Surrender

Tamils from Sri Lanka marched up onto the Gardiner last Sunday evening in a lunatic effort to convince the Canadian government to intercede and force the Sri Lankan armed forces into a cease fire. Such an effort seems a further futile action. The Canadian government possesses no real leverage with the Sri Lankan government.

The only reason to get involved is to save civilian life. For months we've been hearing from one side, and not the other.

First off. The present Sri Lankan government is democratically elected. The Tamil Tigers have never been.

Second. The Sri Lankan government is the internationally recognized governing body. The Tamil Tigers are a ruthless group of terrorists who claim to be fighting for a homeland. In actual fact, this matter is entirely an internal civil war.

Third. The Tamil Tigers claim that there is genocide and ethnic cleansing. Over two decades the Tamils conducted a terror campaign of suicide bombings, bank robberies, ethnic cleansing (expulsion of Islamic followers), murder, assassination in and outside Sri Lanka (Rajiv Ghandi). This campaign led to the international recognition of the Tigers are a terrorist organization. Further, the Tamil Tiger leaders are wanted for international crimes.

Fourth. Now the Tamil Tigers want a ceasefire mostly due to humanitarian reasons. In 2002, they got a ceasefire and could have negotiated from a position of strength. This they refused to do. The Sri Lankans now demand a full surrender, but have never said it would be unconditional surrender. The leader of the Tamil Tigers, V. Prabhakaran, doesn't qualify since he is the main target.

If their need for a ceasefire is based on humanitarian grounds why do they not save lives by surrendering. The war is lost.

Instead the Tigers draft young children into armed resistance. They have used child soldiers before but the ages on the front lines get younger. The older soldiers hide behind their own youth and civilians. If they have the best interests of their population then surrender is the only option. They have yet to ask any international mediator to negotiate a surrender.

And one must understand how seriously the Sri Lankans take this conflict. They are Buddhists not Christians, not Islamics, not Hindu. Individual soldiers get no access to self realization by engaging in warfare. For a Buddhist to give up the chance to join with the cosmos by becoming a soldier is a serious issue. They get no virgins. They get no glory. They want the head of Prabhakaran and they want an end to the war. It is a complete sacrifice. They must face reincarnation.

The Tamils in Canada plead for their families. No thought to be given to the tens of thousands of Sri Lankans who suffered at the hands of the Tigers they supported. They lost thousands of family members. Islamic Sri Lankans were expelled from their properties by the Tigers without notice, compensation, or remorse.