Sri Lanka diplomat's twitter tirade jeopardizes British PM's CHOGM visit

[TamilNet, Sunday, 07 July 2013, 02:14 GMT]
Sri Lanka's self-proclaimed "new school diplomat" and consul-general in Sydney, Bandula Jayasekara's twitter attacks against the Channel-4 film maker and British national, Callum Macrae, may have potentially embarrassing diplomatic fallouts in UK ahead of the Commonwealth Head of Government Meeting (CHOGM) scheduled to be held in November this year, political sources in Australia said. Mr Jayasekara has labeled Macrae as an "LTTE terrorist from London," and has threatened that he will block Macrae getting a visa to attend the CHOGM in Colombo. Macrae is currently touring Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Canada to screen the film, No Fire Zone: The Killing fields of Sri Lanka, which tells the story of the last 138 days of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009.

While the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, won’t be attending the CHOGM, UK's Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague have announced that both will attend.

Much significance to UK's decision are letters Alastair Burt, minister in charge of Sri Lanka at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, wrote to MPs Lee Scott and Siobhain McDonagh, which said: “Ahead of the meeting (CHOGM)... we will make it clear to the Sri Lanka Government that we expect them to guarantee full and unrestricted access for international press covering CHOGM.”

Bandula Jayasekara

"Given that the UK government has said that free and unrestricted access to the foreign press attending CHOGM is effectively a condition of the UK’s attendance, I don’t see how the Prime Minster and Foreign secretary can now agree to attend," Macrea said of Jayasekara's threats, adding, "this is a regime which stands accused of some of the worst war crimes and crimes against humanity this century - of course they don't want to be subjected to any kind of scrutiny at all."

Siobhain McDonagh, MP for Mitcham and Morden and vice-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils, said: ‘The tweets threatening to deny Callum Macrae entry to Sri Lanka to report on the Commonwealth conference tell us all we need to know about that country's respect for press freedom. It also throws into sharp relief the moral ambivalence displayed by the UK government in declaring it will attend. Alistair Burt's insistence that the Sri Lankan government guarantee free and unrestricted access for the media is simply incompatible with these remarkable threats from a Sri Lankan diplomat.

Australian Green Senator, Lee Rhiannan who hosted a screening of extracts of No Fire Zone in the Australian parliament, alongside her colleagues from the Liberal and Labor party, said: "These tweets shows the true face of the Sri Lankan Government or regime – and it could not be more different than the picture they want to show to the Commonwealth."

CHOGM will take place in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo from 15 to 17 November. By hosting the biennial event Sri Lanka’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, will become Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office for the next two years which puts him in the position of the Commonwealth’s leader in the pursuit of Human Rights.

Chronology:

07.07.13  Sri Lanka diplomat's twitter tirade jeopardizes Br..

27.06.13  AI compromising with UK’s CHOGM participation cond..

26.06.13  ‘UK should support call for international investig..

25.06.13  Tamil youth in UK demand referendum for Tamil Eela..

09.06.13  British trade unions unequivocally support Tamils’..

18.05.13  Cameron should review his decision to visit Sri La..

16.05.13  'Sri Lanka’s human rights record as bad as South A..

15.05.13  UK Deputy PM’s awareness not on genocide

09.05.13  Let Prince do dirty work at CHOGM: Boyle

07.05.13  UK Tamils urged to boycott Conservative Party

03.05.13  Keith Locke questions New Zealand's silence on Sri..

02.05.13  Commonwealth SG upholds SL venue of CHOGM, meets C..

30.04.13  Australian Labor MP calls for CHOGM boycott

27.04.13  Fraser supports CHOGM boycott as CMAG ducks action

17.04.13  Cancel CHOGM, appeals Prof. Lynch

10.04.13  CHOGM heats up, Rae calls Sri Lanka a "Rogue Membe..

26.03.13  Queen to skip CHOGM - paper

16.03.13  Commonwealth's quandary over CHOGM in Sri Lanka

12.03.13  Commonwealth day brings to focus war crimes, Sri L..

11.03.13  Tutu, Robinson call for shift of CHOGM venue

03.03.13  Sri Lanka CHOGM boycott calls multiply

28.02.13  Australia should withdraw from CHOGM in Sri Lanka:..

10.02.13  CHOGM boycott calls for renewed action on Sri Lank..

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External Links:

ST:		Storm clouds still loom over CHOGM
ICPBlog:		As UN Delays on War Crimes in Sri Lanka, New Ambassador Criticizes Press and "Blogging Privilege," Colombo Style

British diplomat briefed on demographic genocide taking place in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 20 November 2012, 23:43 GMT]
The leader of opposition in the Eastern Provincial Council (EPC), Mr Singaraveloo Thandayuthapani, a Tamil National Alliance (TNA) politician on Monday briefed the Deputy High Commissioner of UK Mr Robbie Bulloch, who was on an official visit to Trincomalee district. The TNA politician described the land appropriation by the Sri Lanka Army affecting Eezham Tamils in the district as a systematic and planned act of demographic genocide.

The British Deputy High Commissioner during his tour in Trincomalee district also witnessed the plight of uprooted Eezham Tamils from Champoor villages. The people are now sheltered against their will at the so-called welfare camps in Moothoor East.

Champoor uprooted people are languishing in four camps in Kaddai-pa'richchaan, Ki'liveddi, Paddiththidal and Ma'nat-chaenai since April 2006.

During his one hour discussion with Mr Bulloch, the TNA politician, Mr Thandayuthapani, briefed the visiting diplomat on the extent of lands and paddy fields being appropriated from Eezham Tamils by the agencies of Colombo government.

Mr Bulloch was also told how Buddhist viharas and stupas were being constructed replacing the existing Saiva koayils in the district.

Mr Thanadayuthapani cited the latest move by the SL authorities to appropriate 3,000 acres of paddy fields belonging to Tamil farmers for the construction of a Buddhist Vihara at Thiriyaay.

In the meantime, the administration of several centuries old Kanniyaa hot wells has been handed over to a Buddhist monk. Earlier, the wells were under the control of Trincomalee Town and Gravets PS.

A Murukan Koayil in Ilankaith-thu'rai-mukaththuvaaram and Malai Neeliyamman Koayil in Kaladdi in Moothoor East have been converted as Buddhist holy places by Buddhist monks with the support of occupying Sri Lanka Army, the visiting British deputy high commissioner was told.

Paddy fields of Tamil farmers in Padukaadu and Muslim farmers in Muthalai-madu and Vavu'na-vil in Moothoor division have been appropriated by Sinhala farmers backed by the Sri Lankan military.

In Champoor area about 9600 acres covering four village level divisions with eight Saiva Koayils and four Tamil schools have been appropriated by the Colombo government under the guise of High Security Zone since the occupation of Champoor by the SL military in 2006.

Around 1,400 acres of the appropriated lands have been allocated for the proposed Thermal Power Plant, which is to be constructed with the assistance of India and for the construction for the Special Economic Development Zone by the Colombo government.

“The uprooted Tamil villagers are not allowed to resettle even in the remaining lands. They languish in camps as refugees without basic facilities. They are also denied their livelihood assistance such dry ration relief provided by the World Food Programme as they refused to accept alternate lands earmarked by the government for resettlement, ” the TNA delegation told the visiting diplomat, urging the British government to take action to provide relief to the suffering Eezham Tamils from Champoor.

Mr Bulloch also met the UPFA nominated Chief Minister Mr Najeeb Abdul Majeed.

SL military threatens IDP,Spy case filed in Tamil Nadu against Pakistani

22.09.12 19:33  
SL military threatens IDP camp inmates to accept ‘alternative resettlement’

22.09.12 16:34  
Spy case filed in Tamil Nadu against Pakistani diplomat in Sri Lanka

கொலைவெறிக் கொண்டாட்டத்தில் இந்தியக் கூட்டாளி புறக்கணிப்பு - உலகம் கொடுமையர்களைப் புறக்கணிக்கும் நாள் வெகு தொலைவில் இல்லை.

SL military celebrating ‘victory’ in Jaffna insults Indian diplomat

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 May 2012, 16:38 GMT]
Indian diplomat in Jaffna, V. Mahalingam, who chose to insult the Eezham Tamils bereaving the Mu’l’lvaaykkaal genocide by participating the ‘victory’ celebrations of the genocidal Sinhala military at the Palaali camp in Jaffna, was in turn insulted by the occupying military and its commander Maj. Gen. Hathurusinghe on Thursday. The consul at the Deputy Indian High Commission in Jaffna was offered neither a place in the stage nor a seat reserved for him, but was ignored by the SL military and officials of the colonial governor Maj. Gen. Chandrasri. Mahalingam getting out of the event was seen encountered by Hathurusinghe and entering into an argument. Later, a seat was offered to him in the frontline of the audience. Meanwhile school children in Jaffna were forced to participate the celebrations to ‘honour’ Sinhala soldiers with medals.

Mr V Mahalingam quarrels with SLA Jaffna Commander Maj Gen (retd) Hathurusinghe

The SL military event celebrating victory and remembering fallen genocidal soldiers took place at a fort-like structure built recently at Palaali as the joint head quarters of the three occupying forces. Even the British had not built military establishments like the ones now hurriedly built by the Sinhala military.

The SL military celebrations were organized from the funds allotted to the Northern Provincial Council run by the colonial military governor, Maj. Gen. G.A. Chandrasri. All the commanders of the three Sinhala forces occupying all the districts of the North came for the event.

The chairs at the event were labelled with names. But Mahalingam didn’t have a name on any chair. Besides he was ignored and was not formally received by the officials of the occupying military and colonial administration.

Mahalingam was sulking throughout the programme. At the end, Hathurusinghe asked him for pardon in a voice audible to others.

Mr. Mahalingam insists on ‘visiting’ every function in the North and the Sinhala military and colonial administration were irritated over the super colonial attitude, news sources in Jaffna said.

Under-aged Tamil school children in Jaffna were forcibly brought to the occasion to ‘honour’ the occupying Sinhala soldiers in the parade, by making the children to present the soldiers with medals. The occupying soldiers in turn presented the children with lotus flowers in the Sinhala fashion.

The occupying soldiers ‘honoured’ by the school children were those who were in the front of the genocidal war.

The principals of the schools were intimidated to send the children, and the matter raises severe objection in Jaffna.

Tamil civil servants were also forced to attend. But despite strong intimidation by Chandrasri, many Tamil officials didn’t participate.

The occupying military has ‘invited’ Tamil religious personalities to participate the victory day, but Christian Churches totally boycotted the programme. A few Saiva priests, especially from the temples in the High Security Zone participated.

A Saiva priest, who was made to speak, chose to speak on the effects of the Jupiter transit that has taken place this week, envisaging ‘changes’.

The subjugated Tamil children (above) and the jubilant Sinhala dancing troupe from the South (below) at the event

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