Has UK become vulnerable to the machinations of LTTE rump ? - Faiszer Musthapha

Deputy Minister of Technology and Research Faiszer Musthapha referring to the Oxford Union’s cancellation of the scheduled address by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on December 2, queried whether the United Kingdom had become vulnerable to the machinations of LTTE remnants and its lackeys.

Musthapha has issued the following statement regarding the cancellation of President Rajapaksa’s address:

"We Sri Lankans are amazed by the fact that the Oxford Union, which was described by no less a person than the late Harold McMillan, a former Prime Minister of Britain, as the ’the last bastion of free speech’, surrendered its independence to a mob of domiciled terrorists and cancelled a lecture scheduled to be delivered by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

"What startles right minded persons, who uphold the values of democracy, is the ability of a handful of terrorists to hold the prestigious Oxford University community to ransom and bring the British polity into disgrace.

"The Oxford Union, which is now 186 years old, has had, among its alumni, twelve British Prime Ministers. Its guest speakers over the years include a glittering array of global personalities who had excelled in diverse fields from politics to science, art, sports and many others.

"Among the many politicians who have addressed the Union is Sinn Fen’s Gerry Adams who spoke on the Ireland issue which was then a highly controversial subject in British politics. Yet there was no such uproar against him and the British demonstrated their commitment to defend the right to free speech. However, the denial of that right to a Head of State who arrived in the UK on an invitation by a hallowed institution, projects a paradigm shift.

"Has the culture changed now or does the vulnerability of British citizenry and the political machinery at the hands of an alien group of terrorists and their lackeys masquerading as British subjects been exposed?

"What is disturbing is that the LTTE remnants and supporters numbering about three hundred, who demonstrated against the arrival of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the UK brazenly carried flags depicting the LTTE logo in open violation of the laws of Britain which proscribed them as a terrorist organization. It is a sad situation that such a miniscule group had been able to silence the voice of the British citizenry. This is a dangerous trend casting shadows of a potential threat to democracy in Britain.

"As Sri Lankans, we condemn the denial of the freedom of expression to our President who is the only statesman in the world to vanquish a terrorist group. Indeed western countries who claim to wage a so-called war on terrorism should remember that LTTE was the most ruthless terrorist organisation.

"The sequence and the timing of events that preceded President Rajapaksa’s visit suggest that the protest campaign which was perceived as a security threat was not confined to a convergence of people but a well orchestrated terrorist plan to redeem their lost image.

"This incident will in no way affect the resolve of the President to ensure that the scourge of terrorism will not resurface in Sri Lanka".

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