In its editorial Monday, the Financial Times newspaper urged British Premier David Cameron not to attend the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka later this week.

See here (registration required) the full text of the FT's editorial titled 'Cameron should not go to Sri Lanka'.

Pointing to Sri Lanka’s “appalling human rights record”, including both wartime atrocities - “which would be bad enough” – and abuses since, the editorial said:

“[Mr. Cameron’s] decision to attend is hard to justify. It seems driven largely by the fact that a boycott would have embarrassed the Commonwealth. This, however, ignores the public relations gift that the presence of a British prime minister – and other leaders – bestows upon a bloodstained regime.

 

“Mr Cameron should have said at the outset that he would not be attending, leaving William Hague, foreign secretary, to represent the UK. That would have allowed Britain to signal its concerns while maintaining its responsibilities to the Commonwealth.

 

“Instead, Mr Cameron’s policy on human rights seems confused. He has shown in recent years how committed he is to defending the human rights of people under threat in Libya, Syria and Tunisia. However, he seems to apply a different standard when it comes to Sri Lanka. There is not much realpolitik in all of this. Mr Cameron’s stance on human rights feels merely incoherent.”