Edward Mortimer
Issuing a press statement its says “The announcement comes in time for Wednesday’s “Responsible Tourism Day” at the London World Travel Market 2012[1]. Lonely Planet recently listed Sri Lanka the number one place to visit in 2013. Provocatively titled “think again,” our campaign seeks to enable holiday-makers to make informed choices about tourism providers to ensure that their holidays do not benefit known human rights abusers. We are at the same time eager to highlight the many positive steps that holiday-makers can take so that their spending contributes to developing local communities and legitimate businesses.”
Launching the campaign, Edward Mortimer, chair of the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice said,
“Many people go on holiday to Sri Lanka without realising that as recently as three years ago tens of thousands of civilians were slaughtered there, in the closing stages of the civil war; that the north of the country remains under military occupation; that its people are still traumatized, many of them disabled or otherwise prevented from earning their living; and that people in any part of the island who fall foul of the government are liable to be kidnapped, beaten and often killed. Our campaign is designed to help tourists make informed choices, so that they spend their money in ways that help reconstruction and rehabilitation rather than lining the pockets of criminals.”
Campaign website is now live at http://srilankacampaign.
Read the full press briefing here
Sri Lanka campaign for Peace and Justice have created the attached infographic highlighting key statistics about Sri Lanka’s tourist industry.The hashtag will be #thinkagain
World Travel Market visit http://www.wtmlondon.
James Bond / November 6, 2012
Also ask Commonwealth organization to boycott Rajapakse and move the Heads of Commonwealth Organization meeting scheduled for 2013 from Colombo.
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Justice / November 6, 2012
Mihinair an airline created to cater to the Rulig Junta of sri lanka,loses billions yearly but is maintined at the expense of the poor people and is headed by a close relative of the president who,though recently found guilty of statshing foreign currecy at home,
survives in office.
The other airline Sri Lankan too is a losing entity.
Tourists should boycott both to benefit the people of sri lanka.
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Panda / November 6, 2012
If the Rajapaksa’s will not cooperate with those who aid us, then ultimately they have to pay the price.
This may be the beginning of things to come. Corruption at the expense of the Sri Lankan people should not be tolerated by anyone.
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Mango / November 6, 2012
So, who exactly is behind this ridiculous ‘human rights’ charity created to lecture Sri Lanka, with only one Sri Lankan on its advisory board of 14? http://tinyurl.com/d8b696o
The hard-core LTTE supporter, Antony Lowenstein and tame LTTE academic Prof Damian Kingsbury, last heard justifying LTTE suicide bombing against civilians and eulogising at Anton Balasingham’s funeral.
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/27136.html
Basil Fernando (of the Asian Human Rights Commission), a genuinely principled defender of human rights, should dissociate himself from this bunch of tainted nutters before his credibility if ruined.
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Dr Romesh Senewiratne / November 10, 2012
It’s part of a new smear campaign by the LTTE rump, Mango.
Part of their “Boycott Sri Lanka campaign”.
TGTE (and one of its new “senators”) is modelling the strategies of their “New Improved, Democratic Version” of the LTTE on what their new “senator” has been arguing “brought the Apartheid Government to its knees!!”
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Sathya / November 6, 2012
Yes! This is an excellent move by the right thinking people around the world! They should resort to more and more of these types of strategies to teach a good lessen to this despotic regime!
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Mango / November 6, 2012
@ Sathya ; could you explain how these ‘strategies’ will teach a ‘good lesson’ to this ‘despotic regime’.
You’ll have to engage your brain out of ‘neutral’ into ‘first gear’ and ‘think’.
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Wuliangguobinjiu / November 6, 2012
Lonely planet is for backpackers.
So is it the rajapakistani drugs that is pumping that tourist revenue up??
Maldives with a population of 3k has a little over a million middle class tourist per year- no drugs and the sea is calm unpolluted and the added advantage of several islands.
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A Concerned Citizen / November 6, 2012
The figures in the chart and the graph showing the number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka include a large number of Sri Lankan Tamils from the diaspora who flock to Sri Lanka on tourist visas year after year. So the figures shown do not depict the actual number of tourists who visit this country.
Though a large number in the Tamil diaspora speak against the government in Sri Lanka while in their respective countries, they do not hesitate to go there in large numbers and provide the much needed foreign currency which the rulers in Sri Lanka expect to harvest from such visitors who boost the figures of the tourists visiting the country.
However, lets hope the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice’s current effort would help to bring down the figures of the tourists to Sri Lanka substantially and make more people around the world aware of the kind of people who rule Sri Lanka today.
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Mango / November 6, 2012
Can you explain how reducing tourism, which reduces the earning power of some of the poorer segments of SL society (including on the East coast) will help those people?
Most people in the tourism generating countries (i.e, the West) are aware that a war ended with large civilian casualties. Note also the correlation between tourist arrivals and times of relative and actual peace. i.e. no fighting or bombs = more tourists.
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Rama / November 6, 2012
i will never put my foot in sri lankan soil.if tamil disapora are visiting sri lanka as you say i have no respect for them. in my opinion they are just scum. how on earth can you visit a country that has behaved in an uncivilised and barbaric manner towards tamil people. how can you look at the evil people and say hi to them. i can never do that. i just don’t want to look at a chingala person in my life. i haven’t seen one for quite a long time and i hope it will remain that way. when i go on holiday i don’t like to see armed police or soldiers around. when there so many countries in the world which i can visit troublke free ,why do i want to go to sri lanka for. sri lanka doesn’t interest me at all and as far as i am concerned a least favoured destination.
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Mango / November 7, 2012
Missing you already. :) :)
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sach / November 8, 2012
‘Sri lanka doesn’t interest me at all’ and yet u bother to read ‘Colombo’ telegraph.:) You need to get laid, i can see huge desperation.
“tamil disapora are visiting sri lanka as you say i have no respect for them. in my opinion they are just scum”
after all a brocken watch can be right twice a day. :)
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Rama / November 8, 2012
all i am interested to know about sri lanka is its demise. for that purpose i don’t mind reading any paper including ” the nation” the toilet paper.
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Mango / November 9, 2012
@ Rama: <i<"all i am interested to know about sri lanka is its demise"
Settle down with your favourite edition of “Eelam Babes Monthly” and a few drinks. You’ve got a long wait. The people are tough; they’ve survived 30 years of VP, and they’ll survive MR’s misrule. See how the resourceful Jaffna people overcame wartime privations.
http://vimeo.com/21642823
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Rama / November 9, 2012
you appear to be ignorant on what’s going on around you. man, new countries are being born and old ones being dumped and that’s the reality.
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Mango / November 10, 2012
Hey Rama,
Where’s the evidence for this “..new countries are being born and old ones being dumped.”
Which planet are you on? Earth or Planet Eelam? Looks like you’re smoking some seriously strong ganja.. :) :)
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / November 6, 2012
Another bound to be 100% successful boycott campaign. LOL. Poor Sri Lanka Campaign, maybe going for a last throw of the dice before having to close up shop since their begging bowl’s dried up.
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Mango / November 6, 2012
What’s their success record in boycotts?
Cricket boycott = failure
Tourism boycott = failure
Economic boycott = failure
Diplomatic boycott = failure
Travel boycott = failure
Eelam = failure
Dr Dayan Jayatilleke’s wise words on this tedious nonsense. “In hard science when an experiment repeatedly fails and finally blows up the lab with it, the very assumptions which form the basis of the experiment are reassessed and often abandoned. The empirically evident track record of Tamil nationalist politics in Sri Lanka is that of repeated failure capped by defeat.” http://tinyurl.com/3wov9hh
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Donald J Gnanakone / November 8, 2012
Mango, you are totally wrong.. If not for all the above boycotts, the Tourism into Sri Lanka would be two million a year. Airlines would be operating with higher occupancy rates which would help the airline to make profits.
The same with the Hotels will cover up the big losses.
The protest put the fear of Moses into all the Rajapakses and none of them went to London for the Olympics, nor for the UN General assembly in NY.
Millions of dollars have been spent on PR companies and attorneys.
There is much more boycotts and agitation to come in the future.
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Mango / November 9, 2012
Donald,
The graph in this article proves your claim wrong. The increase in tourist inbound numbers is in line with estimates given in 2009/2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12277809
Were you expecting tourist arrivals to hit 2 million in 2012? Currently the hotels are operating at near capacity and that includes the crap hotels, also and Sri Lanka cannot handle 2million tourists, even if it wanted to! :) :)
Where are your statistics for declining seat occupancy rates on airlines inbound to Sri Lanka? If your case is correct, why is British Airways starting a new service from Gatwick to CMB in March 2013?
MR’s travel plans don’t prove anything, either way. Senior govt figures (and their attendant lackeys) went to the UN and London 2012.
You’re always crying about your ‘concern’ for ‘your own people, the long-suffering Tamil people’ of Sri Lanka. Please explain how reducing tourism, which reduces the earning power of some of the poorer segments of SL society (including the long-suffering Tamil people on the East coast) will help those people?
Can you explain why the pro-LTTE expats who are boycotting and agitating for Eelam now were unable to come to Sri Lanka in 2009 and bolster the LTTE’s depleted ranks?They were too busy eating sushi & cupcakes, no?
http://thecarthaginiansolution.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/tyo-cupcake.jpg
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Dulan Wijewardana / November 7, 2012
“” Sri Lanka campaign for Peace and Justice”” These goons should pic a Right full name Like ” Sri Lanka Campaign for Economic sanctions and Hater-ism” Name not reflect what there agenda >>what so ever.!!whole campaign is UN faithful starting with the name!
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Dr Romesh Senewiratne / November 10, 2012
Yes Dulan, it is part of an organized “smear campaign”. I hadn’t realised, till you mentioned it, that is fits the bill for “Hate Media”. Hate Crimes are already against the law, including incitement to racial hatred.
I read today, regarding the ongoing genocide trials of French-speaking West African “rebels” in Anglo-American courts in East-African Tanzania, that they are deciding whether “Hate Media” should be included in the list of Crimes of Genocide and other Crimes Against Humanity. They are trying to imprison those who ran the rebel radio station.
Though this Rwanda Genocide Trial is a total farce and whitewash, I know that the expatriate LTTE leaders are alarmed at ending up in the ICC. Hence all their vehement denials of guilt and “attack is the best defence” strategy in the courts and media.
The LTTE propaganda actions are being a bit of a flop these days. And they’re not doing too well with their campaign of vexatious litigations, either.
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neelami / November 8, 2012
Tourism is the only industry which can bring some beneifits for the people in the war effected areas. By stooping that what are you going to achieve ? already 4000 people in the east have got employment in the hotel sector passikudaha. USAID program is aiming 10000 jobs in the east coast thorugh their development projects.
over 1500 new rooms are being built in the north and east .
This is a LTTE funded organization trying to bring the war back. only way we can respect the people who died in the war is to make sure it will not happen again. for thast we need ecnomic development.Tourism is the only way we can get this to the war effected areas.
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Wuliangguobinjiu / November 10, 2012
Neelami:Quote”over 1500 new rooms are being built in the north and east”Unquote
What is it pol athu or brick then min of 5 years then will the money stay.
Is it development over dead bodies? Be careful what you wish for.
Practically the only way to dry the swamp of radical Islam is through economic development and an improved standard of living.- Yitzhak Rabin
What has happened to the above development?? The answer is blowing in the wind.
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Mango / November 10, 2012
Attention Wuliangguobinjiu, Mental Health Patient No. 3358198765
Step away from the internet terminal and return to the ward to take your prescribed dosage of Prozac. If you continue to exceed your permitted internet usage, stronger tranquillisers will be used.
Signed, SHO, Rampton Secure Hospital – high security psychiatric hospital
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Wuliangguobinjiu / November 10, 2012
STF principal priority right now is protecting Sri Lanka against another terrorist attack by Mangoes from Madakalapuva.
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Dr Romesh Senewiratne / November 10, 2012
Of course, I agree with you. This is part of an evil hate campaign that harms the reputation of Sri Lanka and would hurt the well-being of the people it claims to be defending more with any success it had. I expect it will have very little, and will show up the people with the strongest ill-will to the Island and its people.
I know the people who directed and advised on the war, Neelami, are still determined to try and “destroy” Sri Lanka. They are trying to “Bring Sri Lanka To Its Knees”, “Economically Exsanguinate” and “cripple” the nation and its economy. They are specifically targetting Tourism and the Trade Union movement.
To be more specific I should say, “he” rather than “they”. He’s just using them for credibility, any money he can get out of them, and a cover for his personal vendetta. As he did the Tigers, and the JVP before them.
Old habits die hard.
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Candidly / November 9, 2012
The so-called Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice is a hate group supported by apologists for terrorism such as Anthony Loewenstein and Bruce Haigh. Noam Chomsky, to his credit, appears to be no longer associated with them. Another member is Yasmin Sooka, who was a member of the Darusman Panel whose notoriously biased report failed to get support at the United Nations.
With their unsubstantiated claim of “tens of thousands” of civilian casualties in the closing stages of the conflict, they put themselves in the category of ancient witch-hunters claiming that vast numbers of people have been spirited away by black magic even though they have no evidence to back up that claim.
And we have to remember that the US, China and India all had satellites observing the war’s final stages, and yet no one has produced any evidence beyond the 7-9 thousand unaccounted for according to the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government itself.
The SLCfPJ are now being supported by an organisation from the UK called Network for Social Change. People should contact that organisation pointing out the lack of evidence for the inflated civilian casualty figure claimed by the SLCfPJ.
Ethical standards such as evidence, innocence until proven guilty, and respect for due process and the law seem completely beyond the Campaign’s understanding. Instead they rely on the old witch-hunters’ “evidence” of gossip, hearsay, prejudice, innuendo, guilt by association and secret knowledge.
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Rama / November 9, 2012
stop your waffle man. the fact of the matter is chingala slum dogs killed 40,000 tamil people , wounded several thousands, denied food, water and medicine to the injured and starving and finally shelled the so called safe zones. these amount to war crimes and what we need is an independent international investigation. llrc is an inadequate mechanism and the personnel involved in investigation are appointed by the state which is being blamed in the first place for carrying out these atrocities. sri lankan turd army is investigating the atrocities committed by their own soldiers and generals. man, this is crap. all the pariah b******s associated with these crimes have to be punished and the truth have to be established. then only the perished can rest in peace.
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Mango / November 10, 2012
How Eelamist are destined to fail at tourism boycotts as they’ve failed at everything else they’ve tried
The sub-headline from a Swiss newspaper says:
“Swiss travel agents are selling long-haul holidays in a former war zone. Yesterday Tamils in the city protested agains this. Interest was minimal. :) :)
Ha ha ha ha.. Aney pau.. neda?
http://tinyurl.com/cxpe57e
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Wuliangguobinjiu / November 10, 2012
Danne Natuve Vage Madakalapuve Poof Para Demala;) Laughing like a mango.
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Mango / November 11, 2012
Attention Wuliangguobinjiu, Mental Health Patient No. 3358198765,
Due to your disruptive and racist behaviour, you’re being transferred to Angoda Mental Hospital in Colombo where the staff have more expertise in treating with patients with your illness.
Signed, SHO, Rampton Secure Hospital – high security psychiatric hospital
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