Canada rejects new Sri Lankan envoy

South Asia : Hindustan Times.com: "Canada has refused to accept former Defence Secretary Chandrananda de Silva as Sri Lanka's new High Commissioner in Ottawa on the grounds that there were allegations of human rights violations against him during his tenure as the head of Sri Lanka's defence ministry, according to The Sunday Times.

Informed sources told Hindustan Times that the Canadians used the term "reservations" while declining to accept de Silva's nomination.

It was not an outright rejection of a visa as was the case when the US refused entry to the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, against whom there were allegations of human rights violations.

Canada's reservations were in accordance with its Immigration Act according to which, entry could be denied to a person against whom there had been allegations of human rights violations, "whether proved or not".

Chandrananda de Silva had been Defence Secretary during Sri Lanka's lengthy war against the LTTE in the 1990s. At that time, the Sri Lankan armed forces came in for much international condemnation for human rights violations, though the LTTE's terror acts were also condemned and in 1998, the US went to the extent of banning it.

The Sunday Times quoted unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that in de Silva's case, the Canadian government was influenced by the powerful pro-LTTE Tamil lobby in Canada.

Canada is home to a very large number of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees and expatriates, who have become politically significant in some parts of the country.

To be fair to the Canadians, they have been even-handed as between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil rebels. In September 2004, Canada had refused to give visas to four MPs belonging to the pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance (TNA) who wanted to attend a Pongu Tamil or Tamil Awakening function in that country.

After tsunami struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004, the Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin came under pressure from the strong pro-LTTE or pro-Tamil lobby in his country to visit the disaster-struck areas under the control of the LTTE. But the Sri Lankan government put its foot down and indicated that it would not like this to happen, as it would be tantamount to legitimising the LTTE in the international arena.

Martin did visit Sri Lanka, but he avoided the LTTE-controlled areas in the north of the island, triggering great disappointment among the Tamils.

A further pressure on the LTTE is that the UN Security Council has before it a report from its own Special Envoy, Olara Otunnu, seeking sanctions against the LTTE for recruitment of children for its combat units. The Sunday Times has indicated the Sri Lankan government may still be hoping to get de Silva accepted in Ottawa, going by past experience.

In the 1980s, the Canadian government had rejected the name of former Army chief, Lt Gen Tissa "Bull" Weeratunga as High Commissioner. But the then Sri Lankan President JR Jayewardene stood his ground, and after a while, Canada relented and accepted Gen Wijetunga."