Editorial of The Independent: Britain’s hypocrisy over Sri Lanka
Submitted by Walter Jayawardhana
Few Western countries were louder than Britain in condemning the Sri Lankan army’s shocking violations of human rights as it moved to suppress a bloody rebellion by ethnic Tamils demanding a separate state.
Clearly, those words of reproach were either not intended to be taken that seriously, or we just move on fast from such squabbles because, as this newspaper reveals, the UK sold several million pounds worth of arms last year to a regime we castigated only a few years ago.
Lest anyone imagine that “arms” in this instance refers only to equipment of a purely defensive character, it should be pointed out that the sales included pistols, assault rifles, shotguns and ammunition.
The government will no doubt respond that we have to engage with governments we don’t necessarily like, that defence forms a vital part of our export trade and that if we hadn’t sold arms to Sri Lanka, another less conscience-stricken country would have done so.
The government can also count on the lack of an outcry over the sales. The Tamil cause in Sri Lanka never engaged the British public that much, not least because the so-called Tamil Tigers committed grisly crimes of their own. Nor are we alone in moderating our former criticism of the Sri Lanka authorities. As Beijing draws Colombo into its own economic and military orbit, nervousness in the West is growing about the implications of losing influence in Sri Lanka. These are real considerations, but they beg the question of why we then claim to exercise stringent controls over arms sales and that there is an ethical dimension to them. France, another developed democracy, makes no such claims. Britain, on the other hand, simply courts ridicule and bolsters a reputation for hypocrisy by denouncing a government for egregious violations of human rights while at the same time selling it guns.
(Courtesy: The Independent Newspaper)
Latest Headlines
- Sri Lanka’s Central Bank warns general public over 8 pyramid-type schemes May 31, 2023
- Sri Lankan Rupee appreciates against U.S. Dollar May 31, 2023
- Chinese reaffirms support for Sri Lanka’s economic recovery May 31, 2023
- Sri Lanka’s Central Bank to hold rates as inflation stays high May 31, 2023
- Sri Lanka to initiate new online passport application system May 30, 2023
- India extends USD 1 Billion Credit Line for Sri Lanka until March 2024 May 30, 2023
- Cabinet approves resume of the Colombo Light Rail Transit project May 30, 2023