No room for bilateral issues - govt

British PM’s vow to get tough with SL at CHOGM

By Shamindra Ferdinando-October 29, 2013, 12:00 pm 

There wouldn’t be room for bilateral issues at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) next month, an authoritative official told The Island yesterday.

"The CHOGM is primarily to discuss issues pertaining to the Commonwealth, therefore bilateral issues cannot be accommodated in the formal agenda," the official said.

The official was responding to a statement attributed to British Prime Minister David Cameron. Premier Cameron was quoted as having told Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi that he would have some very tough conversations with President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government.

PM Cameron said: "My decision is the right thing for us to do ... and have some very tough conversations with the Sri Lankan government. I’m not happy with their human rights record. I’m not happy with what they’ve done following the conflict, and we’ll have some very frank conversations to make those points."

The Queen will be represented by Prince Charles at the summit. The prince last visited Sri Lanka in 1998 to attend the country’s 50th independence day celebrations in Colombo.

Commenting on reports that a British delegation, led by Premier Cameron, would be visiting Jaffna, the official said the British High Commission in Colombo was in touch with the government regarding the planned visit.

In accordance with the government policy of transparency, the government didn’t see any problem in facilitating the British delegation’s visit to Jaffna, the official said, adding that it would be pertinent to mention that the Jaffna peninsula was brought under government control in early 1996.

Asked whether the British High Commission had discussed Premier Cameron’s visit to Jaffna, a BHC spokesperson said: "We have had discussions with the government of Sri Lanka about many aspects of the CHOGM programme and the UK delegation’s programmes. We are most grateful for the support that has been provided."

UK based GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran told The Island that the grouping requested the British premier to boycott the Colombo summit. Surendiran quoted the GTF’s president, Rev. Dr. S. J. Emmanuel as having urged member states to "make a stand on Sri Lanka and boycott CHOGM 2013" and "to bar the Government of Sri Lanka from chairing the association for the next two years."

Claiming the lack accountability for past crimes and the on-going human rights abuses taking place on the island, the GTF president said: "Sri Lanka should not have even been allowed the right to hold this year’s event, but Commonwealth Heads of Government can still send a powerful message by staying away from Colombo in November."

A senior External Affairs Ministry official told The Island that Sri Lanka’s war had never been an issue at previous CHOGM. The official recollected the devastating LTTE truck bomb attack at Dalada Maligawa a few days before the country’s 50th independence day celebrations in Kandy. The government was forced to shift the celebrations to Colombo.