Toothless but certainly not spineless

By Vickramabahu Karunaratne

(June 22, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) There was a beneficial reference to me in last week’s Lakbima News, weekly news paper based in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Underpala, in his column, had said “Bobby Boy said later that the Sri Lanka government is “afraid of dialogue, afraid of discussion.”

Is it not the Canadian government that is afraid of discussion? Is that not the reason why they stopped Galloway (and even the politically toothless Vickramabahu Karunaratne) egged on by the Jewish Defence League? So was it security that made the Canadians deny a visa in 2005 to the chief African negotiator to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety attending the Biosafety Protocol in Montreal? No, it was Canadian big business and the GM lobby in association with the Ottawa government. Go stick your principles somewhere else Ottawa!”

Vicious traitor

In spite of being toothless I am quite happy to be in the same line with Galloway, the only independent Socialist in the British parliament. It is true that the Canadians did not give me a visa claiming that I was an international terrorist who helps the LTTE. In fact neither Maha Rajano nor his state dared to claim formally that I was connected to terrorism. I believe Maha Rajano has to be careful as we worked together for democracy and human rights in the past. However dogs at the bottom of the state structure have been barking at me claiming that I am a vicious traitor connected to terrorism. In one major pro government publication, a daily paper, the editorial said that I participate in various demonstrations that expose human rights violations in this country, because I am paid to do so by the LTTE.

It further said that all the evidence of such payments is in their hands and they will be exposing them in the near future! Apparently, I am involved in an action programme to destabilise the government and I will have to pay for it eternally.

So Underpala is wrong to call me toothless! Surely these dogs at the bottom of the state structure, who write things in their publications for the sake of the master, write these editorials at the behest of the master himself. In other words the master is interested in at least frightening us into silence. This is amply proved by a certain chairman of a state media house who almost everyday, abuses me in the same manner, requesting the public to throw stones at me. However Underpala is correct in one sense, that I am not an elected person within the present bourgeois democracy. I am not even a village councillor. The tragedy is that in the last western provincial council election, in spite of the campaign of the government alleging that I was a paid agent of Tamil nationalism and though Sivaji staunchly supported me, one leading Tamil parliamentarian requested the Tamils not to vote for me. Naturally I could not get elected. And the story of the Canadian ban is incomplete without my explaining what happened to the campaign we organised against it.

Worldwide petition

There was a worldwide petition addressed to the Canadian government which was signed by thousands of important people including Noam Chomsky! The case we filed against the Canadian government ended with victory for us.

On 21 November 2008 our lawyer Andrew J Brouwer, barrister and solicitor, Jackman & Associates, informed me: “I received a rather surprising fax from the Department of Justice - they are offering to settle this case. They agree to set the decision aside and make a new decision. What’s surprising about this is the timing, as they normally would not make such an offer at least until they have seen our arguments (which they have not), or more commonly until the court has granted leave and the hearing is pending. I have put in a call to the government lawyer to find out what is motivating this unusually early offer, but I think we must settle or risk being ordered to pay costs for the government for needlessly litigating the matter. Please consider this; I will get back to you when I get more details from the lawyer.”

The next day he added “Please see attached amended settlement offer from the minister and let me know whether you are willing to accept these terms. I strongly recommend doing so.” Obviously I agreed. So I got an agreement from the minister.

This is a special occurrence in Canadian history as indicated by Jim and the others who invited me. Perhaps Underpala’s Bobby Boy should try my method to get justice by filing action against the Lankan government in the Supreme Court.

Those who supported his visit should do it. In the course of it, it may be possible to prove that the criticism of the Canadian ex-minister is true in relation to what is happening in the Tamil homeland. It will be a good thing, to expose the misery in the Supreme Court.

-Sri Lanka Guardian