S A K Courtesy Island

December 17, 2019, 9:30 pm

Under normal circumstances, most Sri Lankans would have been happy if a Labour Government was elected in England, perhaps because we have a long tradition of being ruled by Left of Centre governments, and we have little faith in those representing the interests of big capital and land owning classes. However, under the present circumstances, all patriotic Sri Lankans should be extremely happy that at the British parliamentary elections the Conservative Party won a resounding victory. We should have celebrated the event with banners, Kiribath and dancing on the streets as we did at the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa last month.

Why should we be happy? The simple answer is that at present the powerful Tamil diaspora based in England are all aligned with the Labour Party which was defeated. In many British parliamentary constituencies, the LTTE sympathizers can influence the outcome of the election. Thus, many Labour MPs are always ready to do the LTTE bidding. Meanwhile, the LTTE groups have developed the art of deception to a high level and accordingly, they feed Labour MPs with false facts and figures, creating highly unrealistic pictures of the situation in Sri Lanka. This false propaganda is then echoed in the British Parliament, European Parliament and in various UN forums etc. Sadly, our own government has been doing little or nothing to counter such propaganda. If the Labour Party is in office, it will invariably act on such falsehoods, due to pressure exerted by the Tamil Diaspora to bring discredit to our country.

This will not be the end of the story. As we know already, the ultimate outcome would be violation of our country’s sovereignty through international action, thanks to active cooperation of some of our own nationals in authority who have shamelessly co-sponsored resolutions against their own mother country at the UNHRC.

This is why Lord Naseby – a member of the House of Lords and a real friend of Sri Lanka, declared recently (before the British Election) that if Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party became the Prime Minister of UK it will be disastrous for Sri Lanka, as Labour will then threaten the country’s sovereignty as an independent nation. (See Island report on December 10). So, we have had a narrow escape this time for which we must be thankful.

It is also noteworthy that Lord Naseby, who is the President of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group in the British Parliament, has also taken up on our behalf, the matter relating to the statement about a ‘two-state’ solution for Sri Lanka. This erroneous statement was like a godsend to the Tamil Tiger Diaspora who probably went to town with it. Fortunately, the SL Government acted quickly this time, and the Conservative Party announced that it was an error and not what was intended. Apparently, this has been mistakenly included in the Conservative Party election manifesto. Nevertheless, this mistake would have cost the Conservative Party many votes of British Citizens, including those of Sri Lankan origin who do not support the LTTE project. However, it will be prudent to let this matter rest for the time being.

I think that all right-thinking Sri Lankans should be grateful to Lord Naseby. It is very clear that the previous government’s response to the offers of help by this great man were largely ignored for some unknown reason. The new government under Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa should take immediate action to change the timid and defeatist policies followed hitherto by enlisting the support of Lord Naseby, who has in his hands a wealth of new information which can be used to disprove many of the unsubstantiated conclusions on which the UNHRC Resolutions on Sri Lanka are based. According to news reports, Lord Nasby has already brought up this matter in the House of Lords despite the lukewarm attitude of the Sri Lankan Government. Therefore, we request the authorities follow up and start adopting a more aggressive stance on this issue at the forthcoming Geneva Meeting, by drawing attention of the UNHRC to Lord Naseby’s findings. We may start by inviting Lord Naseby to visit Sri Lanka and provide necessary advice to our officials who handle this matter.

The latest government decision to request the UNHRC to postpone consideration of its Resolution on Sri Lanka is rather disappointing. This suggests the new government is planning to continue the same defeatist policy of the previous regime. However, most Sri Lankans expect a new approach – a major change of strategy under the new administration. We sincerely hope the authorities will wake up to the danger facing the country now, and take some positive steps including those suggested above.

S A K