The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) will exhibit Sri Lanka at the World Travel Market (WTM) this week. The 4 day travel and tourism event commenced today, at the Excel Exhibition centre in London. The SLTPB will conduct various promotional activities to highlight the country's ‘attractions’ to the potential tourists under the title ‘Wonder of Asia’. The Bureau will campaign with the slogan ‘One Island- Thousand Experiences’, and use the event to promote Sri Lanka as the host nation of the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Sri Lankan High Commission is backing the...
Addressing a function at Kandy, the External Affairs Minister, G.L. Peiris outlined that the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting will be a good opportunity to clear negative perspectives of the country. Labelling the event as a historic event for Sri Lanka, Peiris reiterated the vast amount of world leaders and country delegates that were visiting the country, stating , “This will bring huge investment opportunities to our country.”
The Commonwealth's secretary-general Kamalesh Sharma told BBC News that the Commonwealth does not "look away from the hard and difficult questions" regarding Sri Lanka, while also writing off calls for an independent investigation into war crimes as "impractical". See here for video of Sharma responding to news anchor George Alagaiah's question "what have you got to show for [engagement]?"
Sri Lankan officials dismissed Channel 4 News video evidence that showed LTTE journalist, Isaipriya, alive in Sri Lankan military custody before she was found killed. The Sri Lankan government said instead, that Isaipriya was a Lieutenant Colonel of the LTTE and died in the final battle with the Sri Lankan army. Speaking to BBC Tamil service, a spokesman for the Sri Lankan military, Brigadier Wanigasuriya, said , “We reject outright the video. It is a complete fabrication.” Further rejecting earlier videos of summary executions of LTTE combatants, he reiterated that no LTTE combatants had...
Writing in the Radio Times Point of View column, Channel 4 correspondent Jonathan Miller compares reactions to Sri Lanka’s war crimes with the way Syria’s Assad regime is perceived. See Miller’s blog for a version of the article. Extracts reproduced below. “Spin the clock forward. It’s 2018. You’re four-and-a-half years older and you’ve just woken up to the headlines: more than 50 world leaders are heading to the Syrian capital, Damascus, for a global summit, hosted by President Bashar al-Assad. Syria’s at peace, it’s economy, thriving. The tourists are back and the “terrorists”, vanquished...
Writing in The Independent, author and practising English barrister, Sadakat Kadri outlined the need to condemn Sri Lanka. Full opinion reproduced below.
British Tamil Forum members and local constituency residents met the Labour Party leader Ed Miliband MP yesterday to express their views on the UK’s participation in the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The BTF press release from the event is reproduced below.
An article by British newspaper the Times has presented evidence of the use of phosphorus shells against civilians, and of the cover-up methods, including blackmail, employed by government medical staff. The article recounts the experiences of 'Kannaki', a victim of phosphorus shelling left with extensive bodily burns and a disfigured face. Kannaki, six months pregnant at the time, was hit by the shell while in bunker with 15 others, and regained consciousness in a hospital staffed by Sinhalese doctors. While recovering at the hospital, she was presented with a legal document declaring that...
Over 2000 British Tamils gathered today to march through the streets of London today demanding that British Prime Minister boycott the upcoming Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which is set to take place in Sri Lanka later this month. Starting the rally at Embankment station, the protestors marched along the river towards the Houses of Parliament. Ending their rally at Whitehall in front of Number 10 Downing Street, demonstrators shouted slogans urging Prime Minister David Cameron to reconsider his involvement at CHOGM.
Hundreds of Amnesty International campaigners staged a protest at Parliament Square today, against British involvement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Placing David Cameron, William Hague and Mahinda Rajapaksa alongside grim reapers, the protestors gathered on a mock beach where the three political figures sipped cocktails. The director of Amnesty International UK, Kate Allen, said , “CHOGM should not just be an opportunity for President Rajapaksa and his government to sign business deals whilst clinking glasses with David Cameron and other leaders. CHOGM ought to be a moment...