Posted: Friday, 8 May 2009

Canadian Labour Calls for Bolder Leadership by Canada Over Sri Lanka Conflict

The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has called for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka and for tens of thousands of civilians to be allowed to escape the shrinking strip of embattled coast land where Tamil militants and residents have been trapped.

The CLC President, Ken Georgetti, has called on Prime-Minister Harper to help build a coalition of countries to pressure Sri Lanka into halting hostilities and to take immediate steps to provide humanitarian aid.

The CLC commended Canada for being one of the first countries to call for a ceasefire, followed recently by Britain and France. President Georgetti feels there is enough momentum to enlist other countries and to bring the matter to the United Nations Security Council. Canada is home to the largest Tamil community outside of Sri Lanka, so it has a particular responsibility to act on this catastrophe by pushing for a peaceful resolution.
The UN has estimated that up to 100,000 civilians are trapped in a 20 square kilometre area, as the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan government seem headed for a final showdown, after a quarter-century of bloodshed.

President Georgetti said Canada should provide more leadership by pressing for a human-rights monitoring mission with other countries, in the weeks and months to come. "At the very least humanitarian workers must be allowed into the conflict zone without delay and journalists must have unrestricted right of access to the area ", he said.

Last week protests in Toronto have raised the profile of the plight of many citizens in Sri Lanka and of the need for our Government to be more vociferous about international action on the issue.