The Canadian NDP MP for Scarborough-Rouge River, Rathika Sitsabaiesan, condemned the arrests and attacks on Jaffna university students by Sri Lankan security forces as a "clear assault on freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and breach of human rights" and asserted it was "completely unacceptable".
In a statement published on Friday in English and Tamil, Sitsabaiesan called on the Canadian government to make clear to Sri Lanka that the international community "will not tolerate these oppressive measures".
"In Canada, our government must work with our partners in the international community to pressure the Sri Lankan Government to improve its treatment of Tamils and bring those responsible for this violation of human rights to justice. Holding individuals without charging them, along with having no clear evidence linking them to any alleged crime is inexcusable."
In a separate statement, Wayne Marston of the NDP urged that the "Sri Lankan Government must ensure an end to attacks by security forces against students and peaceful demonstrators and ensure those responsible are brought to justice."
