Cancellation of President's Oxford Union speech:

West stands exposed

Democratic values compromised:

Rasika Somarathna

The cancellation of President Mahinda Rajapaksa's proposed address to the Oxford Union exposed the double standards adopted by certain powerful States, which speak of five star democracy and freedom of speech, Mass Media and Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said.

The Minister said that the cancellation went against the core values of Oxford and the UK, which believed in the freedom of speech and the articulation of differing views on its soil.

He questioned whether it was acceptable for a speaker, that too a Head of State of a commonwealth member nation, to be silenced in a country that enjoys the freedom of speech.

The Minister said that indications were that the Oxford Union was subjected to pressure to arrive at the decision. He pointed out that the LTTE was a listed terrorist organization in UK.

Responding to questions from the media during a meeting to announce the weekly Cabinet decisions yesterday, he said President Rajapaksa's intentions as the Head of State of the country was to outline Sri Lanka's future plans during his speech.

He observed that the Oxford Union and the Thames Valley Police who were responsible for security during the event should have taken adequate measures in this regard and added that it was unfortunate to note that they could not handle a protest which was expected to be participated by only around 3,000 people.

In contrast Sri Lanka had always provided adequate security and facilitated the needs of all visiting Heads of States and other delegates irrespective of any differences. “We are proud of this fact” he added.

He also said that certain adverse comments being made by some Opposition politicians in this regard, were being rejected and discarded by the people with disgust.

Commenting on certain statements made by some local Opposition elements, he noted that these unpatriotic elements were trying to demean the value of the country’s victory over terrorism and were attempting to retard and hinder future development of the country.