By K. Anaga –

After having exhausted the reading of the Presidential candidates’ manifestos, Sri Lankans appear to be busy dissecting the manifestos put out by the political parties in UK prior to their general elections to be held shortly. It is evident from the statement Issued by the Ms Manisha Gunasekera, the High Commissioner, that the Sri Lankan government is concerned about the manifesto issued by all the political parties in general and the conservative party in particular.

Jeremy Corbyn & Boris Johnson

In her letter to the Co-chair of the conservative party as per the press reports, Ms Manisha labeled as unacceptable the assertion in the Tory manifesto that Sri Lanka would require a two state solution to end the simmering ethnic conflict. She also noted that it has never been the position of any political party in the United Kingdom.

Manisha you are correct. If this position was adopted by the British government and the major political parties at the time freedom was give to us on a Silver Plate, we would not have gone through genocides, murders, mayhem and the formation of the liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam to fight the Tamil cause. 

If the Tamil problems and solutions were adequately mentioned in the manifestos of our presidential candidates, the political parties in UK may not have rightly referred  to a ‘Two State’ solution for Sri Lanka. 

It appears even the so called ‘enlightened’ political parties, Conservatives, Labour and to some extent the Liberals in England, live to learn and then learn to live, rather too late. It is unfortunate that it took over 28 years (1976) for the Tamil parties to fight to re- establish the status quo of a separate Tamil kingdom which existed prior to the British take over. Ironically it took over 70 years for the political parties in UK to realize that they have failed to fathom the trials and tribulation undergone by the Tamils under a unitary regime which was/is the cause of the present situation.

The British political parties would have turned a blind eye to the sufferings of the Tamils in Sri Lanka, if not for the inundation of London initially by Sri Lankan Tamils who were forced to flee Ceylon from 1958 initially in a trickle and thereafter from 1977 on words, as a stream and from 1983 on words like a flood, over flowing into River Thames.

As stated elsewhere in the press on Sunday, “Britain is in the throes of a general election. Both the Conservatives and the Labour are desperately fighting to win the Tamil votes and thus play to the Eelam gallery, But in the Tory pursuit to grab the votes and clinch the polls- has it gone too far to hurt the sensitiveness of Sri Lanka”? If, promising more and more to the Tamils by the political parties in a competitive manner in UK will hurt Sri Lanaka, what about the Sri Lankan Sinhala political parties, namely UNP, SlFP, Podu Jana Peramuna and even other parties who are fighting/competing among themselves to give less and less to the Tamils to get more and more Sinhala Buddhist votes, and clinch the polls at the expense of the Tamils and Tamil speaking Muslims. Not only to  grab the votes but even to grab the lands belonging to the Tamils and Hindu Temples, to seat Lord Buddha, with ulterior motives. Do you think that Tamils are not sensitive?

If the British government did not support the war against the Tamils along with India, Pakistan, USA and China or at least sort out the problems after the war in a genuine manner, the need to include our problem in British manifestos may not have arisen. A little bit of hypocrisy?

More than Sri Lanaka, Britain is responsible for the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka today, due to their diplomatic blunder at the time of our independence. As if to add insult to injury Britain supported the war against the Tamils, despite the fact they were/are responsible for the plight of all Sri Lankans today.

Britain appears to be making an effort to close the stable after about fifty thousand horses have died and a million horses have fled. Sri Lanka’s loss is a gain for the west in general and Britain in particular. At least after 70 years of independence, realize your folly and remedy the situation please.

May I take this opportunity to appeal to Her Majesty the Queen to request the parliamentary contestants to stop the political effervescent, unless it is coupled with appropriate action, as this will only precipitate matters. It will not bring in the desired results to the Tamils of Sri Lanka.