[ TamilCanadian ] - [ Sep 30, 2011 16:46 GMT ]
Liberal Party member of Parliament for Scarborough—Agincourt, Hon. Jim Karygiannis and New Democratic Party member of parliament Ms. Rathika Sitsabaiesan representing Scarborough—Rouge River and requested the prime minister to urge the Commonwealth to revoke Sri Lanka's membership until it holds the war crime perpetrators to account and to urge the international community to take action against Sri Lanka.
Here is the transcript of the debate which was taken place on September 29th, Thursday – 2011 and answered by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. John Baird .
Ms. Rathika Sitsabaiesan (Scarborough—Rouge River, NDP):
Mr. Speaker, last night, I joined MPs from all parties in hosting a screening of the documentary, Sri Lanka's Killing Fields . It moved me, as it did everyone else there.
Sadly, Canada and the rest of the world has stood idly by for far too long. Human rights organizations around the world are calling upon the United Nations to launch an independent inquiry into the possibility of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sri Lanka.
A Conservative MP helped sponsor the event last night. Will his government now stand in the House today and finally commit to fighting for justice for Sri Lankans and call for a United Nations inquiry?
Hon. John Baird (Minister of Foreign Affairs, CPC):
Mr. Speaker, we did not sit idly by at the United Nations on Monday where I brought the plight of human rights violations to the floor of the General Assembly. The Prime Minister did not sit idly by when he expressed grave concern about attending a future summit of the Commonwealth in Colombo. We did not sit idly by when we spoke with the high commissioner to Sri Lanka and raised our concerns. I did not sit idly by last week when I met with the foreign minister of Sri Lanka to express our significant concerns.
We have not sat idly by. We will continue to stand up, do the right thing and fight for human rights around the world, especially in Sri Lanka.
Source:Parliament Debate
Screening of "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields":
Courtesy: TamilCanadian
Published on: Sep 30, 2011 16:46 GMT
Published on: Sep 30, 2011 16:46 GMT
The Channel 4 TV trail promoting Sri Lanka's Killing Fields
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