Lankan expats should act now

The clarion call by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Sri Lanka Diaspora to protect the country's image in the face of adverse propaganda carried out against it by vested interests should no doubt strike a chord with a majority of Lankans both here and abroad.

Speaking to Lankan expatriates gathered at the New York Buddhist Viharaya on the eve of his address to the United Nations, President Rajapaksa said all Lankans living abroad were 'ambassadors' who could render a yeomen service in protecting the country's global image.

The President's appeal couldn't have come at a more appropriate time when the country is being buffeted on many fronts with various unsubstantiated charges and demonised in the eyes of the international community by elements that yearn to see the country's disintegration.

It also bears significance at a time the Government's military thrust to completely annihilate the LTTE is at a crucial stage and the APRC mechanism to evolve a political solution is at a critical juncture.

Thus at a time the country is at crossroads the appeal made by the President in New York, we hope, will carry across the globe and find a responsive chord among all Sri Lankans who have a genuine love of their motherland.

For more than at any time in the current conflict there is an urgent need now for all Sri Lankans to rally in the task of projecting the country's image globally from the villainous campaigns by the separatist lobby and their acolytes.

Their task should be not merely to counter Tiger propaganda in world capitals but also to lay bare the designs of various NGOs and others of their ilk to destabilise the country.

A few isolate demonstrations, we feel, will not bring about the desired results other than attract isolated media attention. There is a need for a more vigorous campaign to draw international attention towards unfair criticism levelled at the Government on the human rights front and other unfounded allegations.

The singular contribution made by the late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar to restore Sri Lanka's prestige in the international community wiping out its blackened image, we hope, would act as a beacon to our Lankans of the majority community to redouble their efforts to set the record state vis-…-vis their motherland.

As the President noted the country has been described as being on the verge a 'failed state' amidst its attempts to build a "New Sri Lanka" and eradicate terrorism. While this is a tag that has been stitched on to Sri Lanka largely by power hungry opposition politicians, there is a need for a collective effort by our expatriate Lankans to dispel this myth in their adopted countries.

President Rajapaksa like no other leader of the past has been attempting to cultivate our expatriate community. If one may recall the President not vary long ago invited Lankan expatriate professionals to lend their expertise towards his 10-year development programme.

The President's gesture demonstrates the extent of his keenness to reach out to the overseas Lankan community to enlist their cooperation to find solutions to the country's problems.

It is in this vein that the President's call for Lankans domiciled abroad should be considered. Unspoken in the President's appeal was also the duty owed to country by Sri Lankans overseas who derived benefited from the country's free education system and other welfare measures, which enabled them to lead a life of comfort in salubrious climes.

The least they could do is to repay this debt by carrying the Lankan flag aloft in their adopted countries through active participation in programmes and campaigns to dispel all negative propaganda being spread about Sri Lanka, be it by the LTTE or that emanating from other sources.

True, Sri Lanka being a Third World country we don't have caucuses like for instance the Jews who have a strong lobby within the US senate to advance their interests and ward off criticism.

However our expatriate Lankans ought to be more proactive at a crucial stage such as this to raise their collective voices on behalf of their motherland when confronted with challenges.

There are many ways in which Sri Lankans domiciled abroad can help build the country's image in their adopted countries without being passive spectators of the passing scenario.