A.LOEWENSTEIN ONLINE NEWSLETTER

Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband, in an interview with the Guardian, doesn’t seem to get it. Voters are angry with the major parties because of years of arrogance. And comments like these simply add insult to injury:

I met some guy in Soho yesterday, when we were launching the Labour lesbian and gay manifesto. And I said to him, ‘Look, you’ve punished us enough about Iraq, all right? So don’t start punishing yourself.’

Sri Lanka has launched a global campaign to attract tourism. The war is over, we are told, and peace has broken out.
If only this was true. Here’s the reality; a police state that murders and imprisons its opponents.
Alas, like many in the corporate media, the Sydney Morning Herald today ignores any human rights abuses on the island and launches into a massive feature (PR job) on the country:

With verdant rainforests and idyllic white-sand beaches, cloistered temples, ancient ruins, blustery mountains teeming with endangered wildlife, mist-wreathed tea gardens, grand colonial architecture, a vibrant culture, lip-smacking cuisine and warm, generous people, at a glance you might think Sri Lanka has it all.

Shame on them.
Here’s how Colombo views accountability:

At a UN reception thrown by Israel on April 20, Ban Ki Moon told Sri Lanka’s UN Ambassador Palitha Kohona “I am not against your government,” according to sources standing next to the two. Kohona has predicted that no panel will ever be named, quipping that the UN should instead investigate the Vatican for pedophilia.
See: www.antonyloewenstein.com