A high-level delegation from the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) has called on Canada to use its diplomatic influence to push Sri Lanka on accountability for alleged atrocities committed during the country's civil war.
The delegation, led by ITAK parliamentarian Sivagnanam Shritharan, raised the accountability issue directly with senior officials from the Canadian Foreign Ministry during formal talks, urging Ottawa to take a firmer stance with the Sri Lankan government on the matter.
Longstanding Concerns Over Wartime Accountability
The question of accountability for alleged human rights violations during the final stages of Sri Lanka's decades-long civil war has remained a deeply contentious issue, drawing sustained attention from Tamil diaspora communities, foreign governments, and international human rights bodies.
ITAK, one of the principal Tamil political parties in Sri Lanka, has consistently advocated for independent international investigations into alleged war crimes, arguing that domestic mechanisms have repeatedly fallen short of delivering justice for victims.
Diplomatic Engagement with Ottawa
The delegation's engagement with Canadian foreign ministry officials reflects a broader strategy by Tamil political representatives to internationalise accountability demands and secure the backing of influential nations with significant Tamil diaspora populations.
Canada is home to one of the largest Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora communities in the world, and the issue carries considerable political weight within Canadian domestic politics as well.
The Sri Lankan government has yet to formally respond to the latest round of calls prompted by the ITAK delegation's visit to Canada.
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Canada has its own problems, why they getting involved in our issues
both sides did wrong things in that war, why only one side being questioned
running to foreign countries again instead of sorting it out here
what else can they do, our goverment wont listen no