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Saturday, 9 March 2013 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Uditha Jayasinghe
The brother of the British tourist murdered in Sri Lanka says he is shocked by the Government’s failure to bring the killers to justice even after the lapse of 15 months and made an emotional appeal on Friday for justice, warning inaction could impact the island’s lucrative tourist industry.
Kuram Shaikh was murdered and his girlfriend viciously assaulted while they were holidaying at the southern seaside town of Tangalle on 25 December 2011 by a group of people headed by a provincial politician.
Even though initial arrests were made, the politician of the ruling party together with eight others was released on bail and the trial has not yet been filed in court.
Kuram was an employee of the International Red Cross.
Distressed by the inaction, Kuram’s brother Nasir is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka accompanied by British MP Simon Danczuk to push the Sri Lankan Government into fast-tracking the case.
Speaking to the media, Nasir made an emotional appeal calling for the Government to back up their positive comments to him with tangible action and protect the values of a Commonwealth nation.
“It was unfortunate that the first time I came to Sri Lanka was to take my brother back home and I never imagined I would have to do this and deal with such a traumatic experience. Fifteen months on, we are shocked at how little progress has been made on the case and the lack of urgency for justice that has been showed so far,” he said.
Visibly upset at having to revisit his brother’s tragic death, Nasir talked of how committed a humanitarian his late brother was and how he had described Sri Lanka as a “beautiful place” after his first visit and had been keen to spend a holiday getting better acquainted with the place.
“Those responsible for what happened to my brother are walking free to this day and that cannot be right in any walk of life. It is not acceptable for a Commonwealth country to turn a blind eye on such a tragedy and this seems a senseless injustice. I am here today to ask the Sri Lankan Government to do the right thing – to send out the right message – to show they have a genuine commitment to uphold rule of law. Justice delayed is justice denied and if the Government is serious about stopping crimes now and in the future, they have to ensure that justice prevails.”
Stressing that the Government needed to stop “sending mixed messages,” Nasir emphasised that his quest for justice would continue to bring closure to his family.
MP Danczuk echoed Nasir’s statement, pointing out that the Sri Lankan Government’s continued avoidance of the matter would “haunt it” and likely impact UK tourist numbers.
He also expressed disappointment at top Government Ministers including Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa avoiding them and observed that efforts to meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa proved unfruitful. The group had only secured a meeting with newly-appointed Economic Development Deputy Minister M. Hizbulla, but remarked that more senior ears would have been welcomed.
Danczuk, who called for British Prime Minister David Cameron to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) hosted by Sri Lanka in November if progress on the murder case was not shown, insisted that he would continue to lobby for non-representation and on his return would even write to the Queen asking her not to attend CHOGM.
Remarking on UNP Member of the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Sandeep Samarasinghe’s alleged assault on two British tourists, Danczuk went on to say that their quest for justice was clearly a symbol for greater implementation of the law in Sri Lanka.
