by Our Correspondents in Colombo and London
Two conflicting news were published on the cancellation of President Mahendra Percy Rajapakse’s visit to the United Kingdom to address the Oxford University Union.
(November 06, London-Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Times of India, first reported that the President called off the visit fearing arrest on war crimes charges. This news was soon repudiated by the news in the Daily Mirror of Sri Lanka. It said, quoting the Sri Lanka Foreign Office sources that the visit has been postponed to December this year.
The true situation was, a massive demonstration involving the Sinhalese, Tamils and the Muslims communities were planned to take place in the Central London and in front of the Oxford University on the arrival of the President in London.
The government of Sri Lanka and the Oxford Union kept the date of the President’s address a top secret but the organisers of the demonstration were in preparedness to get on to the street at a short notice. It was an unprecedented move to hold a massive demonstration against the President’s visit connecting all three communities in the UK.
The Sri Lanka High Commission’s intelligence section was fully aware of the move by the expatriates.
Then there was a move by the Global Tamil Forum to obtain an arrest warrant under Universal Jurisdiction law against the President. This too had filtered through to the Sri Lanka intelligence service attached to the Sri Lanka High Commission.
Fearing the consequence of these two major moves, the President decided to back off from visiting the United Kingdom.
The government news of postponement of President’s visit was a damage limitation exercise. It is not known how the two other efforts underway at present to obtain arrest warrants against the President on his arrival in the UK will affect his visit in December.
A Tamil man (Name withheld) who is a victim of physical torture by the army and having extensive knowledge of human rights violation by the forces is said to have approached a leading city firm to file legal action against the President of Sri Lanka. This man is said be carrying severe scars of the tortures and also said to be knowing first hand account of the army’s dangerous clandestine Rajith group that has carried out gang rapes and murders in the north until recently. If his witness account is plausible, the court may order the arrest of the President to answer charges.
Apart from this another group involving some leading Tamil solicitors are said to be preparing to obtain a warrant from a court on arrival of the President of Sri Lanka.
It is reported that the Foreign Secretary William Hague is planning to bring in amendments to the Universal Jurisdiction law to prevent the unconnected parties being implicated in court cases. How far such amendment will help the President of Sri Lanka is not known, when the law is going to remain with some salient amendments.
According to the constitution of Sri Lanka, the President is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. He has delegated his commanding responsibilities to is sibling Gotabaya Rajapakse who is the Defence Secretary. Gotabaya Rajapakse has gone on record of threatening to hang the former army chief Sarath Fonseka who had implicated him of involvement in the massacre of white flag carrying LTTE men in Vanni in May 2009.
In addition, the President’s other sibling Basil Rajapakse is said to be involved in the international negotiation for the surrender of the white flag carrying LTTE men that led to the massacre by the army allegedly ordered by Gotabaya Rajapakse.
If these two additional efforts build up to filing of warrant applications, President Rajapakse it will be in a worse off situation in December to embark on a visit to the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have gone on public about their stand on war crimes committed in Sri Lanka. With the rough handling of its post war international affairs, Sri Lanka is expected to face unprecedented challenges in the international arena including legal cases looming from all corners of the world.
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