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Pro-LTTE protests after abortive bid to block President Rajapaksa’s visit

To participate in Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in London

June 9, 2012, 6:55 pm

By Sujeeva Nivunella in London

Last week witnessed a hive of pro-LTTE activity in London. From the day news broke out that the President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be participating in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Tamil groups supportive of the LTTE swung into action.


They lodged their protest to Buckingham Palace in a bid to thwart the President’s participation. They also lobbied through their friendly MPs in the House of Commons. When their attempts failed, they resorted to demonstrations.


Initially, on June 3, they gathered at Terminal 4 of the Heathrow Airport where SriLankan Airlines passengers disembark. They waved Eelam flags and shouted anti-Rajapaksa slogans. The whole Terminal was disrupted due to this demonstration. When they found the President was not on board the regular flight which touched down, they dispersed.


President Rajapaksa and the entourage arrived in London on June 4 in a special SriLankan flight around 6 am and were escorted to the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane by British police officers. A few days prior to the President’s visit, a team of President’s Security Division personnel were in London to check on the security arrangements. They also booked into the same hotel.


When the pro-LTTE activists discovered that the President had arrived and was staying at the Hilton, they staged a protest opposite the hotel. Simultaneously, another group of Sri Lankans held a peaceful rally in front of the hotel in support of the President.


President and the First Lady attended a reception at the Buckingham Palace on Monday afternoon and stayed for the special musical show with the Royal Party and other distinguished guests in the special Royal Box.


On Tuesday, a special Mass was held at the St. Paul’s Cathedral where the President and Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa attended. They were given front row seats at the Cathedral. After the Mass, a reception was held at the Guild Hall to the guests by the Queen.


On the way back to the hotel from the reception, despite security advice, Rajapaksa stopped briefly to thank the Sri Lankans who had gathered to show their support to him. In the afternoon, Secretary General of the Commonwealth Kamalesh Sharma called over for discussions with the President.


In the evening, the President met with some MPs and Lords at the High Commissioner’s residence. After the meeting the High Commissioner hosted the President to dinner. Some of the delegates in Rajapaksa’s entourage were not happy that they were not invited. Reports spoke of a high profile delegate openly blaming the High Commissioner in the hotel lobby, and had to be calmed down.


On Wednesday, the President’s speech to the Commonwealth Business Council was cancelled on the advice of the Metropolitan Police. Pro-LTTE groups had got police approval to stage a demonstration in front of the Mansion House, the venue of the event. They had told the Police that they were planning to bring Tamils not only from the UK but also from other parts of Europe, numbering up to 20,000.


Although the speech was cancelled there were about 2,000 pro-LTTE Tamil demonstrators gathered. They shouted anti-Rajapaksa slogans and burnt an effigy of the President, a Lion Flag and a copy of the Sri Lanka Constitution.


Pro-LTTE Tamil web sites claimed the cancellation of the speech was a victory for them. The President had to cancel a similar speech at the Oxford University in December, 2010 because of the planned protests.


The afternoon session of the Commonwealth Business Council was attended by Jayampathi Perera, Chairman, British Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and his Vice Chairman, Philip Brown. However, Dr. Gamini Wickramasinghe, Chairman, Bank of Ceylon also made an appearance during the evening reception, where Duke of York was present.


The President and the First Lady attended the lunch organized by the Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma for Queen and the distinguished guests, at the Marlborough House at Pall Mall. At the lunch, Rajapaksa met with the British Prime Minister David Cameron and had a cordial discussion.


When he returned to the hotel, after the lunch he invited the Sri Lankan demonstrators who supported him to the hotel and served them tea.