13 November 2013
British Premier David Cameron has been warned by the Sri Lankan government not to raise its human rights record when he attends the Commonwealth summit in Colombo later this week, the BBC reports.
In rejecting calls to boycott the summit given Sri Lanka’s worsening human rights record, Mr. Cameron said he would use the opportunity to raise press for an independent investigation into wartime atrocities and rights abuses since the war’s end. (See his op-ed in Tamil Guardian last Thursday).
There was no reaction from Sri Lanka until yesterday - when Mr. Cameron was enroute the event. True to past form, it was angry and defiant.
When asked by the BBC if Sri Lanka would deliver on an independent investigation, minister of mass media and communications Keheliya Rambukwella said: "No! The invitation to Prime Minister David Cameron was not based on that."
"The invitation was based on that as member of the Commonwealth [he could] participate. Anything above that is not on our agenda!" he added.
“We are a sovereign nation. You think someone can just make a demand from Sri Lanka?! We are not a colony. We are an independent state!”
The BBC's James Robbins says the Mr. Cameron’s determination to put Sri Lanka's human rights conduct in the spotlight is set to be tested.
See the BBC’s report here. Also watch the embedded video to see President Rajapaksa’s security lead the BBC a dance - quite literally!
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