SRI LANKA UNITED NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CANADA

                                                                                          Box 55292, 300 Borough Drive, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M1P 4Z7

                                                                                          Website:   www.sluna.org                 E-mail:   sluna@idirect.com

  

 

MEDIA RELEASE                                                                                 May 22, 2009

 

 

THE CANADIAN SRI LANKAN COMMUNITY IS UNDER ATTACK

 

At this very moment, in the Toronto area, the Canadian Sri Lankan community is under violent attack. This morning the only ‘Sinhalese’ owned Sri Lankan restaurant in the GTA, Lanka Gardens at 220 Wexford Road in Brampton, a popular gathering place, was fire-bombed causing extensive damage and unknown loss. Earlier this week, the Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple at 4698 Kingston Road in Scarborough was set on fire causing $40,000 in damage.  Sri Lankan owned establishments and Buddhist temples in London, England and other European cities too have been similarly attacked, whilst protesting pro-Tamil Tiger mobs carried out attacks on Sri Lankan embassies as well.

 

In the community, our children are being assailed daily by threatening emails, text messages, phone calls, and personal verbal and even physical abuse. The fear of attack is so pervasive that the community is very concerned about organizing cultural, sports, or social gatherings. Sri Lankan-Canadians fear going to Buddhist temples. They fear riding the TTC, especially the subway. Threats are particularly virulent against Tamil Canadians who oppose the Tamil Tiger machine but other communities are now being targeted.

 

Our organization suspects that supporters of the Tamil Tigers are behind these outrages. Over 8,000 hardcore Tamil Tiger operatives, including men and women who have been active Tiger combatants in Sri Lanka, are known to have been offered refuge in Canada; most of whom live in the GTA. This fact was brought to the attention of the Senate Hearings on Canadian National Security by Dr. Peter Chalk, Senior Policy Analyst with the Rand Corporation based in the USA, who is a consultant on terrorism and defense studies to several western governments. It will be no stretch to think that the recent military defeat of the Tigers and the death of their leader Prabhakaran has set off a vengeful witch hunt against Sri Lankan targets.

 

We Sri Lankan-Canadians appeal to local police forces, the provincial government headed by Dalton McGuinty, and the federal government led by Stephen Harper for help. What is going on cannot be countenanced. It is utterly un-Canadian. We are peaceful, law abiding, loyal citizens of Ontario and of Canada. We should not have to deal with the perpetrators of this violence ourselves. City mayors, Premier McGuinty, Prime Minister Harper please intervene and ensure protection for us before something more serious takes place. 

 

 

Yours very truly,

 

 

Mahinda Gunasekera

Honorary President  

Tel. 416-498-0783