VOCIFEROUS DEMONSTRATION PROTESTS AGAINST ALLEGED BRITISH INTERFERENCE IN SRI LANKA’S INTERNAL AFFAIRS

By Walter Jayawardhana

Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero who led a demonstration of about thousand people against alleged British interference in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs said that the move of a so called all party committee of the British parliament has no ethical right to interfere in the affairs of Sri Lanka.

“The committee,” alleged the Thero, “stinks of partiality towards the insurgency of the terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).”

The demonstration was organized by the the Sri Lanka Patriotic Movement.(SLPM)
Venerable Gunawansa was flanked by some leading intellectuals of the country like Professor Nalin de Silva, Professor Mendis Rohanadheera, Professor Somaratne Balasuriya and Professor Bandula Endagama.

The president of the SLPM, the Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thero said that in no uncertain terms he wanted to tell that the British parliament had no moral right to act in a way that Sri Lanka's national security, independence and sovereignty are affected and such attempts would not be tolerated in this country.

He said that this committee wanted a terrorist like P. Thamilchelvan to address the British parliament and come into Sri Lanka and study affairs of the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Venerable Elle Gunawansa Thero said the British government should immediately clarify its position on what has been uttered by this committee.

He said he was appealing to all Sri lankans living abroad to organize similar rallies in front of British embassies to show the nation’s anger over the high handed manner of the British after listening to some tale carriers from Sri Lanka. It was an obvious reference to Sri Lanka’s former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The demonstrators in chorus shouted, “We tell Britons- Hands off Sri Lanka.” The demonstrators were not allowed to march to the High Commission office and was stopped by the Police. However, a smaller delegation led by Venrable Elle Gunawansa was allowed to walk to the High Commission building and hand over a memorandum.

When Elle Gunawansa Thero was asked by a reporter that shouldn’t the country abide by the conditions of the aid received he said country’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence is more precious than loans given by interfering nations.