Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA – Associations of the Tamil diaspora welcome Ottawa’s sanctions against senior officials in Sri Lanka and call on Canada to take that country to the International Criminal Court.

Ottawa earlier this month imposed sanctions on four senior Sri Lankan officials over alleged human rights abuses during the South Asian country’s bloody 26-year civil war with Tamil separatists.

Former Presidents Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his older brother Mahinda Rajapaksa are both targets of Canadian sanctions.

The Sri Lankan government immediately summoned Canada’s diplomatic representative to the move, accusing Ottawa of giving in to Tamil diaspora policies.

“Some extremist groups with separatist goals do not want to see progress in Sri Lanka as it would jeopardize their livelihoods in Canada,” Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner for Canada Anzul Jhan said in an email.

But Tamil associations claim Ottawa has set an example for other capitals around the world. These groups are even calling on the Canadian government to initiate proceedings for senior Sri Lankan officials to appear before the International Criminal Court.

“The Tamil diaspora is calling for a Nuremberg trial to prosecute the leaders of the Sri Lankan government,” Vel Velautahpillai, a board member of the Federation of World Tamil Organizations, told Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Monday.

The United States has already imposed sanctions on senior Sri Lankan officials, but Canada is the only country that has targeted the Rajapaksa brothers, according to Human Rights Watch.

Ottawa announced on January 10 that it would ban entry into the country for two former Presidents Rajapaksa and two senior Sri Lankan military officers. In addition to the entry ban, these four Sri Lankans are no longer allowed to conduct any financial transactions in Canada.

In the office of Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, it is repeated that Sri Lanka’s reconciliation measures are insufficient.

“We continue to call on Sri Lanka to take concrete steps to meet its human rights obligations and establish a meaningful accountability process,” Minister Joly’s spokesman Adrien Blanchard said in a written statement released to the Canadian press.

“We will continue to work with international partners, including through relevant multilateral bodies, to uphold human rights in Sri Lanka.”