Sri Lanka throughout its history has never gained notoriety for racial discrimination but now comes the news that a group of Russian tourists in the Indian Ocean Island had planned to organize a night-club frolic branding the event “whites only” effectively debarring locals from entering.
The night club is said to have a Russian affiliation in the southern port city of Galle and is patronized by both locals and foreigners alike.
The Whites Only party was listed to be held at a time there was an up-roar in the country that scores of Russian tourists and Ukrainians had set up base along the palm-fringed beaches of Sri Lanka’s southern coach running restaurants and night clubs.
The Russians have also been accused of not paying taxes for operating in the entertainment zone and face deportation for overstaying their visas.
Sri Lanka which has gone bankrupt due to financial indiscipline and corruption on the part of governments over the past ten years is virtually begging tourist dollars that analysts say have provided ample grounds for an influx of foreign tourists into the country.
According to a notice issued by the country’s Tourism Development Authority, the Russians as well as some Ukrainians must leave my March 7 after the expiry of their visas.
But according to the government, visa extensions cannot be opposed unless Cabinet approval is granted.
According to government estimates some 200,000 Russians and 5,000 Ukrainians visited Sri Lanka last year.
The Whites Only party came to light when an advertisement was put out on Social media that is reported to have said: “Face Control: White” that was understood to have caused the outrage referring to the presence of Whites only at the night club party.
The purported Whites Only party had subsequently been called off with an apology attributed to an Organiser on Instagram that said: “There was no malice or racism in this and will never support various racist statements or organizations”.
“We were sitting in a cafe and discussing that people living far from their homeland have a lot in common and it would be great to gather everyone in one place. We wanted to meet expats who have been living here for a long time and love Sri Lanka” said a user an Instagram user @geo_ecstatic.
The Russian Embassy in Colombo said it “strongly condemns all forms of racial discrimination” and called on its citizens to respect local laws and customs.
