COLOMBO – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a statement marking the 40th anniversary of the Black July pogrom of 1938 sympathized with victims and their loved ones, weeks after Sri Lanka’s foreign minister summoned the Canadian high commissioner over a separate statement by the PM.

In his Black July commemoration statement issued on Sunday (23), Trudeau said his government stays committed to building a future “free of hate”.

“Last year, the Parliament of Canada unanimously adopted the motion to make May 18 Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day, which was marked for the first time this year. And today, we continue to call for accountability for human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka,” Trudeau said.

“Forty years ago, in July 1983, an onslaught of horrific anti-Tamil pogroms were carried out across Sri Lanka. They took the lives of thousands, and many more were injured, displaced, and subjected to sexual violence. The brutality of Black July escalated tensions in what became a decades-long armed conflict that led to the death of tens of thousands of people, and trauma that communities continue to endure today,” the prime minister said.

“On this sombre day, we join Tamil-Canadians and Tamil communities around the world to remember the victims, honour the survivors, and recommit ourselves to always stand against hate and violence,” he added.

Trudeau said Canada will never stop standing up for human rights and that it will continue to help address the needs of the most vulnerable communities amidst the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka.

“Diversity will always be one of Canada’s greatest strengths. In the aftermath of Black July, when many were forced from their country, the Government of Canada established a Special Measures program in 1983, and 1,800 Tamil people chose to come to Canada to build a new life – creating one of the largest Tamil diasporas in the world.

“Yesterday, and also over the years as Prime Minister, I had the opportunity to meet with many Tamil-Canadians to hear their tragic memories of Black July, join them in honouring the memories of those lost, and thank them for the many important contributions they have made – and continue to make – to our country,” he said.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I extend my deepest sympathies to all those who have suffered and lost loved ones during Black July and the violence that followed, and I reaffirm our commitment to building a future free of hate,” he added.

In a separate statement on May 18, Prime Minister Trudeau said tens of thousands of Tamils lost their lives, including at an alleged massacre in Mullivaikal, with many more missing, injured, or displaced. He explained the reasons for the Canadian Parliament adopting the motion to make May 18 ‘Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day’”.

“Minister Sabry stated that the politically motivated statement was divisive and was issued for domestic political consumption in Canada,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Sri Lanka vehemently rejects this unsubstantiated allegation of ‘genocide’ relating to the country’s almost 3 decades of terrorist conflict perpetuated by the LTTE,” it said referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE).

-economynext.com