Mr Savage, EU and Regime Change – Open Letter to Head of EU Delegation in Colombo
Posted on May 20th, 2011
Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7
Mr Bernard Savage
Head of EU Delegation
26, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha
Colombo 7
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dear Mr Savage
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Regime Change in Sri Lanka
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ According to a news report in the Daily Mirror of 20 May 2011, you, in your capacity as EU Ambassador in Colombo, had stated that the European Union had no intention of bringing about a regime change in Sri Lanka. No doubt, millions of Sri Lankans had a good nightƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s sleep yesterday, curled up snugly in bed, despite the heat, comforted by your kind, timely and reassuring intervention!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mr Savage, I should be grateful if you would kindly elaborate on your remark. I have been living in Europe for the last 32 years and am reasonably familiar with various treaties and other instruments that govern the conduct of EU institutions and guide its policies and practices. I am at a loss as to which treaty or international instrument you have in mind when you talk about regime change. Of course, in the remark attributed to you, you had categorically denied that the EU was seeking regime change in Sri Lanka. However, the inference is clear. You seem to imply that the EU is in a position to bring about a regime change, but has, for the moment at least, decided not to exercise the right!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is hard to understand whether it is ignorance, arrogance or incompetence or a mixture of all the three that prompted your remark. Maybe, you just wanted to ape some of your Colombo-based Western colleagues who strut around like viceroys of yesteryear. On the other hand, it is true that some EU members, especially, those who incessantly preach democracy, good governance, the rule of law and what not used to rule the waves and, you will no doubt want to assert that they are still wont to waive the rules when it suits them. So much for your passion for democracy and respect for international law!
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I am an EU citizen and a tax-payer who contributes to the payment of princely salaries and perks of people like you. I do hope that, in future, you will resist the urge to make facetious condescending statements unworthy of your status.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I do not look forward to hearing from you again on regime change.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yours sincerely
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dr Bandula Kothalawala
London N7
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ PSƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ As for your comments on ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-UN PanelƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚, you may want to read the articles on Lankaweb.
May 20th, 2011 at 6:27 pm
A great letter…I wonder whether you would get a response.
Isn’t it funny that, first you hear the same comment from Robert O’Blake then it is parroted by others in the West at various intervals. One does not have to be a statistician to work out that this is not coincidence.
May 21st, 2011 at 5:02 am
Hello,
There is no regime in Sri Lanka but a democratically elected ( with 2/3 majority, in an election monitored and approved by international observers) government.
There is a regime in Saudi Arabia which kills people by stoning. Go and change that regime.
May 21st, 2011 at 2:00 pm
A Great Letter indeed by Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7, my hats off to you Sir for enlightning the MOST UNPATRIOTIC COLOMBIANS IN SRI LANKA,IF they ever have an atom of a brain worship and try to adopt the policies of the so called IC.
As gdesilva and Dham reminds these pundits, Sri Lanka-MOTHER LANKA is a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVT.(YES WITH 2/3 rs mjlority) And what right these two pundits of have to talk of a regime change of another sovereign state???
These white skinned KARAPOTHTHAS think that they have a legal right and ability to make a regime change as if they are the WORLD’S CREATORS.
One nice example is WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THE UNP WHO WERE GOING AFTER THE IC SPREADING FALSE ALLEGATIONS against MR Govt??? They are the BXXXXY Fools who are trying their dirty trickes to have a regime change BY HOOK OR CROOK.
Sri Lanka is a country blessed with a religion THAT PREACHES & DOCTRINES , to practice Love & Kindness to all,avoid hatred, etc etc ., which has delivered fruits.
May 21st, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Find a handful of disgruntled layabouts from a country, dress them up as true patriots of a nation, hand them some HR placards, put them in front of Western media cameras controlled by capitalist barons, splash the pictures on the TV screens throughout the world, and then take up arms as the champions of democracy. This is the latest fashion adopted by western governments to steal other nations land, assets and resources.
US started this game with Iraq, went and bombed the country to smithereens, on the say so of one disgruntled guy who got a raw deal from Sadam Hussein. To the US, one disgruntled man became the nation, when the true nation and millions of its people were blown to bits. Since then this sick game has spread.
Now UK, France, Italy, Norway, Germany and even the usual peace loving Sweden are in the band wagon with the US, carving up the world as they used to do in the 18th and 19th centuries. They smell oil, instead of slaves and gold and spices. The greed and the craving of the west, US and NATO sees no ending. Libya is the latest victim to resist this madness of the West. Syria is the next prey in waiting for the hyenas. Regime change is their new fad, and they only want a few disgruntled mobsters like Colombians as a catalyst, to champion their cause with arms.
So if this guy from EU has come round preaching his gospel as a veiled threat with the softness of a fairy, then it is just the initial warning shots across the bow of our nation and land. SLK Govt, you better listen to this messenger with seriousness and unite the country now. Open letters to Savages on a website won’t do, because they don’t read website mail. The mail might calm the nerves of those like us who get pleasure by reading them. Sorry DBK I do not wish to undermine your master piece, written with passion and patriotism; but in my opinion, what Mr Savage said without saying it openly is a serious piece of preliminary posturing that should not be dismissed on account of his spending your tax contribution to EU coffers without your permission.
It is for MR and Family Co to be careful, because people could turn against them if the cash inflow and other national assets are squandered on useless publicity gimmicks while people are burdened with taxes and sky rocketing food and commodity prices. The rich and capable in Sri Lanka today are living like kings while the average citizen now does not know whom to turn to pay for their weekly grocery and medicines.
It is time for MR and Co to bring out those people who are capable of defending and unifying the country to the front ranks, those who know how to spread the nations wealth equitably across its people, and to go forward as a united nation. Instead we have in the government many hangers on and opportunist bragsters who pretentiously claim to command suicide squads in Kiribathgoda. It is time to clean up the act, and to stay tune to the people, wealth to be invested to town and village level farming and industry developments where people must be shown how to be self sufficient.
Dansal at Temple Trees hardly emulates what “Illeesa Sitano” did in the jataka story. The citizens want, not just one free meal on wesak day, but their cost of living to be comaptible with their wages, not having to compete with the rates demanded from well shod tourists. Today, only those who earn foreign money or Sri Lankans who command European level salaries, ministers and MPS can live well off in SLK. All the others are in the dumps and forgotten.
In these dumps breeds hatred and discontent, and that is how regime changes come about. If EU and the West is giving SLK, money, as they claim, then they should find their way to the people and not to the pockets and private bank accounts of the Mnisters, MPs, and favoured businessmen and manipulators. This is what Savage is saying. The west is just waiting for an excuse and for someone to invite them in.
If I were you Mr President I will take this threat very seriously and look into the grievances of people instead of being amused by the antiques of certain joker MPs and Ministers playing to the gallery. We know that denial of the truth is a normal defence adopted by politicians, but I hope that you will lend your ears to the people before your two-third majority dissipates in the wind.
May 22nd, 2011 at 4:17 am
Europeans always advice others but they never try to correct their mistakes. What is the right them to advice or think of change our legally elected President. It is our voters who appointed present regime on their mandate. It was a free and fair election and even leader of opposition admitted as their common candidate defeated.
No one has any right to think even to change the regime in Sri Lanka. If Sri Lankan’s want they can change the regime, in 2017 presidential election. In 2017 election, it has to decide by Sri Lankans but not by the Europeans.
If they are for true democracy why not Europeans change their feudalist head of the state system. In Britain, Norway, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Monaco head of the states are either a feudalist woman called queen or feudalist man called king. Citizen of the country does not elect those feudalist rulers and they don’t have any mandate. Those feudalist families still have a life style of 15th Century or 16th Century. It is not irrelevant whether they have executive powers or not but reality is their head of the state system is based on feudalism.
Europeans always keep shit loads in their head and pretended that they are well clean neat and always correct. Before advise others, they better change their feudalist system as we are living in 21st Century.