Prime Minister of Solomon Island greatly values gesture of assistance and solidarity by the President of Sri Lanka

May 27, 2014

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka has sanctioned a cash contribution of US $ 50,000.00 from the Government and people of Sri Lanka to the Government and people of the Solomon Islands as a gesture of solidarity and assistance.  This was in support of the rehabilitation, resettlement and reconstruction programmes underway in Solomon Island after the last month’s devastating cyclone and flood water damages.

Therefore, on the directive of the Minister of External Affairs Hon. Prof G.L. Peiris, the High Commissioner of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in Canberra, Australia Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, who is also accredited to Solomon Islands visited to Solomon Islands on 22nd May 2014 and called on His Excellency Gordon Darcy Lilo, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and handed over a letter from His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of         Sri Lanka and also handed over a bank draft of USD 50,000.00 to Hon. Connelly Sandakabatu, Minister for Development Planning and Aid Coordination.

The meeting with His Excellency Gordon Darcy Lilo, Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and Hon. Connelly Sandakabatu.  Minister for Development Planning and Aid Coordination was also attended by Mr. Robert Iroga, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister and Mr. Ranjith Hewagama, Hony Consul designate in Solomon Islands.  

His Excellency the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands conveyed his profound gratitude for the donation and appreciated the gesture of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa to support the people of Solomon Islands in this hour of need.  H E the Prime Minister assured the High Commissioner that the invaluable funds donated by the Government of Sri Lanka would be gainfully utilized in providing immediate challenges of shelter, food and sanitation.  Prime Minister also recalled his memorable time in Sri Lanka during the CHOGM 2013 and once again congratulated the President and the Government of Sri Lanka for the rare achievement. .

H E the Prime Minister conveyed his best wishes to His Excellency the President and the people of Sri Lanka and emphasized the valuable and strong friendship that exist between the two countries and encouraged to further enhance the existing good relations. 

High Commissioner also called on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon, Clay F Soalaoi   and the Secretary/Foreign Affairs Mr Beraki Jino who also very appreciative of the kind gesture of the cash donation. 

High Commission of Sri Lanka

Canberra

Vesak Celebration in Canberra

May 22, 2014

Vesak Themagul, at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra was celebrated from 14^th to 18^th May 2014 in a colourful manner dressing the High Commission building with large number of Buddhist flags, lights, lanterns.  Decorations were on display till the 5^th Ranaviru memorial Pinkama which fell on 18^th of May.

The (Petaw Kooduwa) a lantern inclusive of 20 sub lanterns rooting out of mother lantern, with changing colour reflections was the one main item of decorations.  It was hung over as to be sighted from far away.  Seven blossoming red lotus, with a creation of Prince Siddhartha revealing his first words at birth on the last lotus was the other main attraction.   Another single lantern represented blossoming flower.  Surrounding fence and the building around were covered with Buddhist flags and illuminated with bulb lines.

The Australian and Sri Lankan viewers were treated with a Dansala of tea, coffee and snack for two days.  Many viewers notably Australians, inquired about the reason for the function and were keen to know the meaning of this different lighting.  They admired thankfully about the beauty of Vesak decoration at the Mission.

All decorations were the creations of the High Commission staff.

The High Commission staff also participated in Vesak devotional songs (Bakhthi Gee) at the Canberra Buddhist temple which was highly appreciated by the large gathering for Vesak celebration.

High Commission of Sri Lanka

Canberra

20^th May 2014

The speech delivered by H.E. the President at the Victory Day celebrations held in Matara on 18th May 2014.

May 21, 2014

The link to the speech:

http://www.president.gov.lk/speech_New.php?Id=146

Visit to Australia by Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary, Ministry of Defence and Urban Development to Co-Chair at the Second Joint Working Group on Human Smuggling and other Trans-national Crime 21st to 23rd April 21014, Canberra, Australia

April 30, 2014

On  

On the invitation of the Government of Australia, Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa led a senior delegation for the above Second Joint Working Group (JWG) which was successfully concluded under the Co-Chairmanship of Mr. Martin Bowles, Secretary, Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

Highlight of the proceedings was the historical signing of the transfer of deeds of the outright gifting of two Bay Class Patrol Vessels by Australia to Sri Lanka .  The deeds were signed by Hon. Scott Morrison, Minister of Immigration and Border Protection and Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary/Defence in the presence of the two High Commissioners of the respective countries.

Addressing the JWG gathering, Hon. Scott Morrison, thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for the genuine effort of the Ministry of Defence and the relevant agencies, specially the Sri Lanka Navy for helping the Government of Australia in combating human smuggling.   Hon. Minister emphasised the fact that Sri Lanka-Australia relationship should now focus on other fields of development and progress.  Hon. Minister also acknowledged the post conflict achievements of Sri Lanka as solid.

Responding to the Minister, Secretary/Defence Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa thanked the government of Australia for the invaluable gift of two naval vessels which would invariably improve Sri Lanka’s capability in  border protection.  He also emphasized the sharing of important evidence for the mutual benefit and the value of capacity building in all spheres of the relevant agencies.

Secretary/Defence also endorsed  the model and the mechanism that was followed by this JWG where exchange of views and engagement of several relevant agencies being very productive and educative.  He congratulated both parties of the JWG  for gaining lot of ground within a short period of time and for agreeing to be a part of other similar regional mechanisms where both countries could engage effectively.

Secretary/Defence Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa also thanked the Government of Australia for the bold decision of not co-sponsoring this year’s human rights resolution on Sri Lanka.

Secretary/Defence during the visit met following Senior Officials and discussed and shared important information of mutual interests and agreed to work towards further cooperation :-

a)    Mr. Dennis Richardson, Secretary/Defence
b)    Air Marshal Mark Binskin, Chief of Defence Force designate
c)    Mr. Chris Birrer, Asst. Secretary, Major Powers, Department of Defence
d)    Mr. Chris Moraitis, Acting Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs
e)    Mr. Michael Pezzullo, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Customs and Border Protection
f)    Mr. Nick Warner, Director General, Australian Secret Intelligence Service
Secretary/Defence also had a brief unscheduled meeting with the Minister of Defence Hon. David Johnston and exchanged courtesies. Defence Minister conveyed the appreciation of the Australian government for the outstanding performance of the Sri Lanka Navy and reiterated the commitment to continue the engagement as two friendly countries.

It was evident from all interactions that the Australian government, at the highest level was appreciative of Sri Lanka’s success of defeating 30 year brutal terrorist conflict and the subsequent post conflict achievements.

It was also revealed that government of Australia considers accountability and human rights concerns should be addressed within an internal mechanism and not by any international investigation as suggested by other countries.  Australian side indicated that they would render all possible assistance to Sri Lanka in this regard.

The visit of the Secretary/Defence to Australia at an important juncture has positively raised the level  of cooperation between the two countries and understanding the challenges that Sri Lanka faces due to unsubstantiated and unfounded allegations with bias attitudes.

The Secretary/Defence also visited the newly constructed Sri Lanka  High Commission building and met High Commission officials and the staff.  Having made a tour of the Chancery and the facilities, the Defence Secretary conveyed his appreciation of the work carried out by the staff of the Mission.  To mark this significant visit to Australia and the Sri Lanka High Commission, Secretary/Defence planted a tree in the Chancery premises.

The Sri Lankan delegation included H.E. Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, the High Commissioner, Officials of the High Commission and Senior Officials of Ministries of Defence and Urban Development, External Affairs and Justice and Sri Lanka Navy, National Intelligence Service, Sri Lanka Coast Guard, Sri Lanka Police, Departments of Attorney General, Immigration and Emigration.

The Australian delegation comprised of H.E Robyn Mudie, the High Commissioner for Australia in Sri Lanka, Commander of the Joint Task Force Operations “Sovereign Borders” Lt. Gen. Angus Campbell and Senior Officials from the National Security and Criminal Justice Group, Border Protections Command, People Smuggling Task Force.

High Commission of Sri Lanka
Canberra

Greetings for Sinhala and Tamil New Year 2014

April 13, 2014

On behalf of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, the President of Sri Lanka, His Excellency the President’s family, the Government and the Staff of the High Commission of Sri Lanka and on my own behalf, I am very pleased to extend my best wishes to all Sri Lankan community and their families residing in Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Soloman Islands a Very Happy and a Prosperous Sinhala & Tamil New Year.

The traditional New Year is a truly great national festival which is mainly celebrated by the Sinhalese and Tamils and also by others making it a Sri Lankan New year.. We, Sri Lankans, begin celebrating our New Year or Aluth Avuruthu or Puththandu in the month of April. This celebration brings the new hopes and anticipation of new beginnings to march towards a new life. Therefore, it is our responsibility to set aside differences and march forward in unity irrespective of caste, creed, ethnicity, religion, language, ideologies and any other prejudices and work hand in hand to promote our Mother Lanka. The two communities in Sri Lanka observe similar customs and traditions which forge the family bonds to strengthen our society. Therefore, it is essential to follow the New Year customs and traditions such heritage and values  to be preserved and passed on to the benefit of our future generation.

Under the visionary leadership of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka continued to enjoy lasting peace. Sri Lanka’s economy has improved and growing stronger. Production is progressing rapidly in agriculture. The unprecedented development drive in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and infrastructure are continuing. Therefore, I appeal in earnest, to all Sri Lankans to join hands  in protecting  your country of origin from external challenge and to contribute your invaluable knowledge and thoughts to make Sri Lanka a peaceful and prosperous nation. Your total dedication, commitment, loyalty and untiring efforts to promote and develop our motherland are essential and thereby you could extend your contribution to our national economy

I also wish greater friendship between Sri Lanka and Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu and Solomon Islands on this special and happy occasion.

I thank all individuals and Sri Lankan Associations for their initiative and the commitment in organizing New Year Celebrations in respective countries, and States/Territories  in Australia..

May the New Year bring good health, happiness, peace and prosperity to you all strengthening the unity amongst all Sri Lankans ensuring the safety, security and prosperity of our Mother Lanka.

Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe

High Commissioner

Sri Lanka takes over First Australian Custom Vessel “Corio Bay” gifted by Australia on 30th March 2014 in Port of Cairns

April 1, 2014

Ex-ACV Corio Bay Ceremonially dressed for the Occasion

Briefing by Ships Commanding Officer to the High Commissioner and the Commander of the Navy

Commander of the Navy, High Commissioner, Border Protection Commander , Director Naval Projects and Plan and New Commanding Officer designate saluting the national Anthems, Flag shifting event

National Director a Border Protection Command Capability and Commander of the Navy after Handing over of the Vessel

High Commissioner and the Commander of the Navy in the bridge wing

The Sri Lankan flag replaced the Australian Border Protection Command flag on board Australian Custom vessel Corio Bay amidst the two National Anthem to symbolize the handing over of the above vessel to the Sri Lanka Navy on the 30^th of April 2014  at Port of Cairns in a simple ceremony.  The flag shifting ceremony was attended by the following dignitaries of both countries:-

1.     Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, High Commissioner

2.     Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage, Commander of the Navy

3.     Rear Admiral Michael Noonan, Commander of the Australian Border Protection

4.     Commodore (Rtd) Nigel Perry, National Director of the Border Protection Capabilities

5.     Commodore S. Mohotti, Director Naval Protection and Projects of the Sri Lanka Navy

6.     Commander Janaka Samaranayake, Commanding Officer Designate

7.     Officials from the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka

8.     Members of the Sri Lanka Navy crew

9.     Members of the Australian crew of the Corio Bay.

The gift of the two Australian coast guard vessels was announced by Hon. Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia to Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary, Ministry of Defence and Urban Development at a ceremony held on board SLNS “Sayura” in the Port of Colombo on 18^th of November during the CHOGM 2013. 

Australian Border Protection Command facilitated the transfer formalities and also provided three hour sea excursion on a similar class of vessel to demonstrate her capabilities at sea.  The vessel was observed to be a versatile, reliable, well maintained craft and amply capable of performing the Sri Lanka Navy’s coastal surveillance duties for many years which would undoubtedly enhance the Sri Lankan Navy’s capabilities at sea.

Both High Commissioner and the Commander of the Navy speaking at the ceremony paid their   appreciation and thanks to the government of Australia and the Border Protection Command for the friendly gesture of providing the vessels as gifts, and committed to work towards further strengthening Australia Sri Lanka relations. 

The vessel is expected to sail to Sri Lanka shortly under Sri Lankan Navy flag and the second vessel is also expected to be handed over shortly.

Channel 7 Australia television network covered the ceremony.

Few photographs taken at the ceremony are attached.

Sri Lanka High Commission

Canberra

01.04.2014

Australia and New Zealand decides not to Co-sponsor the United States sponsored Geneva Resolution

March 28, 2014

Australia and New Zealand did not co-sponsor the United States Sponsored United Nations Human Rights Council resolution that was adopted in Geneva on 27^th March 2014 on Sri Lanka. This is a clear change of the stance from the previous years since both Australia and New Zealand co-sponsored the US sponsored UNHRC resolutions on Sri Lanka in 2012 and 2013.

The following Media statement issued by Hon. Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister is a clear indication of Australian stance and the support for the Government of Sri Lanka’s efforts for reconciliation after eradicating brutal separatist terrorism.

The High Commission wishes to thank both the Australian and the New Zealand governments for the bold decision taken in this regard.

Quote

Media release – Supporting Reconciliation on Sri Lanka

28 March 2014

The Australian Government considers engagement with Sri Lanka to be the most effective way to encourage progress on human rights issues.

Genuine advances in accountability and reconciliation will only be possible with the cooperation of the Sri Lankan Government.

I note the Human Rights Council passed a resolution on Sri Lanka today. I note that Australia is not a member of the Human Rights Council and does not vote. Nevertheless I am not convinced that the resolution’s call for a separate, internationally-led investigation, without the cooperation of the Sri Lankan Government, is the best way forward at this time.

In addition, I do not think the resolution adequately recognised the significant progress taken by the Sri Lankan government to promote economic growth and its investment in infrastructure in areas formerly dominated by the LTTE in the north and north-east of the country. We should recognise the brutality of the LTTE, a proscribed terrorist organisation, during the 30-year civil war from which the country is struggling to emerge.

Australia will increase its efforts to work constructively with the Sri Lankan Government, the Tamil National Alliance and other stakeholders to identify ways to promote economic, social and cultural reconciliation.

I urge the Sri Lankan Government to implement the recommendations of its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and to engage with domestic and international stakeholders to advance an effective and transparent reconciliation agenda.

Unquote

Minister Peiris rejects High Commissioner’s Report, saying those “those who exalt its virtues only seek to inflict harm on the reconciliation process”

March 6, 2014

මානව හිමිකම් මහකොමසාරිස්වරියගේ වාර්තාවේ යහපත්බව ගැන ප්‍රශංසා කරන පුද්ගලයන් මාන බලනුයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජය භේද කොට සංහිඳියා ක්‍රියාදාමයට හානි පැමිණවීමට බව කියමින් අමාත්‍ය පීරිස් එම වාර්තාව ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කරයි.

ජිනීවා නුවර අද (2014 මාර්තු 05) පැවති විසිපස් වැනි එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් කවුන්සිල සැසියේ ඉහළ පෙළ රැස්වීමේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ප්‍රකාශය ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් කතා කළ ශ්‍රී ලංකා නියෝජිත පිරිසේ නායක, විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය මහාචාර්ය ජී.එල්. පීරිස් මහතා, ත්‍රස්තවාදයට එරෙහිව කෙරුණු යුද්ධය අවසන්ව ගතවූ වසර පහ ඇතුළත රජය විසින් අත්පත් කරගනු ලැබූ හරයාත්මක ප්‍රගතිය  නොසලකා හැර ඇති බැවිනුත්, මූලික වශයෙන් දෝෂ සහගත බැවිනුත්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් වූ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් පිළිබඳ මහකොමසාරිස්වරියගේ වාර්තාව සපුරාම ප්‍රතික්ෂේප කළේය. 

එම වාර්තාව සංවේදී සංහිඳියා ක්‍රියාදාමයක සංකීර්ණබව සහ දේශීය තත්ත්වයන්ගේ සියුම් වෙනස්කම් කෙරෙහි ඉතා මඳ සැලකිල්ලක් දක්වන අතරම, සාධාරණීකරණය කළ නොහැකි ඉල්ලීම් නිරතුරුවම වෙනස් කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ජනතාවගේ විශ්වාසය පළුදු කරන බව අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසීය. පවතින තත්ත්වයන්ට පැහැදිලිවම සමානුපාතික නොවූ ආකල්පයක් දරමින් ඔවුන් නොනැවතී කටයුතු කරන බවත් අපගේ තත්ත්වය හා සැසඳිය හැකි වෙනත් අවස්ථාවන්හිදී කටයුතු කළ ආකාරයට ක්‍රියා නොකරන බවත් ඔහු ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. මහකොමසාරිස්වරියගේ වාර්තාවත් එහි යහපත්බව ගැන ප්‍රශංසා කරන පුද්ගලයනුත් මාන බලනුයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජය භේද කොට සංහිඳියා ක්‍රියාදාමයට හානි පැමිණවීමට පමණක් බව හෙතෙම කීය.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් වූ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මානව හිමිකම් පිළිබඳ මහකොමසාරිස්වරියගේ වාර්තාව පිළිගනිමින් එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානයේ ඉහළම ස්ථරයෙන්ද ඇතුළුව මානව හිමිකම් සමුළු සැසියේදී කෙරුණු ප්‍රකාශ කනගාටුවට කරුණක් බව අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවසීය.  විශේෂයෙන්ම, ඒවා ගොඩනැගී ඇත්තේ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ රාමුවෙන් පිටතදී සැකසුණු  කරුණුද ඇතුළුව සැක සහිත හා පදනම් විරහිත කරුණු මතය යන්න සලකා බැලීමේදී එම ප්‍රකාශවල ඛේදනීයබව වඩාත් දැඩිවන බව ඔහු තවදුරටත් පැවසීය. 

කිසිදු අන්තර් රාජ්‍ය ක්‍රියාදාමයක ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස නොව, එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානයේ මහලේකම්වරයා තමන්ට උපදෙස් ගැනීම සඳහා පෞද්ගලික මට්ටමෙන් පත්කරනු ලැබූ විශේෂඥ මණ්ඩලයේ කටයුතුවල ප්‍රතිඵලයක් ලෙස සකස් කළ වාර්තාව, මහකොමසාරිස්වරිය සිය වාර්තාවට එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ රාමුව තුළ නීතිමය තත්ත්වයක් ලබා දීම සඳහා දැඩි ලෙස ඉවහල් කර ගන්නා බව අමාත්‍යවරයා සඳහන් කළේය. ඒ සඳහා ඇයට කිසිදු බලයක් නොමැති බවද ඔහු පැවසීය. කෙසේවුවද, මේ අවස්ථාවේදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් මානව හිමිකම් පිළිබඳ මහකොමසාරිස්වරියගේ කාර්යාලය විසින් ගනු ලබන පියවර, අප රට විනිශ්චය කිරීම සඳහා භාවිතා කරන මිනුම් දණ්ඩ වන්නේ නම් එය ඉතා පැහැදිලිවම යුක්තිය හෑල්ලුවට ලක්කිරීමක් බව ඔහු පැවසීය.

මෙම වාතාවරණය තුළ, සංහිඳියාව සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හා සමාන අත්දැකීම් ඇති රටවල් විසින් මානව හිමිකම් සැසියේදී ඉදිරිපත් කරන ලද අදහස් ශ්‍රී ලංකාව ඉතා අගය කොට සලකන බව අමාත්‍ය මහාචාර්ය ජී.එල්. පීරිස් මහතා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය.  දේශපාලන අරමුණුවලින් පණ පෙවුණු න්‍යාය පත්‍රයන් මත පදනම්ව ශ්‍රී ලංකාව වෙත අනවශ්‍ය තරමේ අවධානයක් යොමු කරන ආකාරයෙන් නොව​, තමාගේම වූ ක්‍රියාදාමයක් අභ්‍යන්තර වශයෙන් හා විස්තීර්ණ ආකාරයකින් ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට ශ්‍රී ලංකාවට අවශ්‍ය කරන කාලය හා අවකාශය ලබා දිය යුතු බව අමාත්‍යවරයා තවදුරටත් පැවසීය. 

එක්සත් ජාතීන් සඳහා වූ

ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිත්‍ය නියෝජිත කාර්යාලය

ජිනීවා

2014 මාර්තු 05 වැනිදා 

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2014 khh;r; 05 Mk; jpfjp

Minister Peiris rejects High Commissioner’s Report, saying those “those who exalt its virtues only seek to inflict harm on the reconciliation process”

Minister of External Affairs and Leader of the Sri Lanka delegation Prof. G.L. Peiris, delivering the National Statement at the High Level Segment of the 25^th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today (5 March 2014), rejected the Report of the High Commissioner in its entirety, saying it was fundamentally flawed and disregarded the substantial progress made by the Government during the five years which have elapsed since the end of the thirty year conflict against terrorism. He said it also pays scant regard to the complexities and local nuances of a sensitive reconciliation process, while eroding the confidence of the people of Sri Lanka by the constant changing of unjustifiable demands. Moreover, they persist in an attitude which is clearly disproportionate to the circumstances and inconsistent with the treatment of comparable situations. It is much to be regretted that the High Commissioner’s Report and those who exalt its virtues only seek to inflict harm on the reconciliation process by bringing about a polarisation of the Sri Lankan society.

The Minister said the few references made in the Council welcoming the High Commissioner’s Report on Sri Lanka, including at the highest level of the UN are regrettable, particularly considering that it is based on questionable and baseless material including what has been processed outside the UN framework.  He noted that the Panel of Experts Report which was the culmination of a private consultation that the Secretary General sought for his own advice, and is not the product of any intergovernmental process, has been extensively resorted to by the High Commissioner in her Report to the Council, in a bid to legitimize it within the UN framework despite the lack of mandate in this regard. However, if the initiative taken on Sri Lanka at this juncture by the OHCHR is to be the basis on which the country is to be judged, it will clearly be a travesty of justice.  

In this context, the Minister said Sri Lanka greatly valued the sentiments expressed in the Council by countries who have similar experiences with regard to reconciliation, that Sri Lanka be provided with the requisite time and space to address its own process domestically in a comprehensive manner as opposed to those who continue to pay disproportionate attention to Sri Lanka, based on agendas driven by political motives.

Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN

Geneva

05 March, 2014

Australian Foreign Minister graces Sri Lanka Independence Celebrations in Canberra

February 21, 2014

Hon Julie Bishop Minister of Foreign Affairs being greeted by the High Commissioner

Hon. Scott Morrision, Minister  for Immigration and Border Protection, Senior Advisor to Minister Foreign Affairs Mr Murray Hansen and Hon Julie Bishop attentive  to the  High Commissioner’s address

Hon. Julie Bishop addressing the gathering

Large distinguish and representative gathering attentive to the  Speeches

Mrs. Malathie Samarasinghe entertaining Hon Julia Bishop with Sri Lankan  food

Royal Australian Navy Brass Band members with High Commissioner, his staff  and spouses. The Mural in the back ground

Hon. Julie Bishop, Hon Scott Morrision and Chief of Defence Forces General David Hurley and spouse enjoying the evening

Young Sri Lankan girls’  dance enjoyed by two ministers

Solo Kandyan dance enjoyed by the Ministers

Representative and Diversified gathering

19′ x 20′ Mural sculpture in the main foyer of the High Commission

PRESS RELEASE

In addition to official events on the 4^th of February 2014, the High Commissioner and Mrs. Malathie Samarasinghe hosted a Reception on the 12^th of February at the High Commission for Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentarians, Diplomats, Senior Officials of Ministries of Defence, Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Border Protection and National Intelligence, academia and Australian Sri Lankan community members.

The Hon. Julie Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs graced the occasion as the Chief Guest and Hon. Scott Morrison, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection as the Guest of Honour.  Hon. Julie Bishop delivered a very positive and an encouraging speech highlighting and acknowledging Sri Lanka’s post conflict achievements and rejected any one who is attempting to isolate Sri Lanka with allegations sans credible evidence.  Her speech clearly echoed the much improved close and strong relationship that Australia and Sri Lanka enjoy today.  Her  speech was in response to a hard hitting speech by the High Commissioner emphasizing the honourable peace that Sri Lanka   enjoy at present under one flag and paying tribute to the military who made it possible, and the courageous and visionary leadership of His Excellency the President.

High Commissioner specially explained and emphasized to the gathering the unfounded attitude of certain countries who are with vested interest attempting to derail the delicate reconciliation process  with unsubstantiated allegations and counter productive resolutions which are fuelling the fires of separatism.  He cited quotations from world leaders and factual independent judgments to establish the fact that double standards that are being applied and selective  approaches towards Sri Lanka’s 30 year terrorist conflict.  Both speeches  could be watched on  

(a)  Hon. Julie Bishop    –    http://vimeo.com/86972885   

(b)  High Commissioner –    http://vimeo.com/86972884

The distinguished gathering of over 250 included in addition to two senior Federal Ministers, members of the Federal Parliament, General David Hurley, Chief of Defence Force, National Security Adviser Dr. Margot McCarthy, Head of Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation Mr. David Irvine, Special Envoy of Hon. Tony Abbott Maj Gen. Andrew Molan, Commander of the Task Force Operations Sovereign Borders Lt. Gen. Angus Campbell, Former Chief of Defence Forces and Special Envoy Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Senior Adviser to Hon. Tony Abbott Dr. Mark Higgie, Chief of Staff and Senior Adviser to Hon. Julie Bishop Mr. Murray Hansen, Secretary/Immigration and Border Protection Mr. Martin Bowles, Mr. Gary Dunn, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ms. Sally Mansfield Chief of Protocol, Deputy Chiefs of Navy, Army and Air Force over 60 High Commissioners and Ambassadors and diversified representation of  Australian Sri Lankans.

The Royal Australian Navy Brass band was in attendance and performed from the balcony of the main foyer for both the national anthems sung by two Sri Lankan ladies.  The Royal Australian Navy band also provided Sri Lankan melodies for the evening.  The event also included a dance performance by six girls under ten years and a solo Kandyan dance performance.

High Commissioner also took the opportunity to explain the newly installed mural sculpture (bas-relief) 19’ x 20’ in size in the main foyer created by Prof. Sarath Chandrajeewa which is made out of red earthenware terracotta hand crafted and painted with earth colour slips consisting of 380 fired clay tiles. The art was designed by Prof. Albert Dharmasiri.  The theme of the mural “Sri Lanka’s country side” depicts the general and countryside life-style of Sri Lanka society, nature, wild life, beauty, livelihood, economy, traditional Kandyan dance folklore, religious, cultural, historical  and heritage sites of national identity including multicultural co-existence with prosperity, harmony and happiness. The mural came into high praise of all those present.

Evening was concluded with Sri Lankan dinner enjoyed by all the dignitaries including the two senior Cabinet Ministers and other high ranking officials who decided to remain and spend the time to enjoy the evening with the large gathering.  Scenic beauty of Sri Lanka was also on display in the main function room by way of framed photographs with description.

66th Independence Day Anniversary

February 5, 2014

The 66^th Independence Day Anniversary was celebrated in a grand scale at the High Commission and also in the Capital City of Canberra.  Proceedings started with the hoisting of the National Flag by Admiral Thisarra Samarasinghe, the High Commissioner in the presence of the members of the staff and a large Sri Lankan gathering.  This was followed by the singing of the National Anthem by a group of young children and oriental music was provided by Mr Ranjith Madurapperuma.  This was followed by observance of two minutes silence for those who made the supreme sacrifice, religious observance and lighting of the traditional oil lamp.

 National Day Message of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa was read in all three languages to the audience.  The High Commissioner then addressed the gathering highlighting the significance with peace that Sri Lanka is enjoying at present under one flag and paid tribute to the military who made it possible and the courageous and visionary leadership of His Excellency the President.

Unprecedented post conflict achievements were highlighted both in the social, economic and public spheres, specially comparing to statistics of the past.

 High Commissioner also explained  the challenges faced by Sri Lanka by way of unfounded, unsubstantiated allegations and urged the community to stand against such attempts.

High Commissioner explained the deeply rooted relationship with the Government of Australia going back to over 65 years and thanked the Australian Government for supporting Sri Lanka at the CHOGM and at international engagements.

 While thanking the community for the continued support rendered to Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner urged the community to support Sri Lanka individually, as a group and as a community in its economic revival. 

 The High Commission ceremony concluded with the serving of traditional Sri Lankan breakfast.

 The city of Canberra was decorated with three sets of 16 national flags alongside the Australian national flags on the main highway in the city centre signifying Sri Lanka National Day and the close friendship between Australia and Sri Lanka. This decoration was sponsored by the Sri Lankan Community in Canberra.

 The High Commissioner, the staff and the community proceeded to the Commonwealth Place to hoist the Sri Lankan flag in the main mast of the Commonwealth Place and the national anthem was sung by all those present.  This flag is on the main area where all the country flags on either side in the picturesque sight of Graffin Lake and the Australian new and old Parliament and the War Memorial. 

 In addition to the above, the High Commission was decorated with Sri Lankan national flags around the perimeter and was illuminated at night. 

 Further the Canberra Times carried a two page special supplement to mark the  66^th Anniversary carrying the message of His Excellency the President, the Hon. Prime Minister, the Hon. External Affairs Minister and the High Commissioner. 

Photographs of bilateral meetings, exchange of rugby t’shirts between H.E. the President and Hon. Tony Abbott, during the CHOGM and Prime Minister Tony Abbott being greeted by Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Port of Colombo with the Sri Lanka Navy ship “Sayura’ at the background were included in the supplement.