The ambassador, seeking to end the deadlock peacefully, urged his compatriots to cancel the celebrations while the police said that the Sri Lankans had all the necessary permits and did not break the law.
More than 5,000 Sri Lankans, including K.S.C. Dissanayake, Sri Lankan ambassador to Kuwait, had to leave the Jahra stadium after Kuwaiti Islamists invaded the field and pressed organisers to suspend the celebration and threatened to escalate the tense situation.
Negotiations between the event organisers, the police and the angry Kuwaitis failed to reach a compromise.
The protesters said that the presence of men and women at the stadium and the playing of music on a Friday afternoon made the celebration “unacceptable” for not respecting Islamic values.
The ambassador, seeking to end the deadlock peacefully, urged his compatriots to cancel the celebrations two hours before schedule and to vacate the premises.
The police said that the Sri Lankans had all the necessary permits and did not break the law.
Sri Lanka is organising on Monday a “Sri Lanka Culture Week” in Kuwait to help promote the country as a tourist and cultural destination. The event is hosted by Kuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters and co-sponsored by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Sri Lankan Airlines.
A 28-member cultural troupe will perform 'Sri Lak Rangana', a fusion of historical and contemporary dance forms.
The week will also feature a handicraft exhibition of products, bronze items, masks, gems, jewellery and other ornaments while a food festival will introduce Sri Lankan cuisine to Kuwait residents.
As reported in Gulf News.
LWDLIK- If the Sri Lankans had permits then does this mean those particular Kuwaiti antagonists causing a disturbance were breaking law? Intolerance and taking the law into your own hands is a dangerous combination.
:(
ReplyDeleteWhats next? Should I start to put some roots elsewhere!
Very :(
ReplyDeleteHad a think about this.. And decided that Kuwait's worth the gamble. Change is happening here, albeit slower and less obviously than we would like. Personally I feel a real buzz among young, educated and talented hopefuls here in Kuwait. Try to ignore the odd silliness that you will, inevitably, encounter..
ReplyDeleteMe again... wow... I can understand people wanting to force others to obey them...but attributing it to GOD is just so... can not even find the word!
ReplyDeleteThat particular branch of Islam, which was nurtured and sponsored by the west...is over taking Kuwait...I think it is a matter of time! So indeed, new roots have to be put some where... I just hope my new roots will be somewhere that has decent eggs benedict :)
Hmmm I'm curious to hear why you think 'that particular branch of Islam' was nutured and sponsored by the West..
ReplyDeleteOops nurtured I mean..
ReplyDeletewell, first there was the Ottomans and how to get them... so different areas and different strategies... our area was simple... find an indigence population that were willing to turn on there follow Muslims turks and others... how to do that? empower a sect of Islam that sees all other humans that dont share there believes as worthy of death to say the least... so it started between villages in middle Arabia..and yesterday it reached Jahra stadium!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteSorry Luke but that's way too provocative.
ReplyDelete