Yesterday, in collaboration with police and out of concern for public safety, Liberal Party officials intervened to help end the demonstration by Tamils on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto. The protest had blocked the highway and put the safety of the protesters and innocent bystanders -- including women and small children -- at risk.
At no point did Liberal Members of Parliament or staff participate in yesterday's protest.
Our Party has raised, and will continue to raise, the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka in the House of Commons. We will continue to demand action by the Canadian government to address the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka.
But the Liberal Party of Canada stands firmly against terrorism, and I restate our unequivocal condemnation of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
I urge Canadian Tamils to continue raising this issue publicly, and to give it the attention it deserves. But I implore them to do so legally and safely, by working with their elected representatives and through legal means of protest, and not through demonstrations that put public safety at risk.
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
3 comments:
James,
Just wondering, if it was a pro-Hamas rally instead of a pro-Tiger one, would you be ok with Michael playing the same role?
I am a LIberal but I have to say, this creeps me out.
Good question and I think if Michael had said that Hamas was a terrorist organziation but that the needs of Palestians affected by war should be recognized I would be ok with it -- because that's all true. The question, the subtext, is was this a "pro-Tigers" rally -- if so then I do have a real issue -- if it was just Tamils trying to seek (incorrectly) public awareness...
I would have liked to see everybody who brought a child or baby there charged with endangerment. If hundreds were willing to be arrested, I would take their cause more seriously. They cannot be seen as any better than terrorists if they close roads, show aggressive flags and chant in favour of the Tigers
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