Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Mr Bernard Savage, EU Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, according to the Island of 21 March 2012, has claimed that the grouping “promoted and defended human rights “ƒ”¹…”both within its borders and when engaging in relations with non-EU countries”ƒ”š‚. Understandably, Mr Savage’s intervention was carried through the electronic […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala LondonN7 Uncle Sam’s Human Rights Brigade has moved to the front and shifted into top gear, ready to occupy the centre stage with a seemingly innocuous resolution againstSri Lanka. The US Resolution is a craftily worded text wrapped in apparently anodyne verbiage to conceal its truly sinister intent, but bears the hallmark […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 According to a news report in the Island of 28 February 2012, Jeremy Browne, UK Foreign Office Minister responsible for the human rights, emphasized the responsibility on the part of the global community to intervene inSri Lanka unless the government addressed accountability issues. ƒ”š‚ Alas, Mr Browne has missed a good […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 It is that time of the year again. The annual carnival is back in town! The main protagonists are busy putting finishing touches to their masks”ƒ”š‚¦ The XIX Session of the UN Human Rights Council opens on 27 February 2012 and is due to end on 23 March 2012. I […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala LondonN7 This is not really an attempt to console Sri Lankans distraught over Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s call on the leaders of the Commonwealth to have second thoughts about attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government’s Meeting (CHOGM) due to be held in Colombo in 2013. ƒ”š‚ His message, no doubt, left millions of […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 C4 is determined to continue its crusade against Sri Lanka. Reinforcements have already been brought in with “two Sri Lankan soldiers”ƒ”š‚ and an award-winning journalist “ƒ¢¢”š¬…” Marie Colvin “ƒ¢¢”š¬…” drafted in! It is not possible to assess the credibility of “the soldiers”ƒ”š‚, as they are portrayed as little more than […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala According to an AFP report, a US congressional committee has voted to ban aid to Sri Lanka unless the nation shows “accountability” over the bloodshed in the final stages of its civil war in 2009. Of late, strangely enough, US legislators have developed an incurable obsession with a newfangled concept – accountability. […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawalaƒ”š‚  London Cher Monsieur ƒ”š‚ Silence du Sri Lanka ƒ”š‚ En tant qu’expatriƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚© du Sri Lanka, je m’adresse ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚  vous pour vous faire part de mon indignation sur la lettre que vous avez cosignƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©e avec Mon David Miliband, ancien ministre britannique des affaires ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©trangƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¨res, dans le New York Times du 20 juin 2011.ƒ”š‚  ƒ”š‚ Que Mon […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London Mr David Miliband MP House of Commons Londonƒ”š‚  SW1A 0AA UK Dear Mr Miliband Silence of Sri Lanka First of all, as an expatriate Sri Lankan now living in London, I should like to express my appreciation of the intense interest you have shown in the internal affairs of my country […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London Everyone seems to have contributed his or her two pennies’ worth to the debate on the C4 “documentary”ƒ”š‚. Prime Minister David Cameron and FCO Minister Alistair Burt lost no time in expressing their shock and horror over the alleged atrocities and even issued an “ultimatum”ƒ”š‚ based, apparently, on what they have […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London The C4 “documentary”ƒ”š‚ on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka telecast on 14 June 2011 has brought forth a great deal of comment from all quarters. C4 programmes are in general reflective of the abysmal depths into which the media in the UK has sunk in its sordid endeavours to increase […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Mr Bernard Savage Head of EU Delegation 26, Sir Marcus Fernando Mawatha Colombo 7 ƒ”š‚ Dear Mr Savage ƒ”š‚ Regime Change in Sri Lanka 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 […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala It seems that the mountain, after lengthy painful labour, has given birth to a tiny, shapeless, still-born mouse, albeit, to the apparent delight of a senile, spineless dad. Mr Ban Ki-Moon – putative father – and the hangers-on are desperately and shamelessly trying to swaddle the baby tightly in a UN garb […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala According to some informed sources in London, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been in consultation with the Government of Australia on how to “handle Sri Lanka”ƒ”š‚ at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Perth in October this year. Apparently, the FCO is adamant that there […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala The good old Mr Bruce Fein is in the news again! It appears that Mr Fein, former US Deputy Attorney General (1981-82), has changed his specialty for the occasion. Hard on the heels of Mr Sam Zafiri’s asinine call on the US Government to investigate the President of Sri Lanka for alleged […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala According to a press release from Amnesty International, Mr Sam Zarifi, AI Asia-Pacific Director, is of the firm view that “the United States has an obligation under international law to investigate and prosecute people who perpetrated war crimes..”! Strangely enough, Mr Zafiri, has failed to specify the particular instrument in international law […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala I am very sorry that my last article (In Confidence) has caused some confusion and misunderstanding.ƒ”š‚  I hasten to stress that I had no intention of criticising Prof GL Peiris whom I admire and respect. You may recall that he, in his capacity as Minister of External Affairs, summoned Patricia Butenis, US […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala Ma’am, Oh, I must tell you what happened the other day. I was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs. It was most hilarious. The learned Professor gave me a lecture or a sermon or a homily whatever -all rolled into one in Oxford prose! I could not bear it. No, no, […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawalaƒ”š‚  London N7 Sweden’s zeal and determination to tighten the noose around Julian Assange’s neck show no sign of abating. Indeed, with Uncle Sam breathing down their own neck, the Swedish authorities are said to be burning midnight oil (It is quite handy to have oil-rich neighbours.) to mete out exemplary punishment to […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 According to some news reports, Mr Ban-Ki Moon’s “Panel”ƒ”š‚ is expected to submit its Report to him some time early next year. As many contributors to this Forum have rightly pointed out, Mr Ban-Ki Moon’s manoeuvres in this regard are fundamentally flawed, procedurally incorrect and profoundly unjust vis-ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚ -vis a long-standing […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Since the launch of the series of Wiki Leaks’ “revelations”ƒ”š‚, Hillary Rodham Clinton has busied herself with apologising profusely to US allies for unflattering comments contained in diplomatic cables. Indeed, the amazing fluidity with which apologies roll off her forked tongue is no mean achievement in itself even for a […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Once again, Sri Lanka’s detractors in Europe and elsewhere have been quick to castigate the SL Government for amending the 1978 Constitution in order to remove constitutional restrictions on the number of terms of office that a president is allowed to serve. Predictably, experts of all persuasions including some with […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala Londres Monsieur Bernard Kouchner Ministre des Affaires ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©trangƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¨res et europƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©ennes MinistƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¨re des Affaires ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©trangƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚¨res Quai d’Orsay Paris 15 septembre 2010 Monsieur le Ministre Adieux aux Droits des Roms ? J’ai l’honneur de m’adresser ƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚  vous pour vous faire part de mon inquiƒÆ’†’ƒ”š‚©tude sur votre silence inexplicable sur le sort des Roms que […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Archbishop Desmond Tutu, according to an AFP report, is the latest international dignitary to wade in to the debate on the UN Panel. The Archbishop and Mr Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary-General, members of an “Elders’ Forum”ƒ”š‚, are reported to have urged the Sri Lankan Government to co-operate with the […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Scarcely a day passes without the great and the good exhorting the recalcitrant Sri Lankans to accept the UN Panel and co-operate with it. Rarely has a small nation been showered with so much unsolicited gratuitous advice by so many – perhaps a few in their naivety, but most in […]

Dr Bandula Kothalawala ƒ”š‚ London N7 Lady Catherine Ashton High Representative Council of European Union Brussels Belgium 02.07.2010 Dear Madam UN Panel on Sri Lanka ƒ”š‚ As an expatriate Sri Lankan now living in London, UK, and as an EU citizen and taxpayer, I should like to express my indignation over the Statement on Sri Lanka made […]

Bandula Kothalawala London N7 HE Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General, United Nations New York USA Your Excellency, Newspaper reports indicate that Your Excellency is as determined as ever to go ahead with the Advisory Panel on Sri Lanka. As an ex-patriot Sri Lankan now living in London, UK, I should like to express my deeply-felt disappointment. ƒ”š‚  […]

Bandula Kothalawala London N7 Mr Philip Alston has done it again! In his typical almost inimitable style, Mr Alston has presented the findings of the experts, of course, designated by him on the “execution videos”ƒ”š‚. It is quite obvious that Mr Alston has made this an exceedingly personal issue and his ten-minute presentation smacks of […]

Bandula Kothalawala London N7 In May this year, just after the Sri Lankan Government announced the death of the LTTE leader and released a picture of his corpse, British television stations, not to be outdone, telecast their own picture of Prabhakaran, live, kicking and smiling at his own corpse. Channel 4, as far as I […]

Bandula Kothalawala London N7 There has been widespread condemnation of the sentencing of Mr J S Tissainayagam by the High Court in Colombo. According to Amnesty International, he was found guilty of “writing and publishing articles that criticized the government’s treatment of Sri Lankan Tamil civilians affected by the war”ƒ”š‚. ƒ”š‚  ƒ”š‚ I have not followed […]