COLOMBO – The Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine (SLCSP), in
collaboration with the Embassy of the State of Palestine to Sri Lanka and the
Maldives, will host a special literary and cultural programme titled ‘Echoes of
Palestine’ on Tuesday, January 13, I at the Lighthouse Auditorium of the
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, Colombo 7.
The event, scheduled from 4.00 p.m. to 6.00 p.m., will mark the launch of the
book The Heritage of the Homeland Trampled by a Superpower – Palestine,
authored by Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, former Minister and former Co-Chairman of
the Sri Lanka Committee for Solidarity with Palestine. The publication is a carefully
curated selection of eight inspiring and thought-provoking speeches made in
Parliament on Palestine, along with a widely read newspaper column, reflecting
decades of advocacy for justice, international law, and the rights of oppressed
peoples.
The book addresses a wide range of themes, including the call for the suspension
of relations with Israel until it complies with world public opinion; the lived reality
of violence in Palestine and the resilience of its victims; the principle that foreign
policy must be grounded in the welfare of humanity; the misuse of veto power
against global public opinion; the urgent need to strengthen international
institutions for peace and economic justice; and the importance of the United
Nations in safeguarding small states. It also includes reflections described as a
‘textbook of genocide’, questioning global indifference.
The book will be reviewed by a distinguished panel comprising former Speaker of
Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka
Upul Jayasuriya, Professor Harendra de Silva – Emeritus Professor at the
Department of Paediatrics, University of Colombo, former Chairman of the
National Child Protection Authority and recipient of the 2017 Vidyajothi award –
and former Sri Lankan Ambassador and international political analyst Dr Dayan
Jayatilleka
