Sri Lanka may face a tight situation at the April meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in London with the likelihood of the country being included in the Agenda for the meeting, informed sources said yesterday.
 
 
As a preemptive measure External Affairs Minister G.L Peries met Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma on Tuesday in London with the intention of warding off such an inclusion.
 
However, he received no confirmation from Mr. Sharma that Sri Lanka will not be included in the agenda. The situation has worsened for Sri Lanka because of heightened pressure from Canada, which is part of the present cycle of the CMAG and the threat by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to keep away from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka in November this year.
 
“The minister made a strong case against the inclusion of Sri Lanka as an agenda item at the CMAG meeting. The minister pointed out that such a course of action is contrary to the decisions taken by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Perth, Western Australia in October 2011 regarding the mandate of CMAG and the scope of its functions,” the minister’s office said in a media release.

The present membership of the CMAG consists of Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Jamaica, Maldives, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu and is reconstituted at every CHOGM. Maldives membership has been suspended on the grounds it is being investigated by the group.
 

Meanwhile the External Affairs Ministry said the minister described to the Secretary-General the developments which had taken place in Sri Lanka during the past few months and emphasized the need to preserve the essential character of the Commonwealth as a voluntary association of sovereign States, characterised by a striking diversity of cultures and outlook among the 54 member states of the organisation.
 

The minister said any attempt to politicise the organisation or to permit its structures and mechanisms to be used as instruments by some countries to interfere in the domestic issues of other countries, would inevitably distort the cultural ethos of the Commonwealth and pose significant challenges with regard to its future.
 

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma told the visiting minister that he was looking forward to his visit to Sri Lanka and that he was pleased with the arrangements which were under way for the meeting of the Heads of Government.
 

The minister briefed Mr. Sharma about the discussions which he held in New Delhi last month regarding the summit and in particular about Sri Lanka's support for the Secretary-General's proposal with regard to the establishment of a Commonwealth Bank for Trade and Investment.
 

Mr. Sharma was also briefed about the recent visits to Sri Lanka by Senator Robert Carr, Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs and Ms. Julie Bishop, Australia's Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Foreign Minister.
The minister said Australia was sharing with Sri Lanka the experience it had gained from successfully organising the last meeting of the Heads of Government less than two years ago and that this collaboration was greatly appreciated by Sri Lanka. 

 

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/25553-sl-may-be-in-a-tight-spot-in-april.html

 

Sri Lanka: Move Commonwealth Summit - HRW
 
The Commonwealth should shift the venue of its November 2013 Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from Sri Lanka unless its government makes prompt, measurable, and meaningful progress on human rights, Human Rights Watch said today in a public letter to Commonwealth Heads of Government. Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka on February 10, 2013 to discuss the upcoming meeting.

The Sri Lankan government under President Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken no meaningful steps to address serious abuses by government forces in the final months of the armed conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, during which the United Nations has estimated that up to 40,000 civilians died. Since 2009 the government has been responsible for a worsening human rights situation that includes clampdowns on basic freedoms, attacks and threats against civil society, and actions against the judiciary and other institutions, imperiling Sri Lanka’s democracy.
 

“The Sri Lankan government’s blatant disregard for the Commonwealth’s principles of human rights and democratic reform makes it a poor host for this important event,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “Unless the government urgently addresses abuses and ends impunity, the international recognition it will gain by hosting the Commonwealth summit while repressing its key values will be an embarrassment to the Commonwealth and its member countries.”
 

In 2011, Human Rights Watch and other domestic and international human rights groups urged the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group to impose the following benchmarks as a precondition for allowing Sri Lanka to be the host of the 2013 summit. These benchmarks remain relevant today and include:
 

·         Ensuring meaningful domestic implementation of the international human rights treaties to which the government of Sri Lanka is party and bringing all legislation into line with international human rights standards;
·         Providing guarantees that all Sri Lankan people will be treated with dignity and respect as equal citizens and live in an environment in which they can enjoy all fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of Sri Lanka;
Restoring constitutional provisions that guarantee separation of powers and reinstating the independence of the three branches of government;
 

Restoring the independence of key government institutions, such as the National Human Rights Commission;
 

Instituting effective mechanisms to protect journalists, civil society groups and human rights defenders who work for the promotion and protection of human rights;
 

Supporting and cooperating with independent and credible domestic and international investigations into all allegations concerning violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the country, especially related to the conduct of the conflict which ended in 2009; and
 

Making a commitment to collaborate with the Office of the UN Secretary-General to initiate the implementation of the recommendations set out in the report of the secretary-general’s Panel of Experts.
 

Human Rights Watch is also deeply concerned that in addition to hosting the 2013 Commonwealth summit, Sri Lanka will hold the chairmanship of the Commonwealth from 2013 to 2015.
 

“A summit in Sri Lanka will cast serious doubt on the Commonwealth’s commitment to supporting human rights, democratic reform, and fundamental human rights enshrined in the Commonwealth Harare Declaration of 1991,” Adams said. “Handing Sri Lanka leadership of the Commonwealth at a time when democratic institutions are under direct and sustained attack by the Sri Lankan government will be an affront to the victims of rights violations in the country and around the Commonwealth.”

 

http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/02/06/sri-lanka-move-commonwealth-summit

Sri Lanka dismisses Canada’s threat

 

The Sri Lankan government on Wednesday dismissed a threat from Canada regarding the island’s human rights record.

Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry said that the government was well aware of the importance of securing the rights of its own people and was acting accordingly.

 

“Sri Lanka’s human rights record is much better than other countries. The government knows its responsibility towards its own people and has been working on maintaining a good human rights record,” Foreign Secretary Karunathilaka Amunugama told Xinhua.

Canada on Sunday warned the Sri Lankan government, saying if it does not address issues raised on human rights and accountability there could be a revival of radicalization by the Tamil Diaspora.

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, who visited Sri Lanka early last month, told a group of Tamil journalists in Ontario last week that he had conveyed this message to the Sri Lankan government during his visit.

Kenney said that during his discussions in Sri Lanka he found that the political situation was deteriorating rather than improving.

He said he had reported his views to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as well as to Foreign Minister John Baird and the Canadian prime minister will now make a decision on the level of Canada’s engagement at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November.

 

Meanwhile Amunugama told Xinhua that the Sri Lankan government was making “full-on” preparations for the CHOGM meeting and government officials were in discussions with the Commonwealth Secretariat officials.

“The Commonwealth Secretariat officials have informed all the Commonwealth countries of the date, time and venue of the meeting, ” Amunugama said.

 

However, he added that the government had not received any response from any country stating they will not be attending the meeting in Sri Lanka.

 

http://www.nzweek.com/world/sri-lanka-dismisses-canadas-threat-48030/

கமலேஸ் சர்மா- அமைச்சர் ஜி.எல். சந்தித்து பேச்சு 

 

பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பின் செயலாளர் கமலேஸ் சர்மாவுக்கும் இலங்கை  வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சர் ஜி.எல்.பீரிஸிக்கும் இடையில் லண்டனில் முக்கிய சந்திப்பொன்று இடம்பெற்றுள்ளது.

 

ஏப்ரல் மாதம் நடைபெறவுள்ள பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பின் அமைச்சரவை நடவடிக்கைக் குழுவின் கூட்ட நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலில், இலங்கை விவகாரமும் உள்ளடக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது குறித்தே இந்த சந்திப்பில் கலந்துரையாடப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதன் போது அமைச்சர் பீரிஸ் கடும் எதிர்ப்புத் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு தலைவர்களின் உச்சிமாநாட்டை இலங்கையிலிருந்து இடமாற்றுவது தொடர்பான யோசனைகளை கனடா உள்ளிட்ட நாடுகள் முன்வைத்துள்ள நிலையில், இந்த விவகாரம் குறித்து பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு அமைச்சரவை நடவடிக்கைக் குழுவின் கூட்டத்தில் ஆராயத் திட்டமிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

 

பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு அமைச்சரவை நடவடிக்கைக் குழுவின் கூட்ட நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலில் இலங்கை விவகாரம் உள்ளடக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது குறித்து இலங்கை அரசாங்கத்தின்  சார்பில் கடும் எதிர்ப்பை வெளிப்படுத்தியுள்ளார்.

இந்தச் சந்திப்பின் போது சிறிலங்கா வெளிவிவகார அமைச்சர் பீரிஸ், எதிர்வரும் நவம்பர் மாதம் இலங்கையில்  பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு உச்சி மாநாட்டை நடத்துவதற்கு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள ஏற்பாடுகள் குறித்து விளக்கமளித்துள்ளார்.

 

பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு தலைவர்களின் உச்சி மாநாடு கொழும்பிலும், பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பின் மக்கள் மன்றம், இளைஞர் மன்றம் ஆகியவற்றின் மாநாடுகளை அம்பாந்தோட்டையிலும் நடத்த ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்யப்பட்டு வருவதாகவும் பீரிஸ் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பை அரசியல் மயமாக்க சில நாடுகள் முயற்சிகளை மேற்கொள்வதாக குற்றம்சாட்டியுள்ள அமைச்சர் பீரிஸ் பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பு கட்டமைப்பையும், பொறிமுறையையும் பிற நாடுகளின் உள்ளகப் பிரச்சினைகளுக்குத் தடங்கல் ஏற்படுத்தும் வகையில் பயன்படுத்த இடமளிப்பது பொதுநலவாய அமைப்பின் எதிர்காலத்துக்கு அச்சுறுத்தலாக அமையும் என்றும் அவர் சுட்டிக்காட்டியுள்ளார்.

 

http://tamil.dailymirror.lk/2010-07-14-09-13-23/58423-2013-02-07-02-13-34.html