Image: Member of European Parliament Mr Robert Evens attended the Protest and spoke to them. He said that he will continue to request for immediate ceasefire and both parties must talk and bring a lasting peace in Sri Lanka.(February 07, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) The Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim communities of Sri Lanka celebrated the 60th Independence celebrations in the Sri Lankan Diaspora in their own ways. The Sri Lankan government considered it as a national event and all the Sri Lankan High Commissions and Embassies celebrated in the traditional manner. The events were attended by cross sections of the Sri Lankan community.
LTTE on its part organized protest functions in some countries. These demonstrations and functions were spearheaded by the LTTE fronts operating in the respective countries.
Overall, majority of the Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslim communities went about their business leaving the functions to the diehard activists and sympathizers.
On the government side, winning the war was the main theme. The President’s speech gave the direction of the government very clearly. War, war, war…. Was the theme! Defeating the LTTE terrorism was the underline message. Political resolution, human rights violations, human suffering etc. were either got submerged or ignored altogether.
The LTTE campaigners on their part heavily played the human rights card making one sided accusations on the successive Sri Lankan governments. A photographic exhibition organized by the LTTE fronts British Tamil Forum and the Tamil Youth Organisation in London displayed hundreds of pictures of human rights violations by the successive governments. The organizers did not hide the fact that the exhibition was a LTTE event.
The LTTE demonstrators on the street failed to equally condemn the atrocities committed by the LTTE. Neither the photo exhibition reflected the abhorring acts of the LTTE against its own people.
Both sides displayed they were sitting on moral high grounds to give misleading and confused account of Sri Lanka in their Independence Day celebrations.
Though tireless efforts made by the LTTE to hold these anti-Independence functions, they failed to attract the crowd for the event. Thousands of Tamils who had participated in the demonstrations and functions prior to few years ago could not be seen and these have been left to the few hardcore activists.
One of the LTTE websites said all about the events in London.
Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslim communities have given their message in a silent way. They all hope and prey to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Independence in unity as Sri Lankans expecting deep rooted feelings against each other will be resolved through combined socio-political-economic means.
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