Human Rights Standards Set By The British

My sister-in-law, a Tamil national from the North has long harboured the desire to visit her daughter and son living in London for over a decade. The end of the war proved a proper time at which to apply for a visitor visa – preparation towards the much anticipated trip went well over months, as the children awaited the visit of a mother long unseen and a mother who awaited holding her first grandchild for the first time in her life. But, fate or the British visa process decreed otherwise. Like the hundreds of thousands of visas rejected by them she too was one of the ‘unlucky’ ones denied that fundamental human right of seeing her children after many years.

The reasons afforded for the rejection were clear but devoid of the compassion the British government had professed towards the minority Tamil persons of Sri Lankan origin. She questions if the British Foreign Office did not envisage her human desire and the right to be with her children for a few months did not fall within the so-called rights they were loudly championing. It is certainly a pertinent question which I as a Tamil national need necessarily ask. What of these rights denied daily by them. Can we but question if there is a clear policy division between these rejections and the concern they claim to hold for the Tamil people making up the constituents in various parts of the country?

Apart from the black record in the history of gross human rights violations, the genuineness of the British with regard to the concern about human rights of Tamils is suspect. The apparent concern is regarding the votes of Tamils domiciled in the UK. It is domestic parochial concerns which are motivating factors, not genuine concerns about harm done to Tamils. The outpourings of the bleeding hearts are limited to blatant denunciations which come cheap and commitment free. Regardless of the basis for allegations, the Tamils who suffered the effects of the conflict need help to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. The government is using the major part of the foreign loans and assistance for this purpose. Other countries such as India are taking part in rehabilitation activities. British ‘aid’ is limited to visits to Jaffna and then beating their breasts to voice outrage. If the concern is about the wrongs suffered by Tamils why does it not manifest itself by way of a helping hand to the victims of the confl

ict in Sri Lanka and to those who had gone to the UK as ‘refugees’ and are trying to make a living by working as temporary hands in low paid jobs.

(2013-11-30/thesundayleader)