Reader Comment on Sri Lanka (letter to People's Voice)

Reader comment on Sri Lanka

(Letter to People's Voice October 16-31, 2011)

I am gravely concerned about the Labour Day issue’s article “Indian Communists Debate Tamil Issue” in the People’s Voice which states “Sri Lanka’s Tamils were largely brought from Tamil Nadu by the British as labourers.” Even the chauvinist Sri Lankan government’s own census shows this is simply not true, the last complete census (1989) shows Tamils who had been in Sri Lanka since ancient times outnumbered Tamils brought by the British from India by over 2 to 1 (2.1 million vs under 1 million). As the CPI(M)’s Ramdass discussed in his article “Developments in Sri Lanka” in the theoretical journal The Marxist (Vol. 3, No. 2, April-June 1985)  “The Jaffna Tamils had emigrated to Sri Lanka, then Ceylon, about 2000 years ago”. The root of the problem is that the Sinhalese consider Sri Lanka to be their country where the Tamils have no business to be.”

Unfortunately the People’s Voice article not only suggests a misrepresentation of the position of the Indian Communist Parties, let alone facts on the ground, but does so in a way that plays right into the hands of the most reactionary chauvinists.

As Ramdass explains, “What is generally referred to as the `ethnic problem’ is in fact the problem of a minority nationality - the Sri Lanka Tamil people - whose aspirations and legitimate demands have been denied by the ruling classes.” Although the Indian communists are against Tamil separation,

Ramdass explains who has true responsibility for this demand: “But it should not be forgotten that it is the refusal of successive bourgeois-landlord governments to concede autonomy to the Tamil majority areas, the breaking or scuttling and again of agreements arrived at that finally brought the separatist slogan to the forefront.”

Two years ago thousands of Tamils, some waving LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elaam) flags, blockaded highways in Toronto to bring attention to the genocidal war (CPI Tamil Nadu state secretary D. Pandian called it that in the party’s New Age Weekly Jul. 9, 2011 “CPI for Solidarity with Sri Lankan Tamils”), concentration-camp roundups of the Tamil people and, whether one agrees with them or not, the leading force for their national liberation which is the LTTE.

The Canadian government targets for deportation Tamils who have ties to the LTTE and the struggle for national liberation. We must refrain from any dodges on the facts of nationhood and the principle of self-determination, whether abroad or in Canada.

Asad Ali, Niagara Falls, ON

Selected Coverage of St. Catharines Communist Campaign for 2011 Federal Election

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?archive=true&e=3325619

"NDP and Greens Proud of Campaigns"

(and Communists too!) by Erica Bajer of the St. Catharines Standard, some quotes:

St. Catharines Communist Party candidate Saleh Waziruddin said his campaign was successful because he managed to raise his party's profile in the community.

He said he didn't have a goal in terms of number of votes but instead a target of gaining ground in contacts and awareness.

"People are definitely looking for solutions that are beyond what the big parties are putting forward," he said.

Waziruddin said he's proud that he was able to add to the debate on important issues including health care, the economy and the HST.

"The Communist Party campaign has been farther ahead on the issues," he said. "I feel very happy."

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3329599
"Bradley found students a tougher sell than adult voters"

by Jeff Bolichowski of the St. Catharines Standard, lists the 10% Communist Party vote in the St. Catharines Student Vote elections.

Striving to be heard (Niagara This Week)

Liz Rowley knows she won't form the next provincial government, but she is working tirelessly to at least raise awareness for her party. The Ontario Communist Party leader stopped by the St. Catharines Public Library's Central Branch on Oct. 1, to support St. Catharines candidate Saleh Waziriddin, one of nine Communist Party candidates vying for election Oct. 6. Rowley says the tour to the various ridings, which include larger cities such as Toronto, Guelph, Ottawa and Hamilton, is a good chance to raise awareness about the party and educate voters about the platform. "We won't be forming the next government," said Rowley. "We want to let people know who we are and what we're about." That's an important facet, said Rowley, who just days before her visit spent time picketing outside the offices of TVO in Toronto, to protest the exclusion of the Communist Party from TVO's election coverage. The Communists were also shut out from local debates, including St. Catharines, where Waziriddin wasn't invited to a St. Catharines-Thorold Chamber of Commerce-sponsored debate. "They are infringing on our rights to be heard," said Rowley, adding the electors have a right to see and hear from all of the parties on the ballot. "The public depends on them for accurate news and coverage of elections." She said the Communist Party meets the provincially legislated number of having at least two candidates, so she feels they have a right to be heard. For those who are hearing the Communist message, Rowley said they are listening with an "open ear." She said voters are opening their minds to the party's platform to try to curb corporate power, and create good jobs for people. "We're the party of the working people," she said. "We want to put peoples' needs in front of corporate greed." That would include, she said, repealing corporate tax cuts for the "giant corporations", such as the big banks, and trying to promote economic growth for the smaller and medium businesses out there. The party is about more than economic issues, she stresses. They also promote expanding social services and building housing, would rescind the HST, and they would introduce progressive tax reform based on the ability to pay. Rowley applauds the efforts of Waziriddin this election. Among his more notable issues addressed in the riding this election, was stepping up during a health debate and saying he feels public elected officials should be accountable for the 35 recent deaths from hospital-acquired infections in Niagara, as they were warned of this danger by nurses and unions. She said the candidates running across the province are strong, but feels the electoral system in Ontario works against them. She calls the first-past-the-post system "skewed", saying voters hesitate to vote for candidates in some of the fringe parties, even if they support them, on the basis that their party won't be voted to office. She does hope voters will consider the Communist Party on Oct. 6, however. "It sends a very strong message," she said. "People want change."

Credit: Scott Rosts, staff; srosts@grimsbylincolnnews.com

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