A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, May 8, 2017
Corbyn Government Will End Military Aid To Sri Lanka: John McDonnell
By TU Senan –May 7, 2017
The upcoming general election in Britain will not be an ordinary one.
Despite the fact that the Labour Party is behind in the polls and
suffered some losses in the more rural county council elections, Labour
Party could still form a government after 8 June. The popularity of
Corbyn’s policies continue to enthuse a huge number of young voters. It
was reported that there is a surge in voter registration among young
people.
As for most of the workers and poor and for the Black and Asian
population living in Britain, the choice is somewhat simpler. Either
vote for a warmongering, immigrant-hating party that promises to make
more cuts in services and further privatise the NHS or vote for a party
that has promised to end cuts and end tuition fees, increase the minimum
wage, etc. The policy differences must be discussed in detail. But the
point of this short article is to outline the key points that impact on
Sri Lanka and on Tamils living across Europe.
On Wednesday 4th I met with John McDonnell, Shadow Chancellor of the
Exchequer, for an exclusive interview. Among other things, one of the
key clarifications we sought from the Labour leadership is about their
foreign policy regarding Sri Lanka. This was in complete contrast to the
interview I did with David Cameron, former Prime Minister, during his
visit to Sri Lanka in 2013.
Cameron refused to speak out truthfully. He dodged the question about
any action he could take in the interests of the oppressed Tamils. When
he was asked a specific question about the Sri Lankan government’s
unwillingness to deliver on human rights and what concrete plans he had,
his answer was murky to say the least. He ambiguously declared that he
“will not be backward”. His sole aim was to manipulate the media into
getting good press for his visit to Sri Lanka. He didn’t have serious
concern about human rights. Time passed. The backward prime minister
backed away from politics. No justice was delivered. The month of March
when the UN human rights council meets came and passed. Last march the
UN gave another two years for the Sri Lankan government before any war
crime investigation is held.
In contrast to the abysmal evasion of Cameron, John McDonnell went
straight to the point. The two year extension is unacceptable he said.
But it was Labour that was in power during the 2009 massacre of Tamils.
Among the chants of over the over 100,000 Tamils who took to the streets
at that time was that the demand of “Gordon Brown, Gordon Brown save
the Tamils”. The then Prime Minister Brown continued the military aid to
Sri Lanka. So what has changed? Would a Corbyn-led government be
different?
Here is part of the interview of John McDonnell. It is exclusive footage
for the Colombo Telegraph. Please obtain permission from the editor or
author to re-use the video.