By Hassina Leelarathna
The European Union is baring its white imperialist fangs after being outmaneuvered by Sri Lanka in its bid to strongarm Colombo into a ceasefire. The real purpose of adding the Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt to the ride taken by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and British Foreign Minister David Milliband to Colombo is quite clearly stated in Bildt’s blog writings:
Longtime LTTE supporter Brain Seneviratne was refused a visa to enter Malaysia where he was planning to meet LTTE operatives and conduct propagandist activities, according to a report in SinhalaNet.
The Queensland based doctor was refused entry at the Kuala Lumpur airport and deported to Australia. He was tipped to meet LTTE arms dealer K.P. Pathmanathan and launch LTTE fundraising scheme while in Malaysia, the report said.
Seneviratne reportedly faced a similar investigation when he was stopped and questioned for several hours by Canadian immigration authorities during a recent visit to Toronto where LTTE supporters have been holding massive rallies to support the Tigers.
Seneviratne, who claims to be a ‘full-blooded Sinhalese related to the Bandaranaike family,’ has crusaded the Eelam cause for the past thirty years, often telling foreign audiences that he resigned from the University of Ceylon in protest of the ‘Sinhala-Only Act’ and blaming the Buddhist clergy for the separatist conflict.
Another of his claims is that Sri Lanka denied him a promotion to the post of professor of medicine at the University of Ceylon because he is a Christian. That claim has been debunked with evidence showing that the university gave the position to the best qualified person – Dr. Varagunam, a Tamil Hindu Prior to that, the position was held by a Muslim – Dr. Macan Markar.
Colombo - The French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Dr. Bernard Kouchner and Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom David Miliband did not see their mission of getting a ceasefire deal accomplished during their official visit to Sri Lanka.
In addition to discussions with Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollogma, the two ministers called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa, visited the IDP welfare centres in Vavuniya, and the Field Hospital donated by the French Government in Chettikulam.
According to an SL Foreign Ministry press release the two delegations met with all the relevant line Ministries involved with the current humanitarian efforts relating to the IDPs, including the Attorney-General, the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as the Secretaries to the Ministries of Healthcare & Nutrition, Social Services, Justice, Nation Building.
Foreign Minister Bogollagama told the visiting dignitaries that Sri Lanka was on the threshold of defeating terrorism and briefed them on the ongoing efforts by the Government and the close collaboration with the international community as well as UN agencies and the ICRC, in supplying the needs of the displaced population including shelter, food and health. The two visiting dignitaries while expressing concern for the security and welfare of the displaced civilian population, condemned the LTTE for holding the civilian population hostage in the “no fire zone,” the ministry said.
At a joint press conference, Miliband said: "Now is the time for the fighting to stop ... There is no question that the military advance of government forces over last six months has been striking. But winning the peace is as vital as winning the war.” Kouchner told reporters that he would press authorities to allow humanitarian access to those civilians still inside the conflict zone.
