The Mauritian Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolan, will not be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka this week.
Ramgoolan is reported to have made the announcement at the Mauritian parliament on Tuesday, when responding to a question by the opposition leader, Paul Bérenger, who has previously called for a boycott of the summit.
"This is a decision taken by a sovereign Mauritius in the face of the absence of progress in Sri Lanka on the respect of human rights," Ramgoolan told parliament.
He went on to add that Mauritius, which is set to host the next CHOGM, believes that
"human rights are more important than everything else".
The prime minister is said to have come to this decision as he is “a man of principles”, Mauritian media reported, adding that he has come to know about the lack of improvement in the situation in northern Sri Lanka.
Arvin Boolell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, will be representing the prime minister at the summit.
Tamils from across the world participated in a conference in Mauritius over the weekend, which was attended by Prime Minister Ramgoolan, Bérenger and other senior government officials.
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| Tamil groups meeting with Mauritian officials (Photo courtesy Sankathi24) |