Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1 . Canada

July 27, 2009

Honourable Stephen Timms,
MP Financial Secretary to the Treasury
House of Commons Westminster
London, UK

By e-mail

Dear Stephen Timms:

The world in 1955 was a pretty good place I thought.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  A courageous one at that when the defiant black lady Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the front of the bus for a white ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ passenger for which she got arrested in Baltimore, and that is when whites started to notice the blacks as equals. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Fifty-four years later we now got a black president in the US. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The year 1955 was when the Supreme Court in Baltimore banned segregation in public recreational areas.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  The year when Elvis Presley made his first TV appearance; Ray Kroc started the fast-food McDonalds chain. That was the year when Lawrence Welk premiered his show on ABC and got me hookedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ on Ballroom Dancing and went to learn this art form at Victor Silvester Dance Studios on Kings Road in Chelsea above the Odeon Cinema. That was the year when Lancastrians like your parents were proud of their son, Brian Statham being named as the WisdenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Cricketer of the Year, and on July 17, the theme park Disneyland first opened its gates.

Twelve days later a baby boy was born in Oldham, Lancashire, who few years later went to Farnborough Grammar School, didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t play the gentlemanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s game of cricket, and grew up lacking the grace and sophistication of accepting defeat as when his stumps were knocked by a ball or when he was called ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-OutƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ when the cricket ball hit his leg pad stopping the ball demolishing the three wicket stumps.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  This boyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s name was Stephen Creswell Timms.

This Stephen grew up to be a young arrogant British politician and later the Financial Secretary to the Treasury who resented the little former British colony, Ceylon, mature to become a military might to wipe out a formidable military killing machine, the Tamil Tiger terrorists the most ruthless of the terrorists pack in the world.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  StephenƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Britain surreptitiously supported these Tamil Tigers by allowing them to have their international headquarters in London, and housed its political advisor the late Anton Balasingham in Malden, Surrey, where his wife Adele still lives.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  She is the Tamil Tigress Matha (Mother) who garlanded the young girls who graduated as human bombs with a cyanide amulet to bite at and kill themselves if caught by a Sri Lankan soldier.

This Stephen, now the politician, has had difficulty to accept Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s (Ceylon) Churchillian President Mahinda Rajapaksa, telling the British which was pressuring Sri Lanka for a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ceasefireƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ so that they could save the Tamil Tiger leadership in early May, when he followed Sir Winston ChurchillƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s heroic statement to the last decibel from his speech at Harrow School, on October 29, 1941, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Never give in- never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

But what has made Stephen the politician distraught and stunned was Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Churchillian President Rajapaksa telling the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”white-westernƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ world what Churchill said in his famous speech in the House of Commons on 4 June 1940, when he ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ was pressured by them including Britain to have a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-ceasefireƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to save the Tamil Tigers when they were about to be wiped out, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrenderƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚

And ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ President Rajapaksa and his valiant armed forces ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ did not give in to the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-white-western worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ and marched on to wipe out the Tamil Tigers after 26 years of fighting on May 18, 2009, and it does seem that the Financial Secretary to the British Treasury wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t happy about it.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The impression is that he wants to teach this former British colony a thing or two.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I give Stephen full marks for trying to bully Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  But then what he keeps finding out is that Sri Lanka has ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ no time for this nonsense and has been rubbing his nose on Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s red kabook soil asking him not to be so obnoxious.

HONOURABLE ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ STEPHEN CRESWELL TIMMS, THIS IS YOUR LIFE !

Stephen, I and several other Sri Lankans around the world, in the thousands in fact are rather disappointed in your campaign to harass Sri Lanka and her peoples by not supporting the IMFƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s proposed Stand-By arrangements.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Your going after Sri Lanka is no secret as Britain also voted during the UNHRC debate with eleven other countries from the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-White-worldƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ for the resolution to investigate Sri Lanka for War Crimes.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  That was not nice Stephen when 29 countries representing 4.6 billion people voted against it.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  And Sri Lanka found out who her friends are. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Britain certainly wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t one!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  You may have not noticed, but I certainly felt the earth tremble with the hisses and boos at Britain by 4.6 billion people when the results of the vote were announced, and puny Sri Lanka won the day. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is how even the famous TynemouthƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Garibaldi cookie crumbles, Stephen.

We all know that you and your colleagues like David Milliband are disappointed that Sri Lanka wasnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t cooperating for you all to save Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his senior inner-circle terrorists. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But how could Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Armed Forces let these ruthless buggers go on killing their innocent people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  LetƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s have a heart Stephen!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  I know you have difficulty to face a few hundred of your Tamil constituents in East Ham, but then President Rajapaksa has to face millions of his people, which also includes Tamils, who have been begging him to stop his carnage, and wipe out these rascals who did not believe in coming to a peace settlement for good.

I really wish you had participated in the gentlemanƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s game of cricket which would have made it easier for you to accept defeat, as it seems difficult for you now, and you have turned into a petty politician who is willing to flex your muscles at brave little countries like Sri Lanka who are not willing to give into you Britishers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  It is your ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ “Rule BritanniaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ pride, isnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t it, Stephen? ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Rule Britannia rule the wavesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ days are long over, long before your were born. I doubt Sri Lanka has time for hissy fits by British political brats who are to trying meddle in their internal affairs.

I hope you at some point soon will ditch your myopic approach on Sri Lanka, as Sri Lanka has little choice but to go forward with its efforts of reconstruction, reconciliation and ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reunification and ensure lasting peace among its communities, whether Britain is on her side or not.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Stephen that is the ground reality, and let us not produce any more occasions for the earth to tremble by hisses and boos by 4.6 billion people at muscle-flexing Britain.

The bottom line is just stop harassing Sri Lanka and be generous.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Encourage Sri Lanka on its path towards a pluralistic reconciliation.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Sri Lanka has haemorrhaged too long and enough is enough.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  DonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t demand that Sri Lanka let go of the Internally Displaced Tamil people from their welfare villages two months after the war ended, when you British ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in 1958 were still buildingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ London County Council houses in Lambeth, Camberwell and East Ham to house your people affected by World War II which ended in late 1945.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚  Be reasonable.

Sincerely,

Asoka Weerasinghe