This petition is to express serious concern and dismay at the discriminatory and contradictory stand adopted by the British government on issues relating to internal matters of Sri Lanka.

 

To,

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary-General

United Nations

Dear Mr. Ban Ki-Moon,

This petition is to express serious concern and dismay at the discriminatory and contradictory stand adopted by the British government on issues relating to internal matters of Sri Lanka.

To cite a recent instance, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband attended the recent Global Tamil Forum (GTF) held in London in February. The Foreign Secretary also addressed that gathering. Sri Lanka’s resentment arises from the fact that the GTF is a cover for terrorist outfits which have played havoc with the integrity and peace in the island nation for decades. 

Now that Sri Lanka is enjoying peace and prosperity, it does not want  once again the forces of separatism raise their head. It was indeed shocking to see the British leaders rubbing shoulders with terrorists and those who have been advocating terrorism. The claim of GTF that they want a peaceful resolution of the Tamil issue will fool no one.

What is the ultimate goal of the GTF and the fundamental position it enunciates? The GTF has as its goal the establishment of a Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka. That means the division of Sri Lanka and therefore, the GTF is clearly advocating secession. The anger of Sri Lanka is entirely justified.

One has to look only at recent history and the conduct of successive British Governments from Northern Ireland to Afghanistan andIraq, leave alone the disgusting duplicity in evicting the people of Diego Garcia from their legitimate homes and lying to the United Nation about it. The UK should be able to gauge the poor opinion that the world outside has of British politics. It must surely surprise the average Briton to see the ludicrousness of the British leaders attending the GTF inaugural meeting.

By participating in the meeting, Mr. Brown and Mr Miliband have virtually endorsed the GTF agenda. The attempt to justify the presence by arguing that a separate Eelam is to be achieved by non-violent means, does not wash.

Two questions arise. First, there is an obvious attempt to support a group whose ultimate goal is to divide a sovereign state. If division is legitimate political practice, then why is it that the British government as well as others suppressed the same aspirations of the Catholic people of Northern Ireland? Military might was used for years to suppress and crush the political aspirations of the people ofNorthern Ireland, killing innocent protestors as was seen on what has come to be known as the Bloody Sunday Massacre in June 1972.

Why was the use of military force to maintain the integrity of United Kingdom,  though -- Northern Ireland is not on the same land mass just like the Falklands- correct and the use of military force by Sri Lanka against terrorism repugnant?  Could it be because the UKfailed to defeat the IRA and had to enter into political negotiations to end the conflict whereas, Sri Lanka succeeded in eliminating the LTTE despite all the expert prognostications by the British political establishment and security experts?  How does UK explain lending support to secessionist forces in Sri Lanka, which it cannot allow in its own country?

The second point is if the GTF wishes to push for a separate state in Sri Lanka, one would be fair in assuming that these great advocates of separation will go and live in their Eelam.

In his address to the GTF, the Foreign Secretary Miliband had said that whenever a British minister proposes an inclusive political process as a solution to the Sri Lankan minority question they are accused of “trying to tell Sri Lanka how to govern or run its own affairs.” “I want to refute that very, very clearly, because the shape of any future political settlement is for the Sri Lankan people……. It is for them to determine.”

Nothing that the British Government does causes surprise anymore. The UK tried to stop the IMF loan to Sri Lanka and did canvass against GSP Plus. However, the British Government spoke vociferously against sanctions against the Apartheid government of South Africa which practiced a system that openly discriminated against the blacks. Such is the standard of Britain’s international conduct.

Sri Lankans have been clinging to the belief, against their better judgement, that those who preach righteousness and humanitarianism must surely have some faith in what they preach and like charity would first practice it at home. Alas, they are totally disappointed. It must surely surprise the average Briton to see the ludicrousness of the government leaders in attending the GTF inaugural meeting.

A statement made by British Member of Parliament William Hague at the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) is tantamount to legitimization of separation of Sri Lanka. As Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to London Nihal Jayasinghe said while lodging his protest, Mr Hague’s statement that the resourcefulness and energy of the Tamil expatriates would be crucial to the success of the GTF was legitimizing separation. Mr Hague, shadow foreign minister, along with Mr David Miliband, Foreign Minister, had addressed the GTF. 

High Commissioner Jayasinghe also rightly questioned the appropriateness of the MP in congratulating the establishment of the GTF which unites the expatriates from around the world, in the context that the disclosed intention of the GTF  among other things,  is to use all resources available to the Tamil expatriates to establish the right of Tamils  to self determination and their right to establish their nationhood.

As to the alleged rights violations,   High Commissioner Nihal Jayasinghe has underlined  "The final push against the LTTE was in the larger interest of the 19 and a half million people who have suffered for nearly 30 years and in a society where civilian life was most vulnerable".  The Sri Lanka  Government has been somewhat disturbed with the Mr  William Hague  associating himself with the EU decision to suspend or deny the GSP plus concession pointing out its withdrawal would affect the poorest of the poor the international NGOs have been so fervently seeking to protect.

On the MP raising the decision of the Commonwealth to deny Sri Lanka's bid to host the Heads of Government meeting in 2011 due to human rights concerns, Mr William Hague has apparently forgotten the Falkland crisis when  Sri Lanka was one of the 11 countries which voted against the resolution moved in the UN General Assembly condemning the invasion in April 1982. 

The United Nations Security Council  resolution 505 adopted unanimously on May 26, 1982, after reaffirming Resolution 502 (1982) and noting that the situation in the region of the Falkland Islands had seriously deteriorated after the invasion in April 1982, urged bothArgentina and the United Kingdom to cooperate with the Secretary-General to achieve a ceasefire. Resolution 502, which was in theUnited Kingdom's favour, gave the UK the option to invoke Article 51 of the United Nations Charter, allowing it to claim the right of self-defense. It was supported by the European Economic Community, which later imposed sanctions on Argentina.

People who have been complicit in violating the one article in international human law that is absolute- the freedom from torture-would be better advised to keep their own counsel.  Palestine is one country that is highly concerned about the wellbeing of Sri Lanka and is worried about the unwanted interventions of the West to bring back the terrorists and harass Sri Lanka with unfounded allegations of human rights violations. It is surprising that despite seeing the destruction caused to life and property, the UN has failed to take any action against Israel or to re-build Gaza in spite of the fact that Goldstone Report clearly reveals all that had happened.

One would like to recall the declaration at the 91st plenary meeting on December 9, 1981 of the UN General Assembly on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in the Internal Affairs of States. According to the declaration, No State or group of States has the right to intervene or interfere in any form or for any reason whatsoever in the internal and external affairs of other States.  The principle of non-intervention and

non-interference in the internal and external affairs of States  comprehends the following rights and duties:

(a)  Sovereignty, political independence, territorial

integrity, national unity and security of all States, as well

as national identity and cultural heritage of their peoples;

(b)  The sovereign and inalienable right of a State

freely to determine its own political, economic, cultural and

social system, to develop its international relations and to

exercise permanent sovereignty over its natural resources, in

accordance with the will of its people, without outside

intervention, interference, subversion, coercion or threat in

any form whatsoever. 

It is still not too late for Britain to make a course correction in its policies towards Sri Lanka and avoid giving open or tacit support to organizations like the Global Tamil Forum, which promote secession in a peace-loving country and obstruct the development process.

Sincerely,