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A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Canada
'appalled' that Colombo had been selected to host the Commonwealth meeting
TUESDAY
30 APRIL 2013
David Cameron is facing mounting calls to boycott an
important Commonwealth meeting in Colombo amid continuing allegations that the
Sri Lankan government is failing to end human rights abuses.
Mr Cameron is scheduled to attend the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November. At the start of
the three-day meeting, the presidency of the group is to he handed to Sri
Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Queen, or else another member of the royal
family, is also due to take part in the biennial event.
But there are growing demands that Mr Cameron and the
British delegation should not take part amid continuing concern about abuses in
Sri Lanka. Last week, Canada’s foreign minister said the country was “appalled”
that Sri Lanka had been selected to host the event.
The latest criticism of the Sri Lanka authorities
comes from Amnesty International. In a report published on Tuesday, the group
accuses the government of Mr Rajapaksa of sanctioning attacks on journalists,
the judiciary, activists and opposition politicians. It says a climate of fear
permeates the country.
“Violent repression of dissent and the consolidation
of political power go hand in hand in Sri Lanka,” said Amnesty’s Polly Truscott.
“The CHOGM meeting must not be allowed to go ahead in Colombo unless the
government has demonstrated beforehand that it has stopped systematic violations
of human rights.”
The government of Mr Rajapaksa has been repeatedly
accused of overseeing abuses since the spring of 2009, when the Sri Lankan armed
forces crushed the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had
fought a bloody civil war for three decades.
A UN-appointed panel has said there are credible
allegations that war crimes were committed by both sides amid reports that tens
of thousands of civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the
conflict. Since then, the government has been accused of targeting dissidents,
the media and activists. It has also been accused of failing to address
political demands of the country’s Tamil minority
Against such a backdrop, activists say Mr Cameron’s
attendance at the meeting would send out the wrong signal.
“If Cameron goes he will be placing the seal of
approval on the summit and other Commonwealth members who were on the fence will
be pressured to attend,” said Fred Carver of the Sri Lanka campaign.
“If Cameron goes he will go going against the advice
of Desmond Tutu, Geoffrey Robertson, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association,
Malcolm Rifikind, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and virtually every
Commonwealth charity and NGO.”
The Sri Lankan authorities have yet to formally
respond to Amnesty’s report. But Rajiva Wijesinha, a member of parliament and
the president’s envoy on reconciliation, said the report appeared designed to be
“political” rather than to suggest solutions.
He said since 2009 the government had spent millions
of pounds on building infrastructure in the north of Sri Lanka, including roads,
schools and hospitals. He said while more work was required, it would be wrong
“not to register that Sri Lanka has done an awful lot that no other country in
the same situation has done”.
There have been suggestions Britain’s decision could
be announced in a matter of weeks. Elsewhere, British officials have suggested
the formal September deadline for replying to the invitation is probably
flexible while a determination is made on whether Sri Lanka is making progress
on addressing various issues.
One of the things being scrutinised are the elections
for the northern provincial council, which Mr Rajapaksa has said will take place
in September. The election of the council is seen by Tamil groups as a crucial
test of whether the government is prepared to devolve some power.
A foreign office statement issued on Tuesday, said:
“No final decision on the level of UK attendance at CHOGM has yet been made.
Whatever the formal agenda, and whoever attends, the spotlight will be on Sri
Lanka, and it will either highlight progress or focus attention and pressure on
the lack of it.”
A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said “no
announcement has been made” on whether the Queen or any member of the royal
family will attend.
TUESDAY
30 APRIL 2013
Mr Cameron is scheduled to attend the Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November. At the start of
the three-day meeting, the presidency of the group is to he handed to Sri
Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Queen, or else another member of the royal
family, is also due to take part in the biennial event.
But there are growing demands that Mr Cameron and the
British delegation should not take part amid continuing concern about abuses in
Sri Lanka. Last week, Canada’s foreign minister said the country was “appalled”
that Sri Lanka had been selected to host the event.
The latest criticism of the Sri Lanka authorities
comes from Amnesty International. In a report published on Tuesday, the group
accuses the government of Mr Rajapaksa of sanctioning attacks on journalists,
the judiciary, activists and opposition politicians. It says a climate of fear
permeates the country.
“Violent repression of dissent and the consolidation
of political power go hand in hand in Sri Lanka,” said Amnesty’s Polly Truscott.
“The CHOGM meeting must not be allowed to go ahead in Colombo unless the
government has demonstrated beforehand that it has stopped systematic violations
of human rights.”
The government of Mr Rajapaksa has been repeatedly
accused of overseeing abuses since the spring of 2009, when the Sri Lankan armed
forces crushed the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which had
fought a bloody civil war for three decades.
A UN-appointed panel has said there are credible
allegations that war crimes were committed by both sides amid reports that tens
of thousands of civilians may have been killed in the final stages of the
conflict. Since then, the government has been accused of targeting dissidents,
the media and activists. It has also been accused of failing to address
political demands of the country’s Tamil minority
Against such a backdrop, activists say Mr Cameron’s
attendance at the meeting would send out the wrong signal.
“If Cameron goes he will be placing the seal of
approval on the summit and other Commonwealth members who were on the fence will
be pressured to attend,” said Fred Carver of the Sri Lanka campaign.
“If Cameron goes he will go going against the advice
of Desmond Tutu, Geoffrey Robertson, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association,
Malcolm Rifikind, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee and virtually every
Commonwealth charity and NGO.”
The Sri Lankan authorities have yet to formally
respond to Amnesty’s report. But Rajiva Wijesinha, a member of parliament and
the president’s envoy on reconciliation, said the report appeared designed to be
“political” rather than to suggest solutions.
He said since 2009 the government had spent millions
of pounds on building infrastructure in the north of Sri Lanka, including roads,
schools and hospitals. He said while more work was required, it would be wrong
“not to register that Sri Lanka has done an awful lot that no other country in
the same situation has done”.
There have been suggestions Britain’s decision could
be announced in a matter of weeks. Elsewhere, British officials have suggested
the formal September deadline for replying to the invitation is probably
flexible while a determination is made on whether Sri Lanka is making progress
on addressing various issues.
One of the things being scrutinised are the elections
for the northern provincial council, which Mr Rajapaksa has said will take place
in September. The election of the council is seen by Tamil groups as a crucial
test of whether the government is prepared to devolve some power.
A foreign office statement issued on Tuesday, said:
“No final decision on the level of UK attendance at CHOGM has yet been made.
Whatever the formal agenda, and whoever attends, the spotlight will be on Sri
Lanka, and it will either highlight progress or focus attention and pressure on
the lack of it.”
A spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said “no
announcement has been made” on whether the Queen or any member of the royal
family will attend.
