Conservatives raise spectre of terrorist group involvement in highway shut down
- Thread starter mariomike
- Start date
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 430
Hmmm, do you have to be declared a terrorist group before you block the highway, or can blocking a highway earn you the label of terrorist group?
- Reaction score
- 27,004
- Points
- 1,090
No, but flying the flag associated with a well-known terrorist group that uses child soldiers, suicide bombers, human shields and extortion and threats among the expatriate community will get you labelled as associating with a terrorist group.
Funny, that...
Funny, that...
OldSolduer
Army.ca Relic
- Reaction score
- 15,222
- Points
- 1,260
I personally find this disgusting. You come to Canada, the land of the free and bring your problems from the old country to our shores.
IF they are that concerned, MAYBE we should load them on a C 17 and take some of them back to fight for what they beleive in.... :rage:
IF they are that concerned, MAYBE we should load them on a C 17 and take some of them back to fight for what they beleive in.... :rage:
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 210
You guys aren't the only ones leaning that way. I don't see how pissing off the people they hope to get help from will aid their cause. While I feel their is a need to look into the situation, the old cliché of going through the proper channels seems to fit here.
Also, to parallel OS' thought, many of these protesters are not even Canadian citizens. They have NO right to impede the free travel actual Canadian citizens, or any landed immigrants who have taken the time to become part of this country.
Also, to parallel OS' thought, many of these protesters are not even Canadian citizens. They have NO right to impede the free travel actual Canadian citizens, or any landed immigrants who have taken the time to become part of this country.
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
How dare you say something bad about the tigers!You must be a racist!
Funny thing.Canada will send me thousands of km away from my family to fight a insurgent group in a far off distant land.Yet the allow terrorist to protest in our streets.
How long before the taliban start protesting?And if they did what's the difference?And would we be allowing it?
Funny thing.Canada will send me thousands of km away from my family to fight a insurgent group in a far off distant land.Yet the allow terrorist to protest in our streets.
How long before the taliban start protesting?And if they did what's the difference?And would we be allowing it?
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
I agree with all of you. This is ridiculous.
If you are trying to gain support try not to piss off and ruin peoples whose support you are trying to gain... common sense.
??? ???
I can fly a c-172. Ill start making trips of 3 people I figure it should only take about a month to get there and back ...
If you are trying to gain support try not to piss off and ruin peoples whose support you are trying to gain... common sense.
??? ???
I can fly a c-172. Ill start making trips of 3 people I figure it should only take about a month to get there and back ...
This has been going on for a month in Ottawa and I have yet to hear a coherent explanation of what the protesters want Canada to do about it – we don't have a dog in this fight.
That said, I was at the office last weekend with the OPP scanner on in the background when one alert officer noticed the Tiger flag flying from a minivan full of supporters on their way to the demo, which yes, is a crime in Canada. The high-risk takedown that followed was a pleasure to listen to.
That said, I was at the office last weekend with the OPP scanner on in the background when one alert officer noticed the Tiger flag flying from a minivan full of supporters on their way to the demo, which yes, is a crime in Canada. The high-risk takedown that followed was a pleasure to listen to.
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 430
New York Times LINK
May 12, 2009
U.N. Tells of ‘Bloodbath’ in Sri Lanka By MARK McDONALD and THOMAS FULLER
HONG KONG — As the United Nations said a “bloodbath” was taking place in Sri Lanka, a leading group of aid agencies said Monday that both the government and the Tamil rebels it is fighting had shown a “wanton disregard for human life.”
“The U.N. has consistently warned against the bloodbath scenario as we’ve watched the steady increase in civilian deaths over the last few months,” Gordon Weiss, the United Nations spokesman in Sri Lanka, said Monday. “The large-scale killing of civilians over the weekend, including the deaths of more than 100 children, shows that that bloodbath has become a reality.”
A government doctor said at least 378 civilians — and perhaps as many as 1,000 — had been killed and more than 1,100 wounded on Saturday and Sunday during intensive shelling of the combat zone on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, a boggy sliver of beachfront where Sri Lankan troops have surrounded Tamil separatist fighters.
“There were many who died without medical attention,” the doctor, V. Shanmugarajah, told The Associated Press. “Seeing the number of wounded and from what the people tell me, I estimate the death toll to be around 1,000.”
Concern for civilians trapped in the zone has grown in recent weeks. The area of fighting, which at one time had been set aside by the government as a “no-fire zone,” has shrunk to about 2.5 square miles. About 50,000 civilians, mostly Tamils, are thought to be caught there, along with a holdout force of between 200 and 500 rebel fighters.
Some relief groups and the government have assailed the rebels, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E., for holding the civilians as human shields. Many of the same agencies and some foreign governments have accused the government of shelling the area — along with the civilians inside — despite pledges to no longer use heavy weapons, artillery or airstrikes. The government and the rebels have blamed each other for the deaths.
The statement from the group of aid agencies was sent by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
Food, water and shelter are in short supply inside the battle zone, according to accounts from some of those who have escaped the fighting there. An official with a Catholic relief group said Monday that only one field hospital remained in operation, with doctors and other medical staff members fearful of leaving the bunkers where they live because of periodic shelling by the army.
On a pro-rebel Web site, the L.T.T.E. accused the Sri Lankan military of having killed more than 3,200 civilians Sunday and Monday using artillery, mortars and heavy machine-gun attacks.
The government, in a statement by the Defense Ministry, said Monday that the rebels were “bombarding their own civilians.” “Hopefully, in their calculation, this will attract the foreign countries to throw a lifeline to save their souls. L.T.T.E. is desperate with the security forces closing on them. Lives of the L.T.T.E. leadership are hanging on a thread. They know they are running out of time.”
Independent verification of various charges by the government and the rebels has been impossible because the military has banned journalists from the area around the war zone and from refugee camps.
Dr. Shanmugarajah said Sunday’s attacks resulted in the worst carnage he had witnessed in the military’s intensifying campaign to wipe out the rebels.
“We are doing the first aid and some surgeries as quickly as we can,” Dr. Shanmugarajah, who works from a field hospital in the combat zone, was quoted by The A.P. as saying. “We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming; nothing is within our control.”
Mr. Weiss, the United Nations spokesman, said Monday, “To the best of our knowledge, the government doctors trapped with these civilians have proven consistently reliable.”
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
May 12, 2009
U.N. Tells of ‘Bloodbath’ in Sri Lanka By MARK McDONALD and THOMAS FULLER
HONG KONG — As the United Nations said a “bloodbath” was taking place in Sri Lanka, a leading group of aid agencies said Monday that both the government and the Tamil rebels it is fighting had shown a “wanton disregard for human life.”
“The U.N. has consistently warned against the bloodbath scenario as we’ve watched the steady increase in civilian deaths over the last few months,” Gordon Weiss, the United Nations spokesman in Sri Lanka, said Monday. “The large-scale killing of civilians over the weekend, including the deaths of more than 100 children, shows that that bloodbath has become a reality.”
A government doctor said at least 378 civilians — and perhaps as many as 1,000 — had been killed and more than 1,100 wounded on Saturday and Sunday during intensive shelling of the combat zone on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, a boggy sliver of beachfront where Sri Lankan troops have surrounded Tamil separatist fighters.
“There were many who died without medical attention,” the doctor, V. Shanmugarajah, told The Associated Press. “Seeing the number of wounded and from what the people tell me, I estimate the death toll to be around 1,000.”
Concern for civilians trapped in the zone has grown in recent weeks. The area of fighting, which at one time had been set aside by the government as a “no-fire zone,” has shrunk to about 2.5 square miles. About 50,000 civilians, mostly Tamils, are thought to be caught there, along with a holdout force of between 200 and 500 rebel fighters.
Some relief groups and the government have assailed the rebels, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E., for holding the civilians as human shields. Many of the same agencies and some foreign governments have accused the government of shelling the area — along with the civilians inside — despite pledges to no longer use heavy weapons, artillery or airstrikes. The government and the rebels have blamed each other for the deaths.
The statement from the group of aid agencies was sent by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Crisis Group and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect.
Food, water and shelter are in short supply inside the battle zone, according to accounts from some of those who have escaped the fighting there. An official with a Catholic relief group said Monday that only one field hospital remained in operation, with doctors and other medical staff members fearful of leaving the bunkers where they live because of periodic shelling by the army.
On a pro-rebel Web site, the L.T.T.E. accused the Sri Lankan military of having killed more than 3,200 civilians Sunday and Monday using artillery, mortars and heavy machine-gun attacks.
The government, in a statement by the Defense Ministry, said Monday that the rebels were “bombarding their own civilians.” “Hopefully, in their calculation, this will attract the foreign countries to throw a lifeline to save their souls. L.T.T.E. is desperate with the security forces closing on them. Lives of the L.T.T.E. leadership are hanging on a thread. They know they are running out of time.”
Independent verification of various charges by the government and the rebels has been impossible because the military has banned journalists from the area around the war zone and from refugee camps.
Dr. Shanmugarajah said Sunday’s attacks resulted in the worst carnage he had witnessed in the military’s intensifying campaign to wipe out the rebels.
“We are doing the first aid and some surgeries as quickly as we can,” Dr. Shanmugarajah, who works from a field hospital in the combat zone, was quoted by The A.P. as saying. “We are doing what is possible. The situation is overwhelming; nothing is within our control.”
Mr. Weiss, the United Nations spokesman, said Monday, “To the best of our knowledge, the government doctors trapped with these civilians have proven consistently reliable.”
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
- Reaction score
- 4,117
- Points
- 1,260
This from the original news release declaring the LTTE as a terrorist group here and associated backgrounder:
and this interesting letter from Human Rights Watch, calling on the Canada to educate the Tamil community about exactly what the declaration means, as well as some other interesting ideas:
In case you don't get it, a HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP is asking Canada to DO MORE TO STOP TERRORIST FUNDRAISING, EXTORTION AND INTIMIDATION WITHIN THE TAMIL EXPAT COMMUNITY. Can't wait for the "sandal wearing brigades" to pick up this baton and run with it.... :
News release and letter attached in case links don't work.
and this interesting letter from Human Rights Watch, calling on the Canada to educate the Tamil community about exactly what the declaration means, as well as some other interesting ideas:
In case you don't get it, a HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP is asking Canada to DO MORE TO STOP TERRORIST FUNDRAISING, EXTORTION AND INTIMIDATION WITHIN THE TAMIL EXPAT COMMUNITY. Can't wait for the "sandal wearing brigades" to pick up this baton and run with it.... :
News release and letter attached in case links don't work.
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 430
Link
Hundreds killed in Sri Lanka "bloodbath"
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez
COLOMBO (Reuters) -- The United Nations on Monday said attacks in Sri Lanka that killed hundreds were the bloodbath it had long feared, while the Tamil Tigers and government traded blame ahead of U.N. Security Council talks about the war.
In the latest and largest reported assault on civilians trapped in the war zone, hundreds of people were reported killed on Sunday and Monday in artillery barrages that struck the less than 5 sq km (2 sq mile) strip of territory the separatist rebels control.
The stakes could not be higher for either Sri Lanka, which does not want its impending conventional victory in the 25-year-war snatched away, or the Tigers, who have vowed no surrender despite facing overwhelming numbers, force and odds.
"We've been consistently warning against a bloodbath, and the large-scale killing of civilians including more than 100 children this weekend appears to show that the bloodbath has become a reality," U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said.
More at link.
Hundreds killed in Sri Lanka "bloodbath"
By Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez
COLOMBO (Reuters) -- The United Nations on Monday said attacks in Sri Lanka that killed hundreds were the bloodbath it had long feared, while the Tamil Tigers and government traded blame ahead of U.N. Security Council talks about the war.
In the latest and largest reported assault on civilians trapped in the war zone, hundreds of people were reported killed on Sunday and Monday in artillery barrages that struck the less than 5 sq km (2 sq mile) strip of territory the separatist rebels control.
The stakes could not be higher for either Sri Lanka, which does not want its impending conventional victory in the 25-year-war snatched away, or the Tigers, who have vowed no surrender despite facing overwhelming numbers, force and odds.
"We've been consistently warning against a bloodbath, and the large-scale killing of civilians including more than 100 children this weekend appears to show that the bloodbath has become a reality," U.N. spokesman Gordon Weiss said.
More at link.
- Reaction score
- 3
- Points
- 430
New York Times
May 14, 2009
Sri Lanka Attacks Said to Kill Dozens in Hospital
By MARK McDONALD
HONG KONG — At least 50 people were killed Wednesday when a primary school in Sri Lanka that had been converted into a field hospital was shelled for the second day, news agencies reported.
Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, the top government health official in the war zone, told The Associated Press that the attack killed at least 50 people, including patients and relatives, and wounded about 60 others. He said heavy shelling continued throughout the day.
In the same compound on Tuesday, 49 people were reported to have been killed when mortar rounds hit the administrative office and a ward where victims of earlier shelling were being treated, the reports said.
Separately, a local worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross and his mother were killed in shelling on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said.
The 31-year-old man was one of about 20 Sri Lankans working for the Red Cross in the dwindling two-square mile conflict zone, where thousands of civilians remain trapped on a sandy strip as intense fighting between the Tamil rebels and government takes place around them.
“We are not sure if it was a direct hit or indirect hit, but they were killed in cross fire,” said Marçal Izard, a Red Cross spokesman. “They seem to have been sleeping in trenches reinforced by sandbags, like most of the people living in the zone.”
Dozens of civilians each day are being wounded and killed, Mr. Izard said, but the Red Cross has not been able to confirm the strikes on the hospital, which is run by local authorities. The humanitarian organization has also been unable to land a ferry to pick up hundreds of seriously wounded people from the zone since May 9 because of the heavy fighting.
Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that new satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts indicated that the government was continuing to use heavy artillery in the densely populated zone. Many analysts believe the shelling is meant to finally rout the Tamil rebels, in the end game of a conflict that has gone on for a quarter-century.
The commercial satellite images, taken on May 10, were analyzed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They show dozens of structures that appear to have been destroyed between May 6 and May 10, the analysis said, and multiple craters that appear to reflect the impact of heavy weaponry.
The government has denied using artillery or air strikes in the area — a claim widely disputed by human rights groups and foreign governments — and it has accused the rebels of shelling their fellow Tamil citizens. On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry reported on its Web site that in searching and clearing the site of earlier fighting, it had found a multi-barrel rocket launcher that it said was used by the rebels.
Human Rights Watch also quoted a 29-year-old man who has been sheltering for several days with his family in a dug-out trench with no cover, saying that a shell struck close by on May 9, killing two members of his family. The man, identified by the organization as R. Raman, is quoted saying he is afraid to flee because he watched rebel fighters shoot at least fifteen people in April as they tried to escape.
The battle zone has shrunk to a small coastal strip of sand, palm trees and jungle in the northeastern part of Sri Lanka as the military has steadily surrounded and slowly squeezed the dwindling guerrilla force.
The makeshift hospital in the former school is the last remaining medical center serving the estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the war zone. Confirmations of the shelling and the casualties at the hospital on Tuesday were given by Dr. Varatharajah and by a political official who was quoted on a Web site used by the main rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E. Human Rights Watch said it had also heard from doctors who confirmed the shelling.
Dr. Varatharajah’s account was similar to one given on the pro-rebel Web site, citing an administrative officer identified as K. Tharmakulasingam, who said 47 people had been killed there on Wednesday and 55 wounded.
It has not been possible in recent months to verify the many charges and countercharges, claims and counterclaims in the bitter war between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists and most aid agencies have been barred from the war zone.
Sharon Otterman contributed reporting from New York.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/world/asia/14lanka.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
May 14, 2009
Sri Lanka Attacks Said to Kill Dozens in Hospital
By MARK McDONALD
HONG KONG — At least 50 people were killed Wednesday when a primary school in Sri Lanka that had been converted into a field hospital was shelled for the second day, news agencies reported.
Dr. Thurairaja Varatharajah, the top government health official in the war zone, told The Associated Press that the attack killed at least 50 people, including patients and relatives, and wounded about 60 others. He said heavy shelling continued throughout the day.
In the same compound on Tuesday, 49 people were reported to have been killed when mortar rounds hit the administrative office and a ward where victims of earlier shelling were being treated, the reports said.
Separately, a local worker for the International Committee of the Red Cross and his mother were killed in shelling on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Geneva-based humanitarian agency said.
The 31-year-old man was one of about 20 Sri Lankans working for the Red Cross in the dwindling two-square mile conflict zone, where thousands of civilians remain trapped on a sandy strip as intense fighting between the Tamil rebels and government takes place around them.
“We are not sure if it was a direct hit or indirect hit, but they were killed in cross fire,” said Marçal Izard, a Red Cross spokesman. “They seem to have been sleeping in trenches reinforced by sandbags, like most of the people living in the zone.”
Dozens of civilians each day are being wounded and killed, Mr. Izard said, but the Red Cross has not been able to confirm the strikes on the hospital, which is run by local authorities. The humanitarian organization has also been unable to land a ferry to pick up hundreds of seriously wounded people from the zone since May 9 because of the heavy fighting.
Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that new satellite imagery and eyewitness accounts indicated that the government was continuing to use heavy artillery in the densely populated zone. Many analysts believe the shelling is meant to finally rout the Tamil rebels, in the end game of a conflict that has gone on for a quarter-century.
The commercial satellite images, taken on May 10, were analyzed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. They show dozens of structures that appear to have been destroyed between May 6 and May 10, the analysis said, and multiple craters that appear to reflect the impact of heavy weaponry.
The government has denied using artillery or air strikes in the area — a claim widely disputed by human rights groups and foreign governments — and it has accused the rebels of shelling their fellow Tamil citizens. On Wednesday, the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry reported on its Web site that in searching and clearing the site of earlier fighting, it had found a multi-barrel rocket launcher that it said was used by the rebels.
Human Rights Watch also quoted a 29-year-old man who has been sheltering for several days with his family in a dug-out trench with no cover, saying that a shell struck close by on May 9, killing two members of his family. The man, identified by the organization as R. Raman, is quoted saying he is afraid to flee because he watched rebel fighters shoot at least fifteen people in April as they tried to escape.
The battle zone has shrunk to a small coastal strip of sand, palm trees and jungle in the northeastern part of Sri Lanka as the military has steadily surrounded and slowly squeezed the dwindling guerrilla force.
The makeshift hospital in the former school is the last remaining medical center serving the estimated 50,000 civilians trapped in the war zone. Confirmations of the shelling and the casualties at the hospital on Tuesday were given by Dr. Varatharajah and by a political official who was quoted on a Web site used by the main rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E. Human Rights Watch said it had also heard from doctors who confirmed the shelling.
Dr. Varatharajah’s account was similar to one given on the pro-rebel Web site, citing an administrative officer identified as K. Tharmakulasingam, who said 47 people had been killed there on Wednesday and 55 wounded.
It has not been possible in recent months to verify the many charges and countercharges, claims and counterclaims in the bitter war between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Independent journalists and most aid agencies have been barred from the war zone.
Sharon Otterman contributed reporting from New York.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/world/asia/14lanka.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
- Reaction score
- 1,480
- Points
- 1,260
Peter Worthington had this to say:
Suggestion made to "DISPERSE CROWDS WITH WATER" ( Sun's caps )
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/peter_worthington/2009/05/15/9464696-sun.html
Weary of Tamil disruptions
Dismay over protests not motivated by racism, but the violation of the rights of everyone else
By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN
Last Updated: 15th May 2009, 3:05am
There's a disquieting tendency loose in Toronto to brand as "racist" those who criticize Tamil protests that have disrupted portions of the city for hours.
In justifying their blocking of the Gardiner Expressway, as well as University Ave. and downtown Yonge St., Tamils point out their previous passive protests were largely ignored.
Interfering with normal city life and inconveniencing the downtown population has made everyone aware of the long civil war in Sri Lanka.
While correct, that's also unacceptable.
The public's broad discontent with Tamil protests is not motivated by racism, but by frustration. The refusal of the police to prevent street blockages; the mayor's cowardice and passing the buck; the media's timid disapproval of Tamil tactics, all add up to reverse racism.
Chaos, civil violence, and turmoil in Sri Lanka have little relevance in Canada -- and even less to do with Ontario or Toronto, apart from the reality that we've provided sanctuary for huge numbers of Sri Lankans seeking to escape their homeland.
The Tamil Tigers -- involved or sponsoring present demonstrations -- are considered a terrorist organization by the Canadian government. This is not to say the protesters are terrorists, but certainly many are sympathetic and some are being manipulated by the Tigers.
Tamil Tigers have a horrible reputation for violence and mayhem -- as do Sri Lankan government forces. Which side is the worst, or most brutal, is a matter for individual choice or assessment.
But the government is the government. As long as the Tamil Tigers are on the outside trying to get power or independence, other governments are going to side with the existing regime. That's just the way it is.
So while Tamil civil disruption in Toronto certainly focuses attention of Sri Lankan politics, it wins no friends for the Tamil cause.
It's instructive to compare Tamil protests with, say, the protests of local Tibetan-Canadians against China's continuing oppression and brutality in their homeland.
Tibetans take their lead from the Dalai Lama, whose deportment, decency and goodness have made him, arguably, the world's most revered symbol. Rather than passive resistance, he's personified non-violent resistance, and increasingly has sought mediation with realism -- with little effect on the Chinese regime.
As a consequence, Tibetans are admired throughout the world, as evident when Beijing miscalculated last year and ran the Olympic torch around the world, encountering opposition to their treatment of Tibet in virtually very country. Similar support for Tamils is noticeably absent.
Canadian politicians are notoriously wimpy and cowardly. We endure indignities from Indians protesting at Caledonia, or periodically blocking highways, that we'd never tolerate if done by other citizens.
DISPERSE CROWDS WITH WATER
Toronto should never have let Tamil protesters screw up city streets. The answer is not for police to wade into protesters with batons, but perhaps to use water to disperse them. We don't have water cannons as some police find necessary, nor do we use rubber bullets. But we do have fire engines and water hoses, and these might be persuasive instruments to deter protesters who block streets.
Anyway, the public dismay over Tamil protests is not motivated by racism, but motivated because it is a violation of the rights of everyone else.
My advice to the Tamils is to emulate the protests of Tibetans who were forced to leave their country and can't go home to fight, while most Tamils left Sri Lanka because it wasn't safe for them. Quite a difference
Suggestion made to "DISPERSE CROWDS WITH WATER" ( Sun's caps )
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/peter_worthington/2009/05/15/9464696-sun.html
Weary of Tamil disruptions
Dismay over protests not motivated by racism, but the violation of the rights of everyone else
By PETER WORTHINGTON, TORONTO SUN
Last Updated: 15th May 2009, 3:05am
There's a disquieting tendency loose in Toronto to brand as "racist" those who criticize Tamil protests that have disrupted portions of the city for hours.
In justifying their blocking of the Gardiner Expressway, as well as University Ave. and downtown Yonge St., Tamils point out their previous passive protests were largely ignored.
Interfering with normal city life and inconveniencing the downtown population has made everyone aware of the long civil war in Sri Lanka.
While correct, that's also unacceptable.
The public's broad discontent with Tamil protests is not motivated by racism, but by frustration. The refusal of the police to prevent street blockages; the mayor's cowardice and passing the buck; the media's timid disapproval of Tamil tactics, all add up to reverse racism.
Chaos, civil violence, and turmoil in Sri Lanka have little relevance in Canada -- and even less to do with Ontario or Toronto, apart from the reality that we've provided sanctuary for huge numbers of Sri Lankans seeking to escape their homeland.
The Tamil Tigers -- involved or sponsoring present demonstrations -- are considered a terrorist organization by the Canadian government. This is not to say the protesters are terrorists, but certainly many are sympathetic and some are being manipulated by the Tigers.
Tamil Tigers have a horrible reputation for violence and mayhem -- as do Sri Lankan government forces. Which side is the worst, or most brutal, is a matter for individual choice or assessment.
But the government is the government. As long as the Tamil Tigers are on the outside trying to get power or independence, other governments are going to side with the existing regime. That's just the way it is.
So while Tamil civil disruption in Toronto certainly focuses attention of Sri Lankan politics, it wins no friends for the Tamil cause.
It's instructive to compare Tamil protests with, say, the protests of local Tibetan-Canadians against China's continuing oppression and brutality in their homeland.
Tibetans take their lead from the Dalai Lama, whose deportment, decency and goodness have made him, arguably, the world's most revered symbol. Rather than passive resistance, he's personified non-violent resistance, and increasingly has sought mediation with realism -- with little effect on the Chinese regime.
As a consequence, Tibetans are admired throughout the world, as evident when Beijing miscalculated last year and ran the Olympic torch around the world, encountering opposition to their treatment of Tibet in virtually very country. Similar support for Tamils is noticeably absent.
Canadian politicians are notoriously wimpy and cowardly. We endure indignities from Indians protesting at Caledonia, or periodically blocking highways, that we'd never tolerate if done by other citizens.
DISPERSE CROWDS WITH WATER
Toronto should never have let Tamil protesters screw up city streets. The answer is not for police to wade into protesters with batons, but perhaps to use water to disperse them. We don't have water cannons as some police find necessary, nor do we use rubber bullets. But we do have fire engines and water hoses, and these might be persuasive instruments to deter protesters who block streets.
Anyway, the public dismay over Tamil protests is not motivated by racism, but motivated because it is a violation of the rights of everyone else.
My advice to the Tamils is to emulate the protests of Tibetans who were forced to leave their country and can't go home to fight, while most Tamils left Sri Lanka because it wasn't safe for them. Quite a difference
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 410
DISPERSE CROWDS WITH WATER
"Toronto should never have let Tamil protesters screw up city streets. The answer is not for police to wade into protesters with batons, but perhaps to use water to disperse them. We don't have water cannons as some police find necessary, nor do we use rubber bullets. But we do have fire engines and water hoses, and these might be persuasive instruments to deter protesters who block streets."
Oh Peter.
So you think squirting hoses at protesters would solve the problem without having to send a large amount of police in riot gear in after?What about you hit a baby with the canons?Then what?What do you honestly think would happen after they all got hosed down?No rocks thrown for sure,no cars tipped and torched.
I read his writing only for humor,but wish Toronto was ran by him.What a awesome news at 6 that would be!
I finally found someone I couldn't disagree with more than the Tamils themselves.
As for whom is more brutal I side with the government Sri Lanka forces. I dunno I got a soft spot for non terrorist.I hope Sri Lanka continues with their attacks and push the whole bunch into the sea.
They are being cruel in a way.But what do you expect after 25 years of fighting terrorist and losing people....AT HOME.
God speed Sri Lanka,kill them all.
"Toronto should never have let Tamil protesters screw up city streets. The answer is not for police to wade into protesters with batons, but perhaps to use water to disperse them. We don't have water cannons as some police find necessary, nor do we use rubber bullets. But we do have fire engines and water hoses, and these might be persuasive instruments to deter protesters who block streets."
Oh Peter.
So you think squirting hoses at protesters would solve the problem without having to send a large amount of police in riot gear in after?What about you hit a baby with the canons?Then what?What do you honestly think would happen after they all got hosed down?No rocks thrown for sure,no cars tipped and torched.
I read his writing only for humor,but wish Toronto was ran by him.What a awesome news at 6 that would be!
I finally found someone I couldn't disagree with more than the Tamils themselves.
As for whom is more brutal I side with the government Sri Lanka forces. I dunno I got a soft spot for non terrorist.I hope Sri Lanka continues with their attacks and push the whole bunch into the sea.
They are being cruel in a way.But what do you expect after 25 years of fighting terrorist and losing people....AT HOME.
God speed Sri Lanka,kill them all.
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