Canada PM to miss Commonwealth summit, cites Sri Lanka rights
(Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Monday he would not attend a November summit of the Commonwealth in Sri Lanka because of what he called human rights abuses on the island.
“We remain disturbed by ongoing reports of intimidation and incarceration of political leaders and journalists, harassment of minorities, reported disappearances, and allegations of extra judicial killings,” he said in a statement.
Sri Lanka’s envoy to Canada disputed Harper’s comments. The U.N.’s human rights chief said last month that Sri Lanka could be sliding toward an authoritarian system as President Mahinda Rajapaksa gathered power around him.
Harper is the only leader from the Commonwealth, which groups Britain and many former colonies, to announce he will boycott the November summit. Britain also has criticized human rights in Sri Lanka.
Harper said it was unacceptable that Sri Lanka had yet to investigate allegations of atrocities during and after a long civil war with Tamil rebels, which ended in 2009. Sri Lanka has long dismissed allegations its troops committed major crimes.
“It is clear that the Sri Lankan government has failed to uphold the Commonwealth’s core values, which are cherished by Canadians … I will not attend the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo,” he said.
Chitranganee Wagiswara, Sri Lanka’s high commissioner to Canada, disputed the idea that the human rights situation was bad.
“We don’t accept what is being said,” she told Reuters by telephone, saying Harper himself had noted advances in human rights in 2011.
“We know maybe there are many areas to (still) address but at the same time, over the last short period of four years we have made progress which is recognized by most in the international community,” she said.
Canada will be represented in Colombo by Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Minister John Baird. Wagiswara said no Commonwealth summit had ever seen 100 percent attendance by all the grouping’s leaders.
Harper also said he had asked Baird to review Canada’s financial contributions to Commonwealth programs as well as the organization’s London-based secretariat.
(Reuters)
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It is high time the Government of Sri Lanka implemented all the recommendations of the LLRC report and the 13th Ammendment to the constitution immediately, as by doing these actions the Government will be able to show the world that they have done and implemented all the issues mentioned by Prime Minister Harper.
Anthony,
There is no need to lick the rear side of Harper. There is no need to connect 13th amendment or anything else for this. They are irrelevant. Harper is not asking for 13th amendment and even if he asks (along with you) it will not be given anyway. Sri Lanka is for Sri Lankans and not for Canadians.
Before Harper harps about Sri Lankan human rights issues he better should clean his backyard by investigating his government’s massive human rights abuses on native red-Indians in Canada and also other human rights abuses such as spying on Brazilians etc etc. He also should answer about his troops’ human rights abuses while in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For your information, Harper is making loud noises these days for 2 reasons:-
1. to make happy his Tamil Tiger supporting Tamil constituents to win the next election.
2. To create a smoke screen to cover-up Canada’s own human rights abuses.
Don’t get conned !
When Mr harper is voted out of power at the next elections in Canada, he can join the Transnational Government of Tamil Ealama in New York under the leadesrship of Hon Visvalingam Rudrakumara, PM of TGTE.