The residents of Toronto are not heartless, nor are they unsympathetic to the cause of the Tamils. The truth is that most Torontonians don’t know what is going on in Sri Lanka and have little to no understanding of the plight of the Tamils. They are however more than a bit bewildered about what the constant disruptions by protesters in downtown Toronto is going to accomplish.

The reality is that although Toronto is the financial capital of Canada, no foreign policy is made here. In spite of the fact that the GTA is home to 200,000 Tamils, the largest Tamil community outside Sri Lanka, protesting in Toronto will do nothing to further their cause. Dalton McGuinty is powerless on the foreign stage, as are all provincial premiers. Requests for government intervention in foreign affairs must be taken to Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the nation’s capital, not in the streets of Toronto. Protesting in front of the U.S. Embassy on University Avenue will accomplish nothing except to cause chaos for Torontonians and block access to hospital row. Closing the Gardiner Expressway with children in tow was unconscionable. Arrange for busses for the Tamil protesters and take them to Ottawa and Washington where their voices will be heard and hopefully make a difference in their homeland.

The plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka has been compared to the genocide in Rwanda. The world shamelessly stood by and did nothing. Let’s hope that we have learned from that lesson and that the major powers in the world play an active role in preventing history from repeating itself. That being said, I am not in favour of protests that continuously disrupt the city when there is no part that the Ontario provincial government or Toronto city government can play or assist in the cause of the Tamils. Take the protests to Ottawa and Washington where you have a hope to effect change instead of the streets of Toronto when with each disruption you lose public sympathy for your cause.