Talking with the Tamils

In the lead-up to last week’s rally in Ottawa when tens of thousands of members of Canada’s Tamil community jammed Parliament Hill—protesting the Sri Lankan government’s handling of a 25-year-long war—MPs from all parties were meeting with protesters behind closed doors. Although the NDP were the only party that addressed the crowd, the Liberals, Conservative and Bloc MPs met with Tamil supporters. According to Minister of State Foreign Affairs Peter Kent, his party has been engaged in talks “with a variety of members from the Sri Lankan community,” and will be as “engaged as we can be until the fighting stops.” Both sides, he says, are “responsible for the continuing humanitarian tragedy.”  

The Hill Times