Canada expresses concern over Escalation of Hostilities in Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 August 2006, 05:01 GMT]
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Peter MacKay, in a statement on Tuesday expressed concern regarding the escalation of hostilities in Sri Lanka. Canadian Tamils held a rally in front of his ministry in the capital Ottawa, demanding immediate action by Canada, on Monday, after Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombed the Sencholai children home in Mullaithivu where tens of teenage school girls were killed and more than a hundred wounded.

“Canada is concerned by the escalation of hostilities in Sri Lanka between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). We call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and a return to negotiations,” he said in his statement.

“Canada believes that there can be no military solution to this lengthy conflict. Peace can only be achieved when all parties desist from violence and intimidation and seek a resolution to the conflict through negotiation. Canada continues to actively support the efforts of the co-chairs of the Tokyo Donor Conference in support of the Sri Lankan peace process, as well as the indispensable work of the Norwegian facilitator,” he further said in his statement.

Canadian Tamils declared a day of muorning on Tuesday, staging vigils in Ottawa and in four places in Toronto.