Thanks once again for clearing
some doubts....
Asoka Weerasinghe
Ottawa, Canada
December 27, 2007
Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz
Labour MP for Leicester East
British House of Commons
London, UK
Dear Keith Vaz:
Thanks once again for clearing some doubts in my mind of you being
probed by the Anti-terrorism Police.
Perhaps you may want to clear another few worrisome questions by providing
some answers.
1. I will take your word that the rally was not of the All Party Group.
2. Perhaps you may want to explain to me why there is a probe when the
police had in fact
given the consent for the meeting to take place.
3. If you do admit that you do not speak the Tamil language, since the
words spoken at this
rally has put you in an ugly spot, perhaps unfairly, and thus being
duped you into a situation which you would not have wanted to be, WILL
YOU IN THE FUTURE GET A WRITTEN GUARANTEE FROM TAMIL INVITEES OF SUCH
MEETINGS THAT THEY WILL NOT MAKE ANY REFERENCE
TO TAMIL TIGERS NOR THEIR TERRORIST CAUSE FOR AN EELAM. I think that
would be a fair request by you.
4. Have you at any time condemned Tamil Tiger terrorism per se, and
not a generalized comment about not supporting terrorism.
Responses to these queries will certainly help me to know Keith Vaz
better.
Kindly accept my Best Wishes to You too for a good 2008.
Sincerely,
Asoka Weerasinghe
Ottawa, Canada
VAZ, Keith wrote:
> Dear Mr Weerasinghe
>
> Thank for your email. I am afraid you still have a number of your
> facts wrong.
>
> 1. This was not a rally of the All Party Group.
> 2. The Police were involved and they gave their consent to meeting
> taking place. This was BEFORE the meeting took place.
> 3. I and Parliamentary colleagues were speaking on behalf of our
> constituents.
> 4. I condemn all forms of violence and terrorism.
> 5. I do not speak any other language than English so I have no
idea
> what anyone else was said at the 10 hour meeting. When I arrived
there
> was a cultural act taking place on the stage and about 15,000 British
> citizens in the audience.
>
> As for the other issues. I would like to see the peace process
> continue and all violence stop.
>
> Please do let me know when you come over so that we can continue
this
> dialogue.
>
> With Best Wishes for 2008.
>
> Yours sincerely,
>
>
> Keith Vaz
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Weerasinghe [mailto:weerasin@magma.ca]
> Sent: 27 December 2007 08:08
> To: VAZ, Keith
> Subject: Re: Kim
>
> December 27, 2007
>
> Rt.Hon. Keith Vaz
> Labour MP for Leicester East
> British House of Commons
> London, UK
>
> Dear Keith Vaz:
>
> Thanks for the courtesy for responding to my post of Boxing Day.
> It is quite obvious that you believe that you are a victim of bad
> journalism.
> If this is so, I hope you have made a request to The Sunday Telegraph
> editorial board for a correction, as you are now a pariah in the
eyes
> of all Sri Lankans around the world sans the Tamil Tigers and their
> supporters.
>
> If I do get over to the UK, I hope you will give me an opportunity
to
> meet with you. As for meeting with your Tamil group, I will certainly
> entertain meeting them at a staged public debate and I as a panel
> member.
>
> As for "UK is a Parliamentary democracy", that is the
only reason why
> the Tamil Tigers have ben banned as a terrorist organization, and
your
> democracy would not want to accept
> any part of it. Surely Keith, isn't it why the Anti-terrorist Police
> is now probing into your
> participating in your group rally where they publicly praised the
> Tamil Tiger terrorists?
> Let us not be naive about it. Isn't it why the Anti-terrorist Police
> is
>
> probing into your attendance?
>
> Your group, which is supporting the wanting of a mono-ethnic,
> racist, separate, Tamil Eelam for less than 5% of the entire 20
> million population, when praising the
>
> Tamil Tigers at a colossal
> public gathering, are indeed separatists who are fighting their
cause
> by
>
> terrorism, thus by
> association are terrorists, whether you like it or not, or whether
you
> try to top the issue with a coat of icing hoping that the cause
will
> be sweetened away..
>
> My question to you Keith is where do you fit into this equation?
> Isn't it why the Anti-terrorist Police is probing into your
> participation at a gathering supporting and praising Tamil Tiger
> terrorists, which has been banned by UK, the parliamentary democracy?
> Or are you trying to tell me that the UK parliamentary system has,
> since late, become demo-crazy?
>
> Have a good day.
> Sincerely,
> Asoka Weerasinghe
>
> VAZ, Keith wrote:
>
>> Dear Mr Weerasinghe
>>
>> Thank you for your email.
>>
>> As I said to your colleague, the Telegraph article is wrong.
The
>> Hindu merely repeated the inaccuracies. The meeting was not
an LTTE meeting.
>> It was also sanctioned by the authorities. Thousands of British
Citizens attended. The UK is a Parliamentary democracy.
>>
>> However the information you have provided is I am sure going
to be of
>> great interest to members of the Group and I will bring it
to the
>> attention of the Group. Should you be visiting the UK I am
sure that
>> members of the Group would like to meet you. In the meantime
I feel, and
>
>> I am certain you will agree, that it is best to conduct this
debate
>> on facts and not on personal abuse.
>>
>> Thank you again for taking the trouble to trouble. I am sure
you will
>> read on the internet when we have our next meeting which I
very much
>> hope that the High Commissioner in London will be able to attend.
>>
>> With Best wishes
>> Yours sincerely,
>>
>> Keith Vaz
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Weerasinghe [mailto:weerasin@magma.ca]
>> Sent: 26 December 2007 13:34
>> To: VAZ, Keith; cc."Ranjith Soysa"
>> Subject: Keith Vaz being probed by Anti-terrorist Police
>>
>> 2066 Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1
. Canada
>>
>>
>> Boxing Day, 2007
>>
>>
>> Rt. Hon. Keith Vaz
>> Labour MP for Leicester East
>> British House of Commons
>> London
>> UK
>>
>> Dear Keith Vaz:
>>
>> I was provided the courtesy by Ranjith Soysa of Australia to
read
>> your response to his letter which was prompted by my letter
to you about
>> the news item in The Sunday Telegraph and THE HINDU, that you
were being
>> probed by the Anti-terrorist Police for participating at a
Tamil rally
>> that was praising the banned Tamil Tiger terrorist group.
>>
>> Foremost, I suppose you realize that you just cannot get away
>> willy-nilly with your statements siding the ruthless terrorist
group,
>> the Tamil Tigers, as you have been read world wide, and you
have had
>> negative comments from Australia as well as Canada. I am not
sure
>> whether you would want to pin these comments onto your lapel
as an
>> achievement, "I am now shaking up the world wanting others
to join me
>> in supporting the Tamil Tigers".
>>
>> The fundamental question here is, if you say, "I have
no connection
>> with the LTTE", then what the heck were you doing at a
Tamil Tiger
>> gathering which was praising a banned ruthless terrorist group?
What, are you
>> nuts, Keith?
>>
>> Surely, you ought to be smarter than that being a lawyer! Keith,
you just cannot hide under the cloak of ... "UK parliamentary democracy
and people have the right to express..." Sure, Keith, you
>> may wish to say anything that you want to, but for God's sake
don't you
>> ever, ever say anything that will give the Tamil Tigers the
license and
> the window of opportunity to take the lives of innocent Sri Lankans
with
> impunity, by shooting, claymore-mining, suicide-bombing and attacking
>> with machetes. And if you could only hear what I hear what
a
>> bowler-hatted honest, Churchillian-Britisher would tell you
..."That
>> is a NO, NO, my good old chap. Stop kidding yourself Keith
and being a
>> damn Humbug. And stop your trite trying to kid us too. You
are up the Gum
>> Tree, my boy, and the only way to extricate yourself is to
give up
>> your support for the Tamil Tigers and their cause for an Eelam
and handing
>> out the licenses to kill the innocent Sri Lankans. "
>>
>> Trying to be a British maverick parliamentarian, you have certainly
>> got this Canadian's goat up. And that is nothing to gloat on.
>>
>> Yours sincerely,
>> Asoka Weerasinghe
>> Gloucester, Canada
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