Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Media Spokesperson Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe on Sunday (21) severely condemned the new government’s decision to hold a ‘Diaspora Festival’ in Colombo.

“There were reports that the United Nation Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has already donated over USD 3.2 million to hold this festival. It is highly questionable as to why they needed to allocate money in this regard,” he added. 

In order to encourage Diaspora members to engage and contribute to efforts in Sri Lanka, the Foreign Ministry is keen to organize a Diaspora festival later this year, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera said in parliament last week.

The Minister said that such an event, depending on how it progresses, could even take the form of a regular annual event, to connect Sri Lanka to its Diaspora.

However, in a recent article, the Government’s official news portal quoted General Secretary of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, Parliamentarian D.E.W. Gunasekara as saying that the ‘Diaspora’ includes all Sri Lankans - Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim- living and working abroad and not just Tigers. 
Gunasekara has also noted that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) too recommended such events. He added that on several occasions, he had urged the former President to implement such measures but the latter instead listened to the racists.