the peace process. That is why I attended this week's memorial service: to lament what will undoubtedly be the start of renewed and more intensified violence in Sri Lanka. - John McKay is the MP for Scarborough-Guildwood in Toronto.

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The LTTE is not like Hamas

National Post

Published: Friday, November 09, 2007

Re: The Liberals' LTTE Disgrace, editorial, Nov. 7.

The comparison of the LTTE to Hamas is both a simplification and an overstatement. Apart from the fact that the Sri Lankan government uses weapons acquired from Israel to attack not only the LTTE but also the civilian Tamil population, on closer inspection there is less in common between these organizations than one might think.

Hamas is, like other Islamist organizations and nations, anti-Western and a potential threat to Western civilization. The LTTE is not. Hamas openly endorses the destruction of Israel, whereas the LTTE only wants a Tamil Eelam homeland with either independence or a very large degree of autonomy.

Sinhalese and Tamils can and will live in peace in Sri Lanka. But the peace process requires an open assessment of the strengths and flaws of both the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE, as well as more moderate Tamil groups that can effectively contribute to peace. And in this process all of these should be heard and not marginalized.

Dr. Nicolaas Paul L.G. Verhoeff, Toronto.