“Terror’s Lawfare” by Fathima Cader (The New Inquiry)

Reading Canada’s and Sri Lanka’s anti-terror acts reveals the need for comparative and cross-jurisdictional resistance to globally self-justifying discourses of “terror”

LAST fall, when drafts first leaked of Sri Lanka’s new and draconian Counter Terrorism Act (CTA), the uproar was swift, but mostly contained to experts on the island. This should not have surprised me. Sri Lanka’s homegrown war on terror has only skimmed the surface of national security political commentary in the West. And yet, having recently returned from Sri Lanka to Canada, I was struck by the CTA’s similarities with Canada’s own new Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA). Across the two countries, the outcry from local activists resounded with echoes: both pointed out the many ways that the new laws dramatically extended and confused already nebulous state definitions of terrorism, casting dragnets over broad forms of dissent. These laws were unconstrained by borders; if we are to survive this era of war without end, our solidarities will need to be no less transnational.”

to read more see : https://thenewinquiry.com/terrors-lawfare/

Soutenance de thèse “Le rituel funéraire hindou en contexte diasporique : rite de passage et rite d’ancrage. La communauté tamoule d’origine sri-lankaise de Montréal et Toronto.” par Mark Bradley, Le vendredi 22 avril 2016 à 9h30, à l’UQAM, salle A-5020

Mark Bradley, doctorant et enseignant au département des sciences des religions de l’Université de Québec à Montréal et chercheur du Centre d’Etudes sur l’Inde, l’Asie du Sud et sa diaspora (CEIAS) soutiendra sa thèse portant sur “le rituel funéraire hindou en contexte diasporique : rite de passage et rite d’ancrage. La communauté tamoule d’origine sri-lankaise de Montréal et Toronto” le vendredi 22 avril 2016. La soutenance se se déroulera à partir de 9h30 à l’UQAM en salle A-5020.

L’entrée est gratuite

“Canadian Tamil Congress Urges Tamils of North&East Sri Lanka to Give a Strong Mandate to the Tamil National Alliance”

(Text of a Press Statement Issued by the Canadian Tamil Congress on August 7th 2015)

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) strongly urges Tamils and all citizens of Sri Lanka to exercise their right to vote at the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

The presidential election of January 8th, 2015 was a turning point in the recent political history of Sri Lanka. Voters turned up in large numbers and voted for change and a new beginning.

While Canada and other members of the international community acknowledged and welcomed these changes it is the duty of all responsible Sri Lankan citizens to ensure that these tenuous beginnings are consolidated without giving any chance for their reversal.

Although many issues of the Tamil people including land rights, political prisoners and disappearances were not addressed as expected, the election did bring about early signs of goodwill, as reflected in some actions that were taken by the current government. CTC believes that these positive developments, together with new-found political optimism, can be further strengthened after the August election.

The resolution of the Tamil problem will invariably involve meaningful negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka, the elected representatives of the Tamil people, and other relevant stakeholders. In this context, Parliamentarians elected by the Tamil people will have a major role to play. One strong united voice speaking for Tamils will have a significant impact at these negotiations.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), under the responsible and experienced leadership of Mr. R. Sampanthan, has earned the recognition and respect of not only the Tamil people, but also other community representatives in Sri Lanka and international community members like Canada, USA and India. He has carefully and consistently articulated the concerns, grievances and aspirations of the Tamil people

CTC works closely with TNA, and our partnership has been crucial in some of the diplomatic achievements made in Canada as well as at the UNHRC in Geneva. TNA’s Secretary for Legal and Foreign Affairs, Mr. M.A. Sumanthiran’s advocacy skills, experience and expertise has been beneficial to both CTC and TNA when meeting various government officials in Canada, Geneva and other parts of the world.

CTC firmly believes that a strong mandate given to the TNA to represent Tamils in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka will strengthen our position during negotiations. Together with a victory for the progressive forces that advocate democracy and good governance in the South, the chances of achieving a negotiated political resolution, accountability and sustainable reconciliation in Sri Lanka will more likely become a reality.

source: http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/42527

” Sun Sea anniversary highlights Canada’s treatment of refugees” by Sunny Dhillon

Suren Karththikesu remembers the cheers when migrants on board the MV Sun Sea first spotted the Canadian flag. The 492 Sri Lankan Tamils had been at sea for three months, on a dangerous voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The flag, hung from a navy vessel that would help escort the Sun Sea to the British Columbia shore five years ago this week, offered the passengers new lives away from the civil war that had ravaged their home country.

see: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/sun-sea-anniversary-highlights-canadas-treatment-of-refugees/article25900878/

“Riots helped to define Canada’s Tamil community” by Kumaran Nadesan

Thirty-two years ago on Friday, anti-Tamil riots burned a hole into the South Asian island nation of Sri Lanka that it still struggles to close. For many of us in the Canadian Tamil diaspora, it is an emotional reminder of not only what we had lost in Sri Lanka but also what we have gained in Canada in return

see: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/07/23/riots-helped-to-define-canadas-tamil-community.html

“The Cultural, the Nominal, and the Secular: The Social Reality of Religious Identity Among Sri Lankan Tamil Youth in Canada” by Amarnath Amarasingam

You could find below a link to download Amarnath Amarasingam’s chapter on “The Cultural, the Nominal, and the Secular: The Social Reality of Religious Identity Among Sri Lankan Tamil Youth in Canada.”

via: https://www.academia.edu/9919491/The_Cultural_the_Nominal_and_the_Secular_The_Social_Reality_of_Religious_Identity_Among_Sri_Lankan_Tamil_Youth_in_Canada

“The people smugglers Is the tough application of Canada’s immigration laws justified?” by Aljazeera

In August 2010 a ship called the MV Sun Sea reached Canada carrying nearly 500 Sri Lankan Tamils – a journey organised by people smugglers. After having spent 52 days out on sea, hidden deep in the belly of the cargo vessel, the Tamils had finally reached their destination.

It wasn’t the first ship with Tamil asylum seekers to have arrived into Canadian waters. Ten months earlier, the MV Ocean Lady, had brought 76 Tamil passengers. All of them said they were fleeing their homeland at the end of Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE) by government forces.”

On People & Power we follow the arrival of two boats with Tamil refugees in Canada and asks whether the tough application of Canada’s immigration laws, resulting in many potential deportations, is justified.”

via: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2014/07/people-smugglers-20147239276629601.html and http://bcove.me/pcim3lnb

 

source: Aljazeera

“Canada Suspends Voluntary Commonwealth Funds” by international.gc.ca

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today announced that Canada will suspend its voluntary contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat and reallocate the funds for the next two years.

“As host of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and current Chair in Office, Sri Lanka has a duty to take meaningful action on human rights, political reconciliation and accountability. However, Sri Lanka has failed to realize progress on any of these issues,” said Baird. “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Canada took a strong and principled stand in not attending the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, and today’s announcement is an extension of that leadership.

Via http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2014/04/14c.aspx

Émissions sur la communauté québécoise tamoule hindoue originaire du Sri Lanka sur la chaine télé Art Tv les 11, 12 et 13 février 2014

La chaîne télé Art Tv diffuse ces jours-ci une émission sur la communauté québécoise tamoule hindoue originaire du Sri Lanka tournée à l’occasion de la fête annuelle du temple Thiru Murugan.

 La série s’intitule Voulez-vous fêter ? et l’émission a pour titre La fête du char.

La première a eu lieu hier soir et elle sera présentée en reprise à divers moments au cours des prochains jours : 

Mardi 11.02 à 19h00 / Mercredi 12.02 à 11h00 / et Jeudi 13.02 à 06h00 

 Voici le site web du producteur :  http://voulezvousfeter.artv.ca/episode-la-fete-du-char-5

 Et le site web de l’émission :  http://ici.artv.ca/emissions/voulez-vous-feter

“Femmes, ethnicité et religion : la communauté tamoule hindoue du Sri Lanka à Montréal” par Catherine St-Germain Lefebvre

Nous avons le plaisir de partager un lien pour télécharger le mémoire  de Catherine St-Germain Lefebvre qui porte sur “Femmes, ethnicité et religion : la communauté tamoule hindoue du Sri Lanka à Montréal”. Ce travail à été réalisé dans le cadre d’une maîtrise en sciences des religions à l’université du Québec à Montréal.

Résumé

Convaincue que les femmes, de par leur rôle dans les rapports sociaux de sexe, ont un rôle important à jouer dans la transmission de l’identité ethnique aux jeunes générations, nous avons voulu, dans ce mémoire, mettre à jour ce phénomène tel qu’il se déploie dans la communauté tamoule du Sri Lanka immigrée à Montréal. La perspective féministe en influence la trame de fond, contribuant à orienter le choix du sujet ainsi que son traitement. Ce mémoire est le fruit d’une recherche exploratoire de type qualitatif. Il repose sur un terrain de recherche mené au temple hindou Thiru Murugan situé à Dollard-des-Ormeaux, municipalité de l’ouest de l’île de Montréal. Il a pour objectif de définir la contribution spécifique de femmes de cette communauté à la « production de l’ethnicité » tamoule, au sens entendu par la sociologue des relations ethniques, Danielle Juteau. Ce mémoire s’appuie sur un cadre théorique contribuant à jeter les bases d’une définition sociologique de l’ethnicité, où non seulement le rôle des femmes dans sa production/reproduction est mise de l’avant, mais où se dégage également l’importance de la composante religieuse dans l’affirmation ethnique, particulièrement en contexte migratoire. Cette recherche analyse d’une part la perception du rôle des femmes dans les rapports de sexe tels qu’ils se déploient dans la communauté tamoule montréalaise et telle qu’elle a été exprimée par les personnes interrogées dans le cadre de cette étude. Il s’attarde d’autre part à l’implication des femmes de cette communauté dans la transmission de la langue, de la religion et de la culture. Ce mémoire démontre que les idéaux associés à la conception de la féminité influencent à· maints égards le rôle des femmes dans les rapports sociaux de sexe à l’oeuvre dans la communauté étudiée. Ce rôle amène celles-ci à s’impliquer activement dans la transmission de leur identité ethnique auprès des générations nées au Québec. De plus, la pratique religieuse jouant un rôle important dans la formation identitaire de nos répondant(e)s, la dimension religieuse est omniprésente dans le bagage ethnique transmis par les femmes aux jeunes générations. Par leur travail actif et conscient lié à la transmission de la langue, de la culture et de la religion aux jeunes de la communauté, ces femmes participent activement à reproduire les frontières ethniques de leur communauté et contribuent, par cela, à la « production de l’ethnicité » tamoule hindoue du Sri Lanka en contexte québécois.

lien pour télécharger le mémoire: http://www.archipel.uqam.ca/1168/1/M10512.pdf

Référence: St-Germain Lefebvre, C., (2008), « Femmes, ethnicité et religion : la communauté tamoule hindoue du Sri Lanka à Montréal » Mémoire. Montréal (Québec, Canada), Université du Québec à Montréal, Maîtrise en sciences des religions.

source: http://www.archipel.uqam.ca/1168/

“A History of Tamil Diaspora Politics in Canada: Organisational Dynamics and Negotiated Order, 1978-2013” Amarnath Amarasingam

This paper sets out to examine Sri Lankan Tamil diasporic mobilization in Canada in its various organisational forms, from the late 1970s to the present. Even as there is much talk about the Canadian Tamil diaspora, the largest population of Sri Lankan Tamils outside of Sri Lanka itself, there is, maybe quite surprisingly, very little actually written about organisational dynamics in the community. In attempting to fill this gap in the research, this paper makes several inter-related arguments: first, far from being monolithic or homogenous, Tamil diaspora politics in Canada is constantly in flux. Second, with respect to issues of reconciliation among ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, as well as economic and social development, the diaspora’s role is ambiguous at best. What is clear, however, is that in the post-war period, the “organisational field” has become quite diverse, and the diaspora’s role in reconciliation and economic development is being openly and actively debated and criticized. I begin by providing a brief overview of scholarly debates surrounding the definition of “diaspora” as well as a snapshot of the Canadian Tamil community, before examining the pre and post 2009 organisational dynamics.

via: http://fr.scribd.com/doc/191980947/A-History-of-Tamil-Diaspora-Politics-in-Canada-Organisational-Dynamics-and-Negotiated-Order-1978-2013-Amarnath-Amarasingam

source: ICES Research Paper

“Sri Lanka: Postwar Tamil Activism in Canada” by Daniel Kitts

As part of this week’s online series on Sri Lanka, theagenda.tvo.org had a conversation with members of Canada’s Tamil community about Sri Lanka’s postwar present and future.

Canada’s Tamil community is large but its internal political debates and activism on the Sri Lanka issue is often poorly understood to anyone on the outside.

To better understand Canadian Tamil political activism and how it has evolved since Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, I spoke with Amarnath Amarasingam, a postdoctoral fellow at York University’s Centre for Refugee Studies, who has researched the issue of Tamil activism in Canada.

via: http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/sri-lanka-postwar-tamil-activism-canada

source: theagenda.tvo.org

Some discussions on Sri Lanka, CHOGM, and the Canadian diaspora

The Agenda with Steve Paikin and producer Daniel Kitts have focused all week on discussing Sri Lanka’s efforts to emerge from decades of civil war in a series of online conversations. They are below.

Sri Lanka: Human Rights Update (http://bit.ly/1anNmjc)
Sri Lanka and Responsible Tourism (http://bit.ly/18s8WA2)
Sri Lanka: The Island Nation’s Muslims (http://bit.ly/18tiRoO)
Sri Lanka: Harper, Tamils and Canadian Immigration Policies (http://bit.ly/1auWC52)
Sri Lanka: Canada’s Sinhalese (http://bit.ly/1btkTGn)
Sri Lanka: Canada’s Tamils (http://bit.ly/1aviHR6)
Sri Lanka: Postwar Tamil Activism in Canada (http://bit.ly/1dAqFsL)

“Double standards in the Commonwealth?” by Source: Al Jazeera

So, given these precedents, should Sri Lanka have been suspended? And are Commonwealth nations guilty of hypocrisy?

To discuss this, Inside Story, with presenter Jane Dutton, is joined by guests: KC Singh, a former Indian diplomat and strategic affairs expert; Alan Keenan, the Sri Lanka project director for the International Crisis Group; and Kalinga Seneviratne, a Sri Lankan journalist, broadcaster and researcher.

Via http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2013/11/double-standards-commonwealth-2013111171544530605.html

Source: Al Jazeera

“Canadian facing U.S. terrorism charges pleads guilty to aiding Tamil Tigers” by Adrian Humphreys

“On Tuesday afternoon, in a near-empty courtroom in Brooklyn, Suresh Sriskandarajah admitted he provided support to the Tigers knowing it was designated as a terrorist group, saying he met his co-accuseds while visiting Sri Lanka.”

via: http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/07/02/canadian-facing-u-s-terrorism-charges-pleads-guilty-to-aiding-tamil-tigers/

 

source: http://news.nationalpost.com