SL on CMAG agenda

by Ranga Jayasuriya-2013-04-26 Sri Lanka will be on the agenda of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) today in London as the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper renewed calls the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) be moved out of Sri Lanka due to the country's 'appalling' human rights record. Though the political developments in Fuji, which remains suspended from the Commonwealth after the coup, are originally scheduled to be the primary focus of the CMAG meeting today, Commonwealth sources indicated that Sri Lanka could potentially overshadow the regular business in the agenda due to widespread concern raised by the Commonwealth member States, notably Canada and a host of Commonwealth associations. Last week, the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference of Commonwealth Lawyers and Judges passed a resolution calling on the CMAG to place Sri Lanka on the agenda at the meeting and "suspend it from the Councils of the Commonwealth for serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth fundamental values." However, the sources in London said no formal request for the change of venue of the CHOGM has been placed on the agenda. The sources added the concerns raised by the other Commonwealth affiliated organizations would influence the CMAG meeting today and the nine foreign ministers would have to take note of those concerns. Sri Lanka came under the spotlight after the government sacked Chief Justice, Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, through a widely disputed process, violating the Latimer House Principles, which underscores the Commonwealth's commitment to the separation of power doctrine and sets out the relationship among the three branches of the government: The Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. Foreign Ministers attending today's meeting are: Dr. Dipu Moni, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh (Chair); Senator Bob Carr, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia (Deputy Chair); John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada; A.J. Nicholson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Jamaica; Dr. Abdul Samad Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maldives; Dr. Samura Kamara, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sierra Leone; Bernard K. Membe, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Tanzania; Winston Dookeran, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Communications, Trinidad and Tobago; and Edward Natapei, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vanuatu. CMAG, a rotating group of nine foreign ministers, acts as the custodian of Commonwealth values and principles and has the mandate to suspend the persistent violators of Commonwealth values. Meanwhile, in the Canadian Parliament, Prime Minister Harper said without major reforms, he personally will not be attending the CHOGM in Colombo, the Canadian media reported. Harper responding to a question raised by Liberal MP Bob Rae, who cited the Sri Lankan Government's 'appalling human rights record,' which he said included impeaching the country's former Chief Justice and murdering journalists. "I wonder if the Prime Minister would consider this proposition: Why would Canada not invite the Commonwealth countries to come to Canada, for Canada to host the conference and for Canada to become the Chair of the Commonwealth for two years?" Rae asked. Responding to Rae, Prime Minister Harper quipped: "He and I, and almost all the members of this House are of one mind on this issue." "I know we are deeply troubled by the direction taken by Sri Lanka and the fact that Sri Lanka is, at this point, the host of the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting," Harper continued. "I know suggestions have been made of any number of countries who would be willing to host that," the Canadian media quoted him as saying.