Tuesday, February 19, 2013

United Kingdom – Your inability to speak out for your own is pathetic/ tragic


A British Citizen was shot at in Hotel Road, Mount Lavinia (a popular hangout area for tourists) in a tourist guest house, three days ago, and mercifully one bullet grazed his neck lodging in his body without killing him. All the UK can do is to express regret!!!! If he died, what would you have done? Oh heck “he is just a journalist in Sri Lanka and that is part of his job spec to be targeted” so its just another day in paradise, what’s new! That is simply tragic, disgraceful and downright hypocritical.

14 months ago another British Citizen was murdered by a mob led by the Chairman of the Tangalle Pradeshiya Sabha, while his girl friend was gang raped, and the case has not even come to trial and you remain “MUM” it gets worse doesn’t it. Where is your consideration for your citizens?

To make matters worse on the following day instead of the UK government expressing disgust, by recalling its High Commissioner and making a statement that all British Citizens in Sri Lanka, and those contemplating going to Sri Lanka go at their own risk as the UK Govt. cannot guarantee their safety! The papers in the UK, headlines I might add, scream about a paltry piss pot 2Mill pounds in arms being sold to SL, which was promptly denied by the forever denying Sri Lankan Military Spokesman, as being a downright lie and fabrication by the UK papers.

Has the Country that once held sway over half the world and the sun never set on its Empire, now nothing more than a spineless fakir!

Think about it, this is what the UK has become to the rest of the world. So does it even matter to the Rajapakse administration if the Prime Minister of the UK does not attend the CHOGM? No not at all! He has now become irrelevant.

You guys should have made such a hue and cry that should have made the headlines in all SL papers on Sunday and Monday, that would have put the Regime on notice to actually do something about apprehending the culprits. Instead this will be another case of “swept under the carpet”.

I believe the British High Commissioner in Colombo, has become a seat warmer, happy to enjoy his best Tea in the world syndrome, by not ruffling feathers, so he does not get kicked out for being decent! He just wants his promotion from post to post, so he can retire in some farmhouse in the Cotswolds with happy memories of his cocktail circuit life and hob-nobbing with the some guttersnipes in Colombo, happily bullshitting at his local pub about his days being festooned in Colombo.

If you thought I was some anti British Neanderthal (informal meaning of the word) you are far from it, but I think the UK, by the action of its bureaucrats are Neanderthal (formal meaning of the word) not a patch on your past. I believe the Cameron Govt. also should share some of the blame, but the diplomats in Colombo must advise their superiors so that the Foreign Office in London can issue the press statements in the appropriate degree of condemnation, and not pussyfoot.

To give credibility to statements above, which I standby, I had all the qualifications of joining the Foreign Service in the UK and could have been posted one day as the HC in Colombo. I have voted in UK elections since at least the 1974 Miners Strike election when the country was plunged into darkness in a Wilson/Callaghan Administration, having lived there for a total of 18 years. I applied for citizenship in the UK so long ago, but did not bother taking it up when the letters came, even forfeiting the 50pound fee that one paid at the time upon application. UK educated, UK tax payer and contributed immensely to UK economic growth, not sponging off the state for anything, except being subsidized at University level.

Diplomatic niceties are not what’s needed today. If wanton lawlessness prevails in Sri Lanka, you must use every opportunity, especially a situation when your own citizens are involved to defend their interests and thereby express the sentiments of your administration, without being led by a set of bankrupt policies and innuendo by the GTF (Global Tamil Forum) that is taking the UK administration for a ride, with half truths, to give mental satisfaction to the Tamil Diaspora living in the UK, to justify their exile there!

It is time that newly born UK citizens of Tamil extraction are not fed a diet of falsities perpetuating hatred to another set of people who had nothing to do with their parent’s (blame all for the sins of a few) guilt. The only way to prevent a lie from being spread is to prevent access to fringe groups to overshadow the very important goals of British Foreign Policy of attempting to retain a moral high ground when there is wholesale breach of human behavioral norms.

Otherwise one would also be seen to be guilty of the same crime, not wishing to both upset the applecart and get fingers pointed at atrocities in Afghanistan or Iraq in modern day or colonial history in earlier times. None of that is relevant despite the attempts of the current administration to resurrect that to justify their behavior.

So High Commissioner it is not too late to save your Citizens from being massacred and at the same time getting some self respect along the way from your fellow boozers in the local pub for protecting the stiff upper lip from sagging! 

Get on the blower and get Cameron who is just a hop away in India to make a statement from there. I am sure New Delhi would be delighted and he will get a few bonus points from them too.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

if it is an ambassador or a colonial governor, is there any real question why they are here?? it ain't to do much in the way of british national interests that's for sure

Anonymous said...

The British presence here is to spy on Sri Lanka and not look at the immediate interests of the fate of British Nationals here.

SO they dare not shout loud at atrocities in Sri Lanka, lest their cover is blown.

It is best for British citizens to realize that before they decide to live here or even travel to SL.

Anonymous said...

I don't see the need for espionage in SL. There is very little that is hidden in a country run by the crooks for the crooks. Their dirty deeds are in all the papers for all to see, and the people of the Country don't seem to care that they are robbing them blind.

It is for that reason that it is important to frighten the regime into submission by simply preventing any with any connection to the regime from wanting to come to any of the countries either in the EU or Commonwealth. Their insatiable interest to travel their may be deterrent enough considering they don't even wish to go to Russia or China even if the trip is free!!

Anonymous said...

To me the US and UK diplomats are a disgrace. Their incompetence has allowed Sri Lanka to become a rogue state much like Venezuela, Cubs, Libya, Russia etc.

All the US, UK, EU had to do is exert simple pressure in the form of trade, tourist advisories, and IMF & other aid blocking.

During the cold war a military solution may have been used to save Sri Lanka's democracy. Now the west is coy to exert simple pressure.

The influence of the West is declining fast under poor leadership which is leading to the destruction of democracy in a large part of the world.

If the UK will even allow its citizens to be murdered in broad daylight by commonwealth government goons, they may as well close the embassy as it isn't even worth the payroll.

Anonymous said...

people aren't interested in fattened sudhas getting blasted by others. how about some snake woman coverage?

Anonymous said...

in addition to the perks of office as an ambassador in a luxury tropical isle such as ours, the high commissioner must be careful not to offend the GoSL lest they cannot illegally abduct 'persons of interest' from SL with the complicity of the GoSL (a la early 2000s with RW and Milinda Moragoda).

Note that Asitha Perera just got recalled from his plum posting, so if they piss off the powers that be they'll get plucked