The President Mahinda Rajapakse turned a difficult situation to come out of it as a great Statesman with poise and dignity.

The President of Sri Lanka came to UK, whether it was a good idea to have had come, and who is to be blamed for not having advised him against his visit are pointless arguments now.

However, the reaction of the President Mahinda Rajaksa to the cancellation of his speech to an association of the Oxford University students was:

“I am very sorry this has had to be cancelled but I will continue to seek venues in the UK and elsewhere where I can talk about my future vision for Sri Lanka.”

“I will also continue in my efforts to unite all the people of our country whether they live in Sri Lanka or overseas. As a united country we have a great future. If we allow divisions to dominate we will not realise our true potential. We have had thirty years of division and conflict. We must now secure peace and harmony for all Sri Lankans.”

This showed of what metal he is made. He was not angry or flustered, and least disconcerted. One would have expected an angry outburst from some one else but the President Mahinda Rajapakse showed himself to be an experienced Statesman, poised and generous.

After all the President had greater enemies to face and he had come out the winner. In this episode in UK too the President is the winner. The loss was that of the Government of UK .

The United Kingdom is supposed to be a civilised democracy. It is supposed to have given the poor countries in the third world democracy and shaped them according to their Christian Civilization, yet it failed to keep at bay a minority group of expatriate Tamils supporting a terrorist group banned in UK, behaving like uncivilized savages manifesting against a visiting Head of State, even if the visit is unofficial.

It is a loss of face to the Government of Great Britain, which speaks of democracy, of freedom of expression, and of human rights, but still could not receive a Head of State in its own soil with respect, in security and in civility. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka is after all a democratically elected President of his country.

One would of course have liked if the President did not go to UK, but he did not ask to come ,he merely responded to an invitation. Therefore it was the duty of those who invited him, to have made necessary arrangements and failing that to inform the President of Sri Lanka before his arrival their inability to receive him.

If the respective association of the Oxford University did not expect the “savagery” of the expatriate Tamil Community, it was the bounden duty of the Government of Great Briton to provide adequate security to a Head of State even if he had not been officially invited by the Government. UK Government could say that it was not responsible as it did not officially invite him, but then the UK Government has duty to coordination with its Department of Security to look after the safety of a visiting Head of State.

It is a shame that Great Britain that won the second world war against terrible odds was made powerless against an ethnic minority, who are the supporters of terrorism banned in Great Britain, to turn a simple visit of a Head of State of a Commonwealth Country in to a situation of utter pandemonium.


The British People should ask their Government how it could be expected to ward of an attack by the Al Queida terrorists when it could not stop a miserable group of terrorist sympathisers manifesting against a visiting Head of State even if it was not an official visit ?

The British soldiers are fighting the Talibans in Afghanistan but how can we expect them to
win against the Talibans when the British Security forces are unable even to provide security to a visiting Head of State.

Any Head of State can visit Sri Lanka now and our Government will provide efficient Security to keep their visit safe and peaceful. The British Security forces could learn lessons from our Security forces. A peaceful environment in Sri Lanka was created by the President Mahinda Rajapakse, whose visit to UK should have been a privilege to UK.

The President Mahinda Rajapakse did not ask to be invited he merely honoured an invitation extended to him to deliver a speech at the Oxford University. His not making the speech is no loss of face either to the President or to Sri Lanka, but it is shameful nevertheless to Great Britain a once proud nation where it had been told long time ago that the sun never set in its Empire.

But where are those Media Freedom activists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Are they only defending the interest of the terrorists, defending free speech, and human rights only in relation to support of terrorists and terrorism ?

These expatriate Tamils protesting against the elected President of Sri Lanka, are fattening the coffers of the pro-terrorist Groups in UK without sending a cent for the welfare of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

They protest, pay large sums of money to different media such as the Channel 4 , and pay opposition MPs in Sri Lanka such as Jayalath Jayawardhane and Wickramabahu Karunaratne to discredit Sri Lanka and its President.

But these Expatriate Tamils in UK, Canada, USA etc. have not come forward to finance any development projects in the North or East of Sri Lanka for the benefit of the Tamils in these areas who suffered under their Thalaivar the Sun God Prabhakaran and his chaotic terrorists for thirty years, and have been resettled by the government.

Those who come off worst in the episode are the pathetic figures of Jayalath Jayawardhana and Wickramabahu Karunaratne. They are certainly very sordid individuals without principles who have gone to address the Tamil terrorist supporters and speak to them of Sinhala Chauvinism and a Tamil Homeland.

The people of Sri Lanka if they have any feeling of patriotism to their motherland should keep away from these two individuals as the “pest” and should not cast a single vote for them in any future elections..