A full page advertisement had been published in a leading Scottish newspaper – ‘The Herald’, ahead of Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s visit, by the Sri Lankan diplomatic mission in the country and the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry.
This was due to an earlier full page advertisement published in ‘The Herald’ by the Scottish Tamil diaspora, which had stated they must be ‘skeptical of the Sri Lankan government’s claims of climate leadership and stewardship.’
The Tamil diaspora had organised a protest demonstration with LTTE flags and slogans while President Rajapaksa addressed the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow.
The ‘Mawrata’ newspaper points out that although pro-LTTE protests during a Sri Lankan leader’s visit to the UK are not uncommon, usually Sinhalese communities also are seen to come together to show solidarity to the visiting leader. However, this time, no such events were seen, it adds.
Meanwhile, reports also say that a digital van had driven around the city of Edinburgh, carrying a photo of President Rajapaksa and reading “Wanted For Genocide”.
