David Cameron can and must secure moral high ground - Editorial

British Prime Minister David Cameron has stated that he intends to talk tough when he meets President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.  Mr. Cameron appears to have set the stage for serious engagement with Sri Lanka on the thorny issue of human rights violations; alleged, let’s add.  

Now ‘human rights’ is a broad subject for it includes areas such as education and healthcare.  In both, Sri Lanka has a very positive track record. Even at the height of the operations to rid the country of terrorism, this developing country ensured that every child was provided the opportunity to obtain education, was given free books and uniforms, access to healthcare and vaccinations.  This included children in the conflict zone.  It was of course little consolation for the parents, whose every wakeful moment was plagued by the real possibility of a son or daughter being abducted by the LTTE and conscripted to fight a war that no child could comprehend.

Following the adage that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Mr. Cameron does have the right to raise questions.  By the same token he too can be questioned in return.  British counter-terrorism legislation and handbooks on interrogation techniques provide ample material for counter-question.  Then there is his country’s complicity in atrocities committed by the USA in that country’s ‘war on terror’ and the many crimes of the Empire which yielded comfortable lifestyles not just to the criminals but also their descendants, Mr. Cameron included.  

In ideal situations, leaders should be questioned not by outsiders but by their own citizens.  It is not that Sri Lankans don’t have questions to ask President Rajapaksa; their priorities and concerns perhaps do not coincide with those of the British Prime Minister.   Nevertheless, assuming that the Commonwealth is a gathering of friends, no one should object to Mr. Cameron seeking clarification from President Rajapaksa.  Ideally, however, he should resist being overcome by the politician’s perennial fascination with grandstanding and conduct himself with greater sobriety – apart from his tough-talk pledge, he has sent emissaries ahead to stir the waters - most recently at the tail end, Hugo Swire, British Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Minister for Sri Lanka and the Maldives of the People’s Forum, did a Bull-in-a-China-Shop number.  Let’s not even start on Channel 4 and the issue of responsible journalism.



" Following the adage that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, Mr. Cameron does have the right to raise questions.  By the same token he too can be questioned in return.  British counter-terrorism legislation and handbooks on interrogation techniques provide ample material for counter-question "



It is no secret that Mr. Cameron is not Sri Lanka’s favourite British subject.  On the other hand, he can easily construct for himself the moral high ground necessary to articulate concerns in ways that do not appear to be the ranting of a confused colonial remnant.  All he has to do is accept that charity begins at home and act upon the dictum.

He can preface his tough-talk with an announcement that will in the very least steal possible thunder from counter-query.  All he has to do is to pledge to return to all member states of the Commonwealth all artifacts currently held in facilities located in crown territory.  He can draw from relevant laws that consider it illegal to receive, purchase, retain, re-sell or gift stolen goods.

The floor is yours Mr Cameron.