Canadian urges end to Sri Lanka war

TORONTO, May 14 (UPI) -- Ontario's premier called on Ottawa and the United Nations Thursday to pressure all sides to end the Sri Lanka war between the government and the Tamil Tigers.

Aid workers and international observers also must be allowed to enter into the northern Sri Lanka war zone, Dalton McGuinty told the Legislative Assembly a day after thousands of Tamil-Canadians demonstrated in downtown Toronto's Queen's Park in front of the Ontario Legislative Building.

The demonstrators called for immediate Canadian action and international sanctions against Sri Lanka until its bitter war ends.

An estimated 1,700 civilians have been killed in the conflict zone since Tuesday, a Web site used by the Tamil Tigers said Thursday. At least 1,500 civilians trapped in the shrinking war zone managed to flee Thursday, the country's military said.

It is impossible for news agencies to independently assess the claims because outside journalists are banned from the conflict zone.

McGuinty told the Legislature the fighting, which the United Nations Monday called a "bloodbath," was "a personal tragedy" for the "Ontarians of Tamil descent who gathered on the front lawn of Queen's Park."

"Those victims way over there in Sri Lanka are their mothers, their fathers, their brothers, their sisters, their uncles, their aunts, their nephews, their nieces, their cousins and their friends," he said.

But beyond personal ties, "When innocent civilians die in northern Sri Lanka, it's not just a matter of concern to the Tamils in Sri Lanka. It's not just a matter of concern to Tamils in Canada. It's a matter of concern to all of us," he said.