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The absence of the legendary Amitabh Bachchan and other leading Indian film stars, at the International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) ceremony to be held in Colombo today, has indicated the seriousness of the problems confronting Sri Lanka, UNP MP Rosie Senanayaka said yesterday.
She told a news conference in Colombo, that IIFA being staged in Colombo, was undoubtedly a great honour to Sri Lanka, but the failure of the Mahinda Rajapaksa government to offer the Tamils a dignified political solution to their long standing greivances, had resulted in leading Indian film stars coming under intense pressure, not to attend.
"The 11th IIFA ceremony is like a wedding without a bride. Amithab Bacchan, considered the god father of IIFA, his wife Jaya, son Abishek, daughter-in- law Aishwarya Rai, Sharuk Khan, Kajol and many prominent film personalities are not attending IIFA, due to protests in India against their visiting Sri Lanka.Leading South Indian stars such as Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan and Mani Ratnam, too have decided to skip the show."
Senanayake said that Bollywood with a viewership of over 600 million, was an even bigger industry than Hollywood. But, an opportunity to boost Sri Lanka in the eyes of the world, including promoting trade and tourism, had backfired, due to the short sighted policies of the Rajapaksa government.
"The LTTE had to be dealt with. But capturing territory and Prabhakaran’s head, does not mean Tamil issues are going to disappear. Tamil nationalism, dignity, power sharing and equality have to be addressed,"she said. "Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe foresaw all this. That is why, he tried to resolve the problem politically. But, a majority of the people misunderstood his intentions."
Not even money can buy an event of the magnitude of IIFA. The IIFA Board has to be thanked for staging the awards ceremony in Colombo. But, they obviously did not realise the seriousness of the problems confronting Sri Lanka, Senanayake said.
She said that the Rajapaksa government was under an illusion that the end of the war, meant the causes for a three decade old conflict would simply vanish. But, unfortunately, reality has dawned when an international show of the magnitude of IIFA was being hosted by Sri Lanka. Such protests are bound to recur in the future as well, unless a speedy solution is found to Tamil grievances.
"President Rajapaksa claims that 90 per cent of the Tamil IDPs have been given make shift homes. But it is a false statement. Only one third of the 300,000 odd IDPs have been given make shift homes. Another one third, have taken temporary refuge in their relatives houses due to atrocious conditions in the camps," Senanayake said."Human Rights violations, blatant disregard for democratic norms and the lack of good governance, has resulted in the distinct possibility of Sri Lanka losing GSP+ concessions for its exports to the European Union. If the dreadful happens, 300,000 persons will lose their jobs, resulting in over a million people being left in the lurch."
Sources: The Island
05.06.2010
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