{"id":120958,"date":"2021-12-06T17:33:05","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T00:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=120958"},"modified":"2021-12-06T17:33:05","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T00:33:05","slug":"douglas-wickremeratne-an-outstanding-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/12\/06\/douglas-wickremeratne-an-outstanding-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"Douglas Wickremeratne \u2013 An outstanding hero"},"content":{"rendered":"

Senaka Weeraratna<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

I\nwas very sad to hear of the passing of Douglas Wickremeratne in London on\nDecember 01, 2021. He was in touch with me regularly by forwarding posts until\nthe last and I used to reciprocate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\nhas a huge claim for the gratitude of Sri Lanka and its patriotic people for\nthe stand he took soon after the civil unrest in July 1983, when he alone stood\nup to fight the disinformation campaign of the country’s detractors in London.\nHis brave stand triggered others, primarily Sinhalese in many parts of the\nworld, to come out in support of national unity, territorial integrity, and an\nundivided Sri Lanka. He gave leadership to this cause in an unblemished\nmanner.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas acted as a de facto representative on behalf of the Sri Lanka\nHigh Commission in London to combat increasing false allegations against the\ncountry, the Army, and the Sinhala people engineered by the LTTE and their\nsupporters. The latter had planned these campaigns for a long time early and\nthe Govt. machinery including the Sri Lankan Embassies was caught off\nguard.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, the Sri Lanka High Commission in London as a matter of\nprotocol was required to obtain prior permission from the Foreign Ministry in\nColombo before responding to any sudden development, for example, a bomb\nexplosion. Its hands were tied. When permission was granted for the Sri Lanka\nHigh Commission by the Foreign Ministry in Colombo to issue a\nwritten statement authorized by the latter it was too late. The delay\nhad resulted in the stable door getting closed, and the horse bolting away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overseas Sri\nLankans’ Organization for National Unity (OSLONU) <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around\nthe same time, Sri Lankan expatriates in Melbourne formed the Overseas Sri\nLankans’ Organization for National Unity (OSLONU) at a public meeting held at the\nUniversity of Melbourne in September 1983 under the leadership of Professor\nC.G. Weeramantry who was elected as the first President of OSLONU. He delivered a\nbrilliant oration on this occasion entitled \u2018A Plea for National Unity and an\nUndivided Sri Lanka\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr.\nRanjith Hettiarachi and H.L.D. Mahindapala was elected as the Joint\nSecretaries. Senaka Weeraratna served as Assistant Secretary jointly with\nAstrid Edrisinha. Dr. Olga Mendis (Hony. Treasurer), and Soma Perera, Tony\nEdrisinha, Chris Lawton, Eddie Gray, and Hanif Badurdeen, were elected as\nCommittee members. All of them were founder members.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\ngrew into a sizable body to counter anti – Sri Lanka propaganda worldwide. Sri\nLanka newspapers carried statements of OSLONU regularly. Even Australian\nacademics at the University of Melbourne who attended the inaugural\nsessions of OSLONU later commented that they have now realized that there\nwas another valid and highly tenable point of view contrary to what the LTTE\ndetractors were saying. OSLONU used to liaise constantly with Douglas\nWickremeratne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas\nis an old Anandian. At Ananda College in 1953, he was a classmate of Indrajith\nMalalasekera (son of Dr. G.P. Malalasekera), D.B. Nihalsinghe (filmmaker),\nAnanda K. Wijetunga, Ranjith Rathnayake, Palitha Premasiri (Cricket Captain\n1957), Neville Gajaweera, and Dr. Ranjith Hettiarachi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinhala\nAssociation in the UK<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas\nwas the founder of the Sinhala Sangamaya in London thereby ensuring that\nSinhala expatriates were able to maintain close cultural links with their\nmotherland. They organized cultural shows by bringing famed Musicians to London\non an annual basis including W.D. Amaradeva, Sinhala film shows, Vesak\nfestivities, Sinhala and Tamil New Year celebrations, and they funded the\ndispatch of provisions to help villages in heavy rain-affected areas in Sri\nLanka and financed repairs to Ancient Water Tanks in the hinterland. The\nSinhala Sangamaya also invited Ven. Madihe Pannasiha Nayake Thera, Elle\nGunawansa Thera, Professor (Dr.) Nalin de Silva, and Minister Cyril Matthew,\namong others to address gatherings in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas represented the Sinhala Association in\nthe U.K. He bravely faced the country’s detractors in the west including LTTE\nsupporters on all T.V. and radio debates, and in turn, won the hearts of\nthe well-wishers of Sri Lanka in Britain and elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World\nFederation of Sri Lankans<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas was a founder member of the World Federation of Sri Lankans and a distinguished speaker at the inaugural sessions of the World Federation held in Toronto in 1984. Dr. Jeeva Ganepola ( New Jersey, USA) was elected as its First President. The Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada under the leadership of its President Tilak Wickremasinghe hosted this event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nSinhala Sangamaya hosted the Second Convention in London in 1986 where Douglas\nwas duly elected as the second President of the World Federation. Several\ndistinguished speakers from Sri Lanka including Minister Lalith Athulathmudali,\nAnura Bandaranaike (Leader of the Opposition), Earnst Corea, Dr. Jeeva Ganepola\n(USA), H.L.D. Mahindapala (Australia),  Dr. Walter Jayasinghe (USA),\nand  Walter Jayawardana (Los Angeles, USA)  spoke at this\nInternational Conference.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka United National Association of Canada published the first \u2018Overseas Sri\nLankan\u2019 Journal which was distributed at the London Convention in 1986. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even\nthe Govt. of Sri Lanka gave him high recognition and VIP treatment when he\nvisited Sri Lanka as the President of the World Federation at that time. The\ninterviews that Douglas gave to British TV Channels won him star status and a huge\nfollowing of admirers both within and outside Sri Lanka. He was the pride of\nthe nation as he was performing better than any of our diplomats stationed\noverseas. In almost every conversation on the subject of civil riots in\nSri Lanka in the mid-eighties Douglas name invariably came up in admiration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prime\nMinister R. Premadasa hosted a meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister in\nColombo in 1985 to gauge the views of the overseas-based Sri Lankans. Douglas\nWickremeratne, Dr. Ranjith Hettiarachi, Senaka Weeraratna, Dr. Jeeva Ganepola,\nJayantha Dhanapala were among those who attended this discussion.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nRupavahini conducted a TV Program in 1985 focused on the contributions that the\nOverseas Sri Lankans were making to the cause of combating anti \u2013 Sri Lanka\npropaganda. It had Douglas Wickremeratne, Dr. Ranjith Hettiarachi, and Senaka\nWeeraratna as the participants. M.J. Perera, Civil Servant, was the Chairman of\nthe Rupavahini at that time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nJanuary 1987 a meeting was held at the residence of Senaka Weeraratna in\nColombo and attended by visiting Sri Lankans to review the progress being made\nin protecting the fair name of Sri Lanka internationally. Professor C.G.\nWeeramantry, Douglas Wickremeratne, Mahinda Gunasekera, Hema Jinadasa, Senaka\nWeeraratna, and a couple of others were present.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Douglas\nis a real hero by any definition. He is an old Anandian with a firm commitment\nto the ‘ Rata, Jathiya, Agama’ idea. The adage ‘ Come the hour, Come the\nman’ was strikingly illustrated in the manner that Douglas Wickremeratne\nstepped forward to defend Sri Lanka in the hallowed portals of elite British\ninstitutions, Universities, and mainstream T.V. Channels. He scored debating\npoints convincingly in front of British TV audiences.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

May\nSri Lanka find the strength to show remembrance and gratitude at a national\nlevel to this great Patriot. A man with such a backbone and spine is a vital\nneed for the country more so today<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\ndeserves a commemorative postage stamp issued in his honour. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

May\nhe attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Senaka Weeraratna<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

……………………………………………………………………………..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Fri, Dec 3, 2021, 19:57 TISSA MADAWELA <tmadawela@hotmail.com<\/a>>\nwrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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