ඔක්ස්ෆෝර්ඩ් දේශනය අවලංගු කරයි

ඔක්ස්ෆෝර්ඩ් දේශනය අවලංගු කරයි

Oxford Union Lecture by President Mahinda Rajapaksa - Cancelled


Thu, 2010-12-02 01:38 — editor

• Breaking News

By K.T.Rajasingham


Oxford, 01 December, (Asiantribune.com):


The Oxford Union lecture where Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa was to address on 2nd December in the afternoon has been suddenly cancelled by office-bearers of the Oxford Student Union.
Asian Tribune contacted Mr. James Kingston, President of the Union and he confirmed that the lecture has been cancelled.
When asked for the reason for cancelling the lecture, he said that they were being advised by the Oxford Police about a so called massive protest by the Tamil diasporas which might disturb the peace of Oxford. He said that they have to take this decision in the light of the looming threat by the Tamil diasporas in the United Kingdom.
Sri Lanka President arrived in London on 29 November especially to deliver this lecture at the Oxford Union.
Mr. James Kingston told that the Oxford Union has already informed the Sri Lankan President

President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed regret after the Oxford Union cancelled a scheduled speech by him amid security concerns, the President’s office said on Wednesday.

"I am very sorry this has had to be cancelled, but I will continue to seek venues in Britain and elsewhere where I can talk about my future vision for Sri Lanka," the President said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Rajapakse's Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga, said the Oxford Union had cancelled the talk following pressure from elements supporting Sri Lanka's defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, the AFP reported.

A group of Tamils in London had planned a demonstration to coincide with Thursday's event. They also staged a protest when Rajapakse arrived in London on Tuesday.

"This (cancellation) is a decision that has been made unilaterally by the Oxford Union, reportedly as a result of pressure applied by pro-LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) activists," Weeratunga said.

The Oxford Union, which has hosted speakers ranging from Michael Jackson to the Dalai Lama, in a statement defended its cancellation of Rajapakse's talk.

"This decision was not taken lightly and the Union deeply regrets the cancellation," it said. "The Union has a long tradition of hosting prominent speakers and upholding the principles of free speech."