By Suganthie Kadirgamar –
Suganthie Kadirgamar
I welcome you all to the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration, 2013.
Dr. Francis Gurry, Director General – World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the specialized agency in the United Nations responsible for promoting the protection of Intellectual Property, in the world through cooperation amongst States, is here today to deliver the 2013 Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration.
Dr. Gurry, thank you for accepting my invitation on behalf of the Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies to deliver this year’s Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration.
Dr. Gurry, you are here today to honour your former colleague and friend who laid down his life for the defence of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of his country. Your presence here today is a tribute to the memory of Lakshman Kadirgamar. We are honoured to have you here today.
Dr. Gurry, the fourth and current Director General of the WIPO is also the Secretary General of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). Dr. Gurry has written many books and academic articles specializing in Intellectual Property related issues. I must mention that Lakshman was very impressed with Dr. Gurry’s book titled ‘Breach of Confidence’ which was based on his doctoral thesis.
Hon. Minister of Justice, thank you very much for your presence to commemorate the memory of your former parliamentary and Cabinet colleague.
In 1977, Lakshman Kadirgamar, as the head of the Asia Pacific Bureau of the WIPO, had discussions with the President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka – Dr. H. W. Jayewardene and Minister of Trade and Shipping Lalith Athulathmudali, to assist Sri Lanka to revise the Intellectual Property Laws of Sri Lanka.
Pursuant to these discussions, in September 1977 the Minister of Trade and Shipping appointed a committee to revise the laws on Intellectual Property in keeping with the commercial policies of the Government. I had the privilege of serving as the Secretary of that Law Revision Committee.
Intellectual Property laws at that time comprised of several Ordinances which were archaic. Such as,
Merchandise Marks Ordinance of 1888;
Designs Ordinance of 1904;
Patents Ordinance of 1906;
Copyright Act 1911;
Copyright Ordinance of 1912;
Trade Marks Ordinance of 1925;
Lakshman Kadirgamar through the WIPO submitted a set of model laws, which the Law Revision Committee accepted with modifications and amendments to suit Sri Lanka. Incidentally, the first seminar organized by the Sri Lanka authorities and the WIPO to discuss the changes to the Intellectual Property Law was held in this very same hall in 1977.
On 25th May 1979, the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka enacted the Code of Intellectual Property Act No. 52 of 1979.
This Act was again revised in the year 2003 to adhere to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement. Mr. Kanag-Isvaran, PC who is present here today was the Chairman and I was a Member of this Law Revision Committee. Lakshman Kadirgamar was consulted by his Cabinet colleague Mr. Kingsley Wickremaratne, Minister of Trade. Many aspects concerning the amendments to the Law were discussed.
3. To comply with the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003 was enacted.
WIPO’s constructive role to assist the advancement of the Intellectual Property Laws in this region is commendable. The resident Intellectual Property training course for participants from Asia which was commenced by Lakshman Kadirgamar in the year 1979 was held annually in Sri Lanka, at this Institute, until the year 2000. This training course could not be continued due to the menace of terrorism which prevailed in Sri Lanka. Now that the conflict is over may I suggest to Dr. Gurry to consider the possibility of re-commencing this training course in Sri Lanka.
Dr. Gurry, WIPO may also consider assisting Sri Lanka to establish an internationally accepted searching authority to examine prior art on specifications of inventions seeking novelty. Such an authority will be of great assistance for the inventors as they could ascertain whether their inventions are new to the world.
I thank you once again Dr. Gurry for visiting Sri Lanka to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration.
Hon. Minister of Justice, thank you for your presence this evening.
I thank you ladies and gentleman for your presence here today for the 2013 Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration.
*The speech delivered by Suganthie Kadirgamar for the “Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Oration 2013” held on the 6th November, 2013 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute.
Rita / November 12, 2013
”territorial integrity” is secondary to equality of all citizens.
Justice Weeramantry told LLRC that we should have equality of all citizens to solve our problems.
No state has ”sovereignty” if there is no equality of citizens.
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Nalla Thambi / November 12, 2013
No state has equality of citizens. Citizens are different and their faith also. But every state has sovereignty.
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Rita / November 12, 2013
This is what some ”sovereign” governments do:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/srilanka/10439696/Tory-MPs-banned-from-free-Sri-Lanka-trips.html
The President is refusing to publish the reports of the Commissions of Inquiry and Committees Appointed by him in 2006 – 2012:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/85007346/A-List-of-Commissions-of-Inquiry-and-Committees-Appointed-by-the-Government-of-Sri-Lanka-2006-%E2%80%93-2012
Successive governments have been doing the same:
Sri Lanka: Twenty years of make-believe. Sri Lanka’s Commissions of Inquiry, Amnesty International, 11 June 2009,
https://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA37/005/2009/en
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Sukirihami / November 12, 2013
Had the country produced more personalities of LK kind, we would not have left any space hatreds/hate speeches to spread and become daily agendas seen in the country today.
———————————————————————–
Now I’ve been happy lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun
Oh I’ve been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be, some day it’s going to come
Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again
Now I’ve been smiling lately, thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be, something good has begun
Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train
Get your bags together, go bring your good friends too
Cause it’s getting nearer, it soon will be with you
Now come and join the living, it’s not so far from you
And it’s getting nearer, soon it will all be true
Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Now I’ve been crying lately, thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating, why can’t we live in bliss
Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country, come take me home again
Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on peace train
Yes, it’s the peace train
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crazyoldmansl / November 12, 2013
Bindunuwewa Kadirgamar
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Peace Dove / November 12, 2013
Are you extending this invitation to your step-children Ajita and Ragi as well?
You had better, or I will not come!
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sea / November 13, 2013
Damn well said. Even the tiny photo of her on this article is suggestive that this woman yearns to ‘own’ the late LK’s image and reputation. The reading glasses she’s wearing were his signature pair, that he used to wear a almost all national and international functions he addressed. I know I may sound a bit paranoid, but it’s hard to believe the glasses are not LK’s. Those interested can compare old photos and the photo above…
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Mahadana Muththa (Jnr) / November 13, 2013
This is the ‘duplicate’ Mrs. Kadirgamar!
She needs to hang on to the late LK’s image at any cost because without it, this woman is nothing.
Very soon she will be wearing not only the late LK’s reading glasses but his clothes as well.
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Rita / November 12, 2013
How ”sovereign” is Sri Lanka when its President lies through his teeth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzGj2hYoymo&feature=youtube_gdata
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKPXiaoubj0&noredirect=1
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Luxmy Silva / November 13, 2013
Was Kadirgamar the sort of person who would have challenged the Eighteenth Amendment? the lies of this President? the land grab from the poor in the South (not certainly of the North)? the corruption of the govt institutions? Where would be Mr 10%?
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Uthungan / November 13, 2013
That is why he was eliminated.This president would never have become
one had LK lived.
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Mikhael / November 12, 2013
At times like this I wish a Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar was present in this world to set the record straight about the LTTE to the western world. I hope one day Sri Lankans of all ethnic groups who live overseas will remember that they are ‘first and foremost Sri Lankans’ as Mr Kadirgamar said.
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Luxmy Silva / November 13, 2013
The world knows that people oppressed for a long time resort to violence – they don’t like ”sovereign” governments to oppress their own citizens.
Conscientious Sinhalese also don’t like it:
Prof Priyan Dias addresses LLRC, 07 October 2010:‘’If we do not feel guilty for the Northern military uprising we cannot go anywhere in the future as a country.’’
Jayantha Dhanapala’s submission to Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), 25 August 2010: ‘’The lessons we have to learn go back to the past – certainly from the time that we had responsibility for our own governance on 4 February 1948. Each and every Government which held office from 1948 till the present bear culpability for the failure to achieve good governance, national unity and a framework of peace, stability and economic development in which all ethnic, religious and other groups could live in security and equality.Our inability to manage our affairs has led to the taking of arms by a desperate group of our citizens. We need to rectify this bad governance and the first and foremost task before us is to undertake constitutional reform in order to ensure that we have adequate devolution of power. We need to have State reform; we need to have rule of law established; we need to ensure non discrimination amongst our citizens; we need to have devolution of power and a tolerance of dissent and a strengthening of democratic institutions”
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Mikhael / November 13, 2013
‘Resort to violence’ is quite a nice way of justifying terrorism for over 30 years. For bombing buses, trains, mosques, schools ,churches and temples. Killing unarmed civilians of ALL ethnicities. There is no way you can justify terrorism. So I guess recruiting child soldiers was justified as that is how they ‘resort to violence’ when people are oppressed. Don’t think for a second I agree with the government but you try telling a 12 year old child who is recruited by the LTTE threatening to kill his family if he does not fight for them that they should ‘resort to violence’ because they are being oppressed by the government. Oh the irony!
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PalmSquirrell / November 13, 2013
Sri Lankans who citizens of other nations are first and foremost citizens of those Nations and only Sri Lankan in ancestry.
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Davidson Panabokke / November 13, 2013
What wouls have Lakshman Kadirgamar said about this:
http://www.cpalanka.org/northern-provincial-council-election-2013-mullaitivu-district-situation-report/
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