A senior academic of Sri Lankan descent has sought permission to make submissions on a Private Bill which allegedly labels Sri Lanka’s end of war as a genocide against Tamils, in the Legislative Council of Ontario.
Neville Hewage, a research fellow at Laurentian University, Ontario has challenged the legality, factual correctness and overall credibility of the Private Bill.
The Bill themed ‘Tamil Genocide Education Week.’ is up for third reading at the Legislative Council of Ontario in the coming days.
Hewage, an adjunct professor at the Department of Law and Justice of the Laurentian University maintains, ‘the Tamil genocide claim has failed against the legal test and thus, should not be considered for third reading at the Council.’ ‘.
In a letter to the Committee Clerk on Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills, Isaiah Thorning, he has requested an opportunity to submit an oral deliberation. He has annexed a lengthy written submission along with the letter of request in which he states the LTTE was responsible for ruthless attacks on civilian targets, billions of dollars loss to SL economy and the killing of two world leaders in India and in Sri Lanka. The professor states that the LTTE was sustained by a diaspora support base which still exists in Canada and elsewhere.
The Private Bill moved by member Vijay Thanigasalam, states Tamil - Ontarians have families still suffering in their homeland in the North and East of the Island of Sri Lanka adding that a genocide was committed against Tamils during the civil war from 1983 to 2009 and the community was physically and mentally traumatised by the happenings.
In 2011 Thanigasalam posted material upholding the actions of the LTTE which is in Canada’s list of terror organisations but later retracted his posts apologising that he no longer held those views when Canadian media questioned his actions.
In a similar post he said,” Happy 57th birthday to our National Leader,” beside a photo of Vellupillai Prabhakaran wearing a camouflage uniform.