Prince Edward, Chief Guest at Sri Lanka’s 70th ‘independence’ must visit the Exhibition on Colonial Crimes
Posted on January 29th, 2018
Shenali D Waduge
In 1505 landed in then Sinhale, the Portuguese, the first of the European Christian explorers. Thereafter, came the Dutch and finally the British who gave an independence with dominion status in 1948. Sri Lanka is marking the 70th anniversary of an independence from foreign rule by inviting a representative and relation of the Queen that ruled then Ceylon from 1815 to 1948 & under dominion status upto 1972 when Sri Lanka became a true republic. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and the Countess of Wessex have been invited as Chief Guest for this occasion by the Sirisena-Ranil Government.
During its heyday the British Empire controlled 90% of the world’s countries. Britain has invaded all but 22 countries in the world
The mindset of colonial imperialists was depicted in the words of Winston Churchill himself.
“We are not a young people with innocent record and a scanty inheritance. We have engrossed to ourselves — an altogether disproportionate share of wealth and traffic of the world. We have got all we want in territory, and our claim to be left in the unmolested enjoyment of vast and splendid possessions, mainly acquired by violence, largely maintained by force, often seem less reasonable to others than to us”
All that Britain preaches to the world, Britain denied to every human they forcibly owned & controlled”. The Britain that today promotes itself as a beacon of human rights may be ashamed of the policies it adopted – robbing land transferring them to cash crops & stealing resources, burning down villages, seizing and raping women & children, hanging prisoners without trial (Lt. J. Maclaine pastime was watching Sinhalese men being hung while having breakfast), starving locals to death, infecting natives with smallpox, getting natives addicted to opium and alcohol, importing non-natives & birthing an ethnic problem, killing elephants for sport (Samuel Barker) are just a handful of crimes the British does not wish to remember & refuses to account for.
The culture & heritage of the Sinhale nation was systematically diluted by instilling Western cultures which were projected as being ‘better’ & those that followed them were favoured over those that did not. To fortify this, education was designed to inculcate & nurture those who would adapt & adopt western-thinking, non-dharmic culture & lifestyle breeding a group of natives who would willingly despise and look down upon their heritage culture & history. That legacy continues still.
However, there were people who understood the writing on the wall and realized the need to win back land forcibly confiscated. The Uva Rebellion (1817), the Madulla massacre where British are yet to account for killing anyone above the age of 8.
Millions of people across the world had been subjugated by these Western European exploring invader occupiers. Many of these former colonies continue to suffer from the divide & rule policies left as a legacy of colonial rule. Great Britain some say should pay the victims of imperialism $58trillion but will a payment remove the scars though Germany continues to pay Israel for the Holocaust.
While the Kenyan Mau Mau won a historic case claiming compensation from Britain, with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague announcing a payout of £20 million in 2011, in 2013 David Cameron then British PM visited the very scene where the 1919 British massacre of 379 people by British forces, but his statement fell short of any apology, in 2015 Indian MP Shashi Tharoor also called for reparations from Britain for the deaths of 29m.
What confounds the issue of accountability, apology & reparations is that there are many who falsely believe that imperialism provided development & civility little forgetting that every train, road and infrastructure developed was only to facilitate the plunder of resources en route to Britain. To understand better Viceroy Lord Curzon’s statement is noteworthy British rule may be good for us: but it is neither equally, nor altogether good for them” The racism of Cecil Rhodes is acceptable still, in fact those that killed natives were even honored and given titles! Cecil Rhodes believed natives were inferior while Kipling & many others held the view that the British mission was to ‘civilize’ natives.
A timeline of some of those atrocities will shock any
1817 – Lt. Maclaine given authority to kill anyone without trial. Assist Commissioner of Badulla (Braybrooke) notes reveal the manner natives were killed. Lt. Maclaine is infamously known for having breakfast while watching Sinhalese men being hung!
1818 diary of Sergeant Calladine Not a single day passed without burning a village and killing the Chingalese men. We didn’t take prisoners.”
Dr. John Davey of British Army declares that by 1821 there were no children of patriotic families in the hill country/Uva-Wellassa.
1807 Governor Maitland’s letter to GA Matara use this carefully and secretly, reliance of Buddhism and philosophy of Matara Buddhists must be destroyed. In Matara, Bhikkus are more powerful than village chiefs, make sure all chiefs are Christian”.
What is the purpose in inviting a representative of the British monarchy as chief guest to mark a country’s independence from that very monarchy?
Sri Lanka’s guest at its 70th independence is the Queen’s 3rd son Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. While his itinerary is being set by the British High Commission and Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry the Prince & his delegation should make a visit to the Exhibition of Paintings depicting the Colonial Crimes of the 3 colonial occupants in Sri Lanka since 1505. The exhibition titled ‘Resonance of the Massacre 1818-2018” was held at the Sri Sambuddhathva Jayanthi Mandiraya in December 2017 and the organizers led by Dr. Chamila Liyanage are presently taking the exhibition around the island for all to see.
The exhibition of paintings is presently on display in Gampaha and Prince Edward having studied history at Cambridge University would be keen to see these works of art. Moreover, since Prince Edward has his own production company he may well consider running documentaries of imperial British Empire and its rule over 90% of the world in a documentary that depicts before and after scenario of these decolonized countries.
We hope that the British High Commission & the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry include a visit to the Resonance of the Massacre Painting Exhibition on display in Gampaha for the visiting Prince Edward and his royal delegation.
Resonance of the Massacre 1818-2018
Art Exhibition on Colonial Crimes
Sri Subadraramaya – Galahitiyawa – Ganemulla
Dr. Chamila Liyanage
sinhalasangedama@gmail.com
Shenali D Waduge
January 28th, 2018 at 2:30 pm
So much hate…
We must welcome this prince and thank his country for all the good that was done to the country.
January 28th, 2018 at 3:50 pm
we are being transformed into a poor third world country and our mentality becomes servile making us slaves of our former colonial masters who are greater heroes than the valorous Sinhala who fought against the invaders. Let us make love not war. …!
January 28th, 2018 at 5:05 pm
Modi visited the Colonial Parasite criminals during his visit.
January 28th, 2018 at 6:14 pm
Thank you Shenali for the love of Mother Lanka.
There are still traitors who are prepared to sell Mother Lanka to foreigners.
If someone does not love and protect their motherland, they can even sell their mother and daughter for a personal gain.
I don’t think in any other country you can find such people…..
ONLY IN SRI LANKA!!!
January 28th, 2018 at 7:14 pm
@ Hiranhte
Thats right. Even Aachchi is sold !
January 28th, 2018 at 8:34 pm
WHY ARE THESE IDIOTS IN THE GOSL INVITING ROYAL PARASITES FROM A DEFUNCT AND BANKRUPTED EMPIRE, ON THE INDEPENDENT DAY..?
It is shameful and disgusting that our government and its dumb-assed idiots are still willing to lick the boots of their white masters.
I urge all the patriotic Lankans to boycott this independence day where the pathetic members of the royal parasites are the chief guests. How stupid are Sri Lankans…?
January 28th, 2018 at 11:24 pm
Nimal must be a strong UNP supporter, Are you relatet to Ranil and JR ?
January 29th, 2018 at 2:24 am
This is what CHANDRIKA did in 1998. PRINCE CHARLES.
This is what MAHINDA did in 2013 CHOGM. PRINCE CHARLES.
This is what SIRISENA is doing in 2018. PRINCE EDWARD.
ALL our presidents are SLAVES OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.
January 29th, 2018 at 3:40 am
The government is bending over backwards to please the racist colonial parasites who are seeking to divide our beloved motherland. They are the only ones who are shameless enough, lowly enough to cheer at the arrival of this obscure relict of the obsolete British empire, whose head the monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth) is being preserved in England as a mascot that is paraded abroad to promote British trade (as I read somewhere years ago). This choice of an obscure ‘royal’ (which means little to any civilized nation in today’s world) as chief guest for a function to mark the end of British occupation 70 years ago symbolizes the fact that three years of yahapalana misrule (installed by successors to those very imperialists) has returned the country to the state of limbo (as a divided nation uncertain about where it was heading) that they left us in 1948.
January 29th, 2018 at 4:53 am
@ Lorenzo
Please don’t mention God’s name. His wrongs are done on purpose. He is knower of all. Just worship him.
January 29th, 2018 at 5:38 am
How can we have an exhibition of Colonial crimes when a current minister (male) has ordered a female school principal to kneel before him – for failing to carry out a request made by him, in the year 2018.
January 29th, 2018 at 2:01 pm
L.P
before we exhibit the colonial crimes one must also exhibit the crimes committed by our kings.Latter and the colonials 150years ago never respected the human rights of our the people. No country ever respected right to life until liege of nations was formed in San Francisco. that led to UN and Geneva. We must not go back in history if we genuinely want to move forward.
Some hypocrites shamelessly living in the countries of sudas and lecturing us about our fake history and even trying spread religious and communal hatred which is being noticed and will dealt later. All these open forums bring out these people out of the wood work, just like some did to the tigers who was allowed to gather openly and these countries do a thing with many reasons in mind.
January 29th, 2018 at 6:04 pm
Glad we are on the same wave length Nimal.
January 29th, 2018 at 7:32 pm
Shenali and Senerath,
SL will turn 70. We all AGREE SL is one MESSED UP nation thanks to POLITICIANS. The land THRICE BLESSED by Lord Buddha has turned into a western junkyard.
Why? Why? Why?
Look at the BRAINWASHING our leaders have gone through as kids. This explains WHY SL is what it is today.
I must add some these are good people who served the nation but we must look at BOTH SIDES.
PREMIER ANGLICAN MISSIONARY ST THOMAS COLLEGE INCLUDING PREP
1. SWRD
2. DSS
3. DUDLEY
4. NAMAL
5. YOSHITHA
6. ROHITHA
7. SAJITH
OTHER MISSIONARY SCHOOLS ST JOSEPH’S, ST BRIDGET’S AND HOLY FAMILY
1. SIRIMAVO
2. CHANDRIKA
3. SHIRANTHI
4. PREMATHASA
PREMIER WESTERNIZED SCHOOL ROYAL COLLEGE
1. SIR JOHN
2. JR
3. RUN-NIL
4. DINESH
5. DAHAM
Should we be surprised?
Remember ANAGARIKA DHARMAPALA said the Brits will leave SL one day BUT not before they carefully put in place a group of leaders GROOMED by their institutions. How true!
January 29th, 2018 at 7:36 pm
OH! I FORGOT TO ADD THE TAMIL NADU CROWD.
ST THOMAS
1. CHELVA
ST SEBASTIAN
1. SAMPANTHAN
ROYAL
1. PONNA-AMBALAM
2. AMIRTHALINGAM
Do you see how a FEW SELECTED group of BRAINWASHERS have served their British masters in INDOCTRINATING kids at a young age to rule over locals?
Are you surprised SL is what it is!!! I’m not.
The ONLY EXCEPTIONS also sent their kids to these!!! So no real exceptions!!
January 30th, 2018 at 7:28 am
I know how unhappy I am after investing so much of my hard earned money in SL.I would have done well if I had kept the money here.
I don’t trust these politicians anymore,self seeking I say.Go to a hospital and see the suffering people and what the hell are they doing with our tax money? Truly shameful.
January 30th, 2018 at 6:56 pm
Charming Princes will come and visit Lanka and return.
It is the Citizens of Lanka who have to deal with the daily problems, the insecurities, highly globalised economies, etc.
To cap it all there now appears to be a govt in Lanka that is not loyal to the Country & the People ?