Arrest of four persons over War Dead Commemoration Sri Lankan authorities in Canada in dilemma

• Incident raised in Canada by Tamil rights activists 
• Sri  Lanka marks victory day today
• Sri Lanka alert whether Canadian PM will renew genocide allegations

By Kelum Bandara   

The recent arrest of four Tamils in the Eastern Province  over the commemoration of war dead has left Sri Lankan diplomatic  authorities in Canada in a precarious position in countering allegations  regarding human rights violations, a top source said.   

Canada is home to around 240,000 Tamils of Sri Lankan  origin, lobbying against the alleged human rights violations during wartime.  

An informed source said the latest incident in the  Eastern Province is raised in Canada by Tamil rights activists, and the  Sri Lankan government authorities are in a fix even being unable to  issue a rebuttal.   

Besides, Sri Lanka is alert whether Canadian Prime  Minister Justin Trudeau will renew genocide allegations against Sri  Lanka when the country marks victory day today. Sri Lanka ended the  civil war on May 18, 2009.   

However, Canada’s Parliament has voted to recognize May 18  as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day in 2022 though the Federal Government  of Canada has confirmed that what happened during the war in Sri Lanka  does not amount to genocide, a concept with a deeper and broader legal  meaning.   

When the Canadian Prime Minister made allegations last  year, the Sri Lankan government protested strongly. Foreign Minister  Ali Sabry summoned Canadian High Commissioner Eric Walsh and stated that  Mr. Trudeau’s “politically motivated statement was divisive and issued  for domestic political consumption”. “Sri Lanka vehemently rejects this  unsubstantiated allegation of ‘genocide’ relating to the country’s  almost three decades of terrorist conflict perpetuated by the LTTE,” the  statement issued last year said.