Letter from the Citizens of Sri Lanka to the Government and People of Canada: Erect monument for Canada’s Genocide against Indigenous Peoples

To the Prime Minister and Members of the Canadian Parliament,

We, the citizens of Sri Lanka, write to express deep concern over the growing political narrative emerging from Canada that seeks to label Sri Lanka with charges of genocide—without credible legal basis, independent verification, or contextual understanding. These allegations are largely promoted by LTTE-affiliated diaspora groups and run counter to global counterterrorism designations of the LTTE as one of the world’s most brutal terrorist organizations.

 

We respectfully ask: How can a country with an unresolved history of its own genocide—against its First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples—sit in judgment of others without first reconciling its own past and present injustices?

 

Canada’s Indigenous Genocide: A Documented and Ongoing Crime

 

• Colonial Seizure: Canada is a settler-colonial state. Indigenous peoples have lived in what is now called Canada for over12,000 years. European colonization began in the late 1400s, with permanent French and British settlement from the early 1600s. Over centuries, Indigenous land was systematically seized, cultures suppressed, and treaties violated. Euro-Christian settler institutions were imposed without consent, undermining native governance and sovereignty.

• Residential Schools (1880s–1996): More than150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in church-run residential schools aimed at cultural erasure. Over 6,000 children are believed to have died from abuse, starvation, neglect, or disease. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) labelled this a form of cultural genocide—recent mass graves only confirm its horror.

• Indian Act (1876–Present): This colonial-era legislation still exists. It strips Indigenous autonomy, imposes federally controlled councils, governs land rights, and defines legal “status” in a way that sustains systemic marginalization.

• Poverty, Incarceration, and Water Crises: Indigenous people compriseover 30% of Canada’s prison population, despite making up less than 5% of the total. Dozens of First Nations communities still lack access to clean water, proper housing, and health services—shocking in a G7 democracy.

• MMIWG Genocide Declaration: A 2019 National Inquiry officially declared thatCanada’s treatment of Indigenous women and girls constitutes genocide, citing systemic neglect, racism, and failure of justice institutions.

 

Sri Lanka’s Record: A Contrast in Democratic Maturity

• Universal Franchise Since 1931: Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) granted universal suffrage to all adults—men and women—regardless of ethnicity, decades before Canada (1940 for women, 1960 for status Indians).

• No Apartheid Laws: Sri Lanka has no equivalent to Canada’s Indian Act. Tamils have held the nation’s highest offices, including Chief Justice, Central Bank Governor, Foreign Minister, and Leader of the Opposition.

• Victory Over Terrorism: The Sri Lankan military defeated theLTTE, not the Tamil people. The LTTE was globally banned for suicide bombings, use of child soldiers, and civilian massacres. Over 300,000 Tamil civilians were rescued, not killed. Did these LTTE affiliated groups prevent a single Tamil child being turned into a child soldier by LTTE over 3 decades?

 

Hypocrisy in Canada’s Foreign Policy

Is Canada’s vocal support for LTTE-aligned narratives rooted in human rights—or vote-bank politics in Tamil diaspora-heavy electorates like Ontario and British Columbia?

Consider Patrick Brown, disqualified from the 2022 Canadian Conservative leadership race amid finance irregularities tied to promises of Tamil jobs and recognition of “Tamil genocide.” As Brampton Mayor, he funded the Tamil Genocide Memorial, promoting a biased narrative that aligns with pro-LTTE groups—not human rights principles.

The same diaspora circles support both the Khalistan separatist movement and LTTE commemorations—an alarming convergence of radical ideologies Canada allows on its soil.

 

Tamil Genocide Education Week – Indoctrination, Not Education

In 2021, the Ontario Legislative Assembly passed a bill institutionalizing Tamil Genocide Education Week, which mandates teaching children an unverified, politicized narrative as historical fact. This initiative:

• Whitewashes LTTE terrorism.
• Rewrites history through a distorted lens.
• Pressures educators and students to conform to a diaspora-driven myth, not historical reality.

No credible international tribunal has declared a genocide in Sri Lanka. Teaching this narrative in schools violates educational neutrality and truth.

 

Double Standards in Sanctions Policy

Canada has placed unjust sanctions on decorated Sri Lankan military leaders—individuals who led the humanitarian rescue of civilians from a ruthless terror group. These are war heroes, not war criminals.

 

Meanwhile, Canadian institutions that oversaw the systematic abuse, death, and cultural destruction of Indigenous children remain largely unpunished.

This double standard reveals that Canada’s moral posturing is not rooted in justice—but in diaspora appeasement and geopolitical expedience.

 

A Call for Reflection and Honesty

Before Canada lectures others on reconciliation and justice, we urge your government to:

• Acknowledge your genocide as genocide (not only is there evidence of past atrocities, there is also evidence of ongoing atrocities & discriminations against Canada
• Uplift Indigenous communities beyond symbolic gestures.
• Cease endorsing diaspora-driven propaganda that distorts Sri Lanka’s history.
• End sanctions on Sri Lanka’s war heroes and restore foreign policy integrity.

 

Until then, moral credibility must be earned—not assumed.

Instead of erecting monuments for terrorists, Canada must honor the actual victims of its own genocide—the Indigenous children and communities who were stripped of life, language, land, and dignity. In the absence of this, we would like to propose:

 

Shenali D Waduge

On behalf of Concerned Citizens of Sri Lanka