Canada’s Tamil Diaspora Engagement with Sri Lanka: How Tamil Diaspora Wealth Risks Enabling Structural Genocide and China's Silent Conquest - Part 2

Abstract

This study critically examines the role of Tamil diaspora investments—especially from Canada—in Sri Lanka, and how these financial activities intersect with ongoing structural genocide and shifting global geopolitics. Through extensive interviews with Sri Lankan academics, diaspora members, and real estate brokers, this research highlights that diaspora investments, particularly into Colombo’s real estate sector, are often indirectly connected to China’s expanding economic influence. Furthermore, recent trends reveal political activism within diaspora communities in Canada, including coordinated digital campaigns supporting Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s movement. This paper argues that diaspora actions must be ethically realigned to avoid reinforcing authoritarian structures and to meaningfully support Tamil self-determination and justice.

1. Introduction

The ongoing demographic and structural transformation of Tamil areas in Sri Lanka represents a new phase of the genocidal project: not through overt violence but through economic, demographic, and geopolitical engineering. The Tamil diaspora, particularly in Canada—the largest outside Sri Lanka—has been instrumental in rebuilding lives and supporting communities. However, an emerging dual trend complicates this positive narrative: large-scale investments in politically sensitive sectors and a growing political realignment toward Colombo-centred political projects.

2. Methodology

Primary data were collected through random phone interviews conducted in 2024–2025 with university lecturers, Tamil diaspora investors, real estate agents, and civil society activists in Sri Lanka and Canada. Additionally, observational research was conducted via WhatsApp group campaigns, Zoom meetings, and social media campaigns supporting new political actors within Sri Lanka.

3. Findings

3.1 Diaspora Investment Patterns in Colombo (2015–2024)

Between 2015 and 2024, the construction of residential units in Colombo has reached unprecedented levels, with ongoing large-scale projects continuing through the present day. Approximately 12,000 units have been purchased by members of the Tamil diaspora, especially from countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, France, and Switzerland. These investments are primarily driven by the financial ambitions of diaspora members, who are looking to secure valuable assets in Sri Lanka amidst both economic uncertainty and the lack of safe land ownership options in their ancestral regions.

While these investments serve the economic interests of diaspora members, they also highlight the growing gap between the needs of war-affected Tamil communities in the North and East and the interests of diaspora investors. This pattern raises concerns, as these investments, although significant in financial terms, have yet to address the pressing socio-political challenges facing the Tamil homeland. The growing dominance of the diaspora in the Colombo real estate market is a stark reminder of the ongoing neglect of the Tamil-majority regions, where economic development remains severely constrained.

3.2 Political Campaigning and New Alignments

There is a rising trend of Tamil diaspora involvement in political campaigning, particularly through digital platforms. Evidence indicates that groups from Canada have organised and supported campaigns aligned with Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s government through Zoom meetings, WhatsApp groups, and social media interviews. These campaigns encourage political reintegration with the Sri Lankan state without addressing underlying grievances such as demilitarisation, war crimes accountability, and autonomy.

The political reintegration agenda, while popular among certain diaspora groups, has been criticised for lacking a robust commitment to Tamil self-determination and the full accountability of the Sri Lankan state for its historical actions. This shift reflects a growing divide within the diaspora, with some prioritising economic stability and political pragmatism over long-standing demands for justice and reparations for Tamil victims of war crimes.

3.3 Structural Genocide through Economic Occupation

Despite surface narratives of economic revival, heavy militarisation remains in Tamil-majority regions. Development projects continue to facilitate Sinhala settlements in traditional Tamil lands, systematically altering the demographic and cultural identity of these areas. This represents a new form of structural genocide, where the erasure of Tamil identity occurs not through outright violence, but through the gradual occupation of land, cultural homogenisation, and economic displacement.

3.4 China's Hidden Influence

China’s influence is no longer confined to mega infrastructure projects like Hambantota Port or Colombo Port City; it also extends to smaller real estate and business ventures, often masked through local partnerships with Sri Lankan nationals. While many diaspora investments are not directly linked to China, in the North and East of Sri Lanka, a significant number of development projects are connected to Chinese-backed initiatives. These projects—spanning sea cucumber farming, aquaculture, agriculture, and tourism development—are being developed under the guise of local economic growth, but they have raised concerns about the long-term geopolitical implications for Tamil communities. These developments are often perceived as part of a broader Chinese strategy to extend its influence in the Indian Ocean region, which could undermine Tamil aspirations for autonomy and territorial integrity.

4. Discussion

4.1 Ethical Challenges and the Risk of Co-optation

While diaspora investments and political engagement may arise from a desire for stability, without a framework rooted in justice and transparency, these efforts risk legitimising the very structures that oppress Tamil people. Investments must be conditional upon demilitarisation, human rights guarantees, and meaningful political decentralisation. Diaspora political activities that fail to address the underlying issues of self-determination and justice risk undermining the legitimacy of Tamil political goals.

4.2 Canada’s Diaspora and National Responsibility

Given Canada’s strong commitment to human rights and its role as a major hub for Tamil diaspora, it is imperative that Canada takes a more proactive stance in ensuring that its diaspora community does not inadvertently support activities that undermine the long-term aspirations of Eelam Tamils. There must be greater scrutiny and accountability for diaspora financial and political activities in Sri Lanka. Without this oversight, Canadian Tamil contributions may inadvertently strengthen geopolitical strategies that conflict with Tamil self-determination and regional peace.

5. Conclusion

Diaspora investments and political activism must evolve beyond short-term interests. They must prioritise the long-term survival, dignity, and political aspirations of Eelam Tamils. Engagement must be ethically guided, politically conscious, and internationally coordinated to ensure that financial and political flows contribute to justice, not structural erasure.

References

1. BBC. (2022). China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/

2. Canadian Global Affairs Institute. (2023). Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and South Asia. Retrieved from https://www.cgai.ca/

3. CBC News. (2023). Immigration brokers profiting from Tamil refugee claims. Retrieved from https://www.cbc.ca/

4. United Nations Human Rights Council. (2015–2021). Reports on accountability and war crimes in Sri Lanka. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/

5. UNODC. (2022). Protocols on human trafficking and money laundering. Retrieved from https://www.unodc.org/

6. Small Drops (Balananthini Balasubramaniam). (2024–2025). Primary interviews and observational research (Sri Lanka and Canada).

Written by: Balananthini Balasubramaniam [Nila Bala] (@Small Drops)

Date: 27/04/2025

Time: 08:19

Location: United Kingdom

© 2025 Balananthini Balasubramaniam (@Small Drops). All rights reserved

This work is protected under international copyright and intellectual property laws.

Reproduction or citation without explicit permission is prohibited.

(Disclaimer: Images are AI generated and are used for representational purposes only)

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