Ontario Attorney General stated that the Act acknowledges publicly the atrocities committed on members of the Tamil Diaspora”
TORONTO, CANADA, June 8, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ —
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) congratulates Hon. Doug Downey the Attorney General of Ontario in his steadfast defence of Tamil Genocide Education Week Act, also known as Bill 104.
The Tamil Genocide Education Week Act proclaims the seven-day period in each year ending on May 18th as Tamil Genocide Education Week. During this week, Ontarians are encouraged to educate themselves about and maintain their awareness of, the Tamil genocide and other genocides that have occurred in world history.
In its defence, the Ontario Attorney General stated that the Act acknowledges publicly the atrocities committed on members of the Tamil Diaspora, many of whom currently live in Ontario and gives a sense of hope to those who have suffered. The Tamil community in Ontario is one of the largest concentrations of Tamils outside South and Southeast Asia.
The Act that was unanimously passed by the Ontario’s Legislative Assembly on May 21, 2021, has been challenged before the Superior Court of Ontario on the grounds that, the Government of Canada did not officially recognize the genocide of Tamils.
The Attorney General in his defence of the Bill, which has been challenged before the, quoted from legislative history and stated–
‘Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, and a Nobel laureate, famously said, “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” The final stage of genocide is the destruction of memory, the denial of wrongdoing, and the burial of evidence’ …and
“Memoricide,” a term coined by Mirko Grmek, is something regimes engage in in order to eliminate the dark periods of history and, so to speak, rewrite history.’
Earlier in May this year a motion was unanimously passed by the Canadian House of Commons, recognizing the Genocide of Tamils and establishing May 18th of each year as Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day. The TGTE also welcomes this historic motion and hopes this will be a catalyst for similar motions or Resolutions; in Parliaments, Provincial/State legislatures, and local councils around the world.
“It is crucial that we remember past atrocities that have forever altered our human history’ said the TGTE in its statement.
The TGTE also congratulates Gary Anandasangaree, the Member of Parliament for Scarborough Rouge Park, who brought the above motion to the House of Commons for his consensus-building capacity.
“As stated by Mr. Anandasangaree, Canada becomes the first National Parliament in the world to recognize the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, …and pursuant to Canadian parliament 2019 motion which calls for an international investigation Canada should take a lead for accountability to Tamil Genocide in the International Court of Justice,” said Roy Wignarajah TGTE’s minister for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities.
In his Mullivaikal Memorial Lectures on May 18 this year, Honorable Armen Sarkission, former President of Armenia, also stressed that the recognition of Mullivaikal genocide is essential to move forward.
- ABOUT THE TRANSNATIONAL GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL EELAM (TGTE):
The Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE) is a democratically elected Government of over a million strong Tamils (from the island of Sri Lanka) living in several countries around the world.
TGTE was formed after the mass killing of Tamils by the Sri Lankan Government in 2009.
TGTE thrice held internationally supervised elections among Tamils around the world to elect 135 Members of Parliament. It has two chambers of Parliament: The House of Representatives and the Senate and also a Cabinet.
TGTE is leading a campaign to realize the political aspirations of Tamils through peaceful, democratic, and diplomatic means and its Constitution mandates that it should realize its political objectives only through peaceful means. It’s based on the principles of nationhood, homeland and self-determination.
TGTE seeks that the international community hold the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against the Tamil people to account. TGTE calls for a referendum to decide the political future of Tamils.
The Prime Minister of TGTE is Mr. Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, a New York based lawyer.
Email: pmo@tgte.org Web: www.tgte-us.org Twitter: @TGTE_PMO
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