Members of the Sri Lankan community in Harrow have backed the borough’s mayor, following calls for her resignation over controversial photos.
Campaigner April De Alwiss handed in a counter-petition to Harrow Council last week which gave “full support” to Cllr Kareema Marikar. It comes after Harrow’s Tamil community urged her to step down as mayor after she was pictured alongside Sri Lankan military leaders during a visit to the country.
Before handing over the petition – which was signed by 434 people – Ms De Alwiss argued that the situation had been jumped on for political purposes.
The initial petition, which was handed in on February 21, took issue with the mayor visiting the Commander of the Sri Lankan Army, Mahesh Senanayake, and Brigadier Priyanka Fernando during a trip last year. She posted pictures of her meetings – in which she is wearing the mayoral chain – on social media alongside messages praising the soldiers for their service.
Members of the Tamil community in Harrow were upset at this representation, given the army officials’ involvement in the Sri Lankan civil war.
The Sri Lankan Civil War, which stemmed from ambitions by the ‘Tamil Tigers’ to form an independent state, ravaged the country for more than 25 years – finally ending in 2009.
Cllr Marikar, who is the first Muslim woman to hold the position of Mayor of Harrow, hails from Sri Lanka herself. She has lived in the borough for 28 years, has served as a councillor since 2010 and is due to hand over her mayoral responsibilities at the end of the council year in May.
The pictures in question have since been deleted and the mayor declined to comment on the matter.
