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| Sunday, 8 January 2006 |
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Lanka
Outlook - Winter 2005 Issue
The Kadirgamar Commemoration issue of Lanka Outlook is a small tribute to a great man whose steadfast campaign worldwide to preserve the serendipity of this little isle was viewed by a few as treachery and after a watchful wait of over a decade got him in the stillness of a night when to him he was safely ensconced in the privacy of his home just emerging from a dip in his swimming pool. We - the entire Sri Lanka nation failed him. Moral support In remorse and as a gesture of recompense then we have in this issue of Lanka Outlook a collection of articles from the Lankan and foreign press, texts of lectures delivered at commemoration meetings, tributes and messages from world leaders - all touching accounts of what he did and said as he trotted in and out of international fora on behalf of his country. The gist of it all can be found in these his words: "The great liberal democracies must wake up to the fact that it is their duty to come to the aid of a democracy in peril in practical ways, with moral support yes, words and declarations, but also by a demonstration of political will that sends a message to the terrorists of the world that the birth of the Warsaw Declaration will see the end of terrorism. Thereafter, there will be no succour, no solace, no safe haven, no place to hide, no place to run for the terrorists of the world because all of us the democratic states will stand together and fight together." - Kadirgamar in Warsaw, Poland - June 2000. Had this simple plea been heeded, shattering events of the like of the cowardly gunning down of an ageing man albeit sprightly in gait and acute in mind, would have been averted. An essay written by 'Kadir' as a boy at school gives an inkling of the promise he held then (way back in 1949) as a scholar and internationalist. His picture is all over - on the cover and in almost every page chatting up with all those dignitaries of the world whom he met in the line of duty. Hard to beat After all, he was his country's Foreign Minister and the standards he set will be hard to beat. The Kadirgamar commemoration issue of the Lanka Outlook magazine is published in London by the International Foundation of Sri Lankans (IFSL) in UK with the assistance of 'Friends of Kadirgamar', to commemorate his life and his outstanding contribution to Sri Lanka. The IFSL was formed in UK in 1995 by a group of expatriate Sri Lankan professionals to project the image of Sri Lanka as a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic country with strong democratic values, and lastly to promote a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict through political dialogue. Tribute Lakshman Kadirgamar, by his unflinching international campaign to maintain the sovereignty of the country against the terrorist backed LTTE demands for separatism struck an instant chord with the IFSL and many other expatriate Sri Lanka organisations in UK, other European countries, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, who since the mid 80's were battling the governments and the media of these countries to counter the false propaganda spread by Tamil separatist groups. It is therefore natural that IFSL has put out this commemorative issue as a special tribute to Lakshman Kadirgamar. Copies of this magazine will be available on sale at Vijitha Yapa bookshops. (LE) |
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