Blaming in Sinhala and apologizing in formal English in Sri Lankan politics

(July 04, 2010, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Sri Lanka government may tender an apology to the United Nations (UN) over comments made by government Minister Wimal Weerawansa urging the public to surround the UN office in Colombo and prevent the staff from leaving the premises in protest over the UN panel appointed by UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said responding to a question posed by a journalist from Innercitypress at a media briefing at the UN Headquarters in New York on Saturday.

He said that the UN has received some indications that an apology might be in order.

Sri Lanka government coalition party National Freedom Front (NFF) leader and Minister of Housing and Construction Wimal Weerawansa vowed last week to launch a fast unto death unless the panel appointed by the UN General Secretary to advise him on Sri Lanka is not dissolved.

Weerawansa also warned the UN that a protest would be held before the UN office of Colombo.
He urged the Sri Lankan people to surround the UN office in Colombo and keep its staff hostage until UN chief Ban Ki Moon would decide to dissolve the three-member advisory panel he appointed on Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, Maithripala Sirisena, the General Secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and senior Minister accused several unnamed Western countries for conspiring against the island nation.

In an exclusive interview with the state-owned Sinhala daily The Dinamina on Friday, the Minister said that the countries that tried to trap Sri Lanka amidst war are speaking against it. He also said that there is a massive conspiracy behind the revoke of GSP Plus tariff concessions by European Union.

Commenting on the panel appointed by the UN Secretary to advise him on the war crime charges against Sri Lanka, Minister Maithripala Sirisena said that the UN Secretary’s move would be a failure since UN is not him but the member nations.

The Minister pointed out that Russia, China, India and the non-aligned nations have come to the rescue of Sri Lanka. “Those who speak about the human rights of Sri Lanka, avoid speaking about war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan,” the Minister charged.

The problem that remains with these vociferous Ministers is their inability to build up as leaders in an environment of diplomacy due to the sheer backwardness in aspects such as class, culture and language. To hide these weaknesses, they always revert to ethnic extremism their clan knows too well. They do not bother about the troubles their immediate bosses have to undergo since they actually want to see them in trouble. Otherwise, how can they climb up in the power ladder?

They wield their tongues freely in Sinhala language while their leaders have to rent English professors like Rajive Wijesinha to write letters of apology in Queen's English. What an irony! 


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