Ecumenical News International, Toronto]
The head of the Anglican Church of Canada has urged the Canadian prime minister to lead international efforts to protect the civil liberties of Sri Lankans following a government victory over the rebel Tamil Tigers.In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper dated June 23, Archbishop Fred Hiltz called on the Canadian government to respond generously to the humanitarian needs of Tamils in the island nation's Vanni district.Hiltz described the Vanni Tamils as "long deprived of basic commodities and securities, and more recently, exposed daily to the dangerous crossfire of (Sri Lankan) government and rebel forces."With as many as 200,000 Tamils living in Canada's largest city, Toronto is said to be home to the largest expatriate Tamil community outside Sri Lanka.In recent months, the city saw sometimes daily mass protests by Tamils, who appealed to the Canadian government to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to end its 25-year-long civil war with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Quoting observations from church partners in Sri Lanka, Hiltz also urged the Canadian government to seek assurance from Sri Lanka that it will protect the civil rights, safety and wellbeing of minority Tamils throughout the country."An impartial political culture will restore civilian administration, rule of law, and trust," says the letter.Hiltz also urged the Canadian government to take a leadership role in the reconciliation process, "aimed at addressing and dismantling the root causes of historic tensions between Sri Lanka's Sinhala and Tamil peoples."The BBC reported on June 25 that Indian authorities said Sri Lanka had agreed to accept a shipment of aid from Europe for Tamil civilians displaced in the final months of the civil war.The full text of Hiltz's letter is available here.
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