• Bishop of Mannar calls for CHOGM boycott

    Nov 07

    The Bishop of Mannar, Dr Rayappu Joseph, has called on the international community to boycott the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, saying that this would be the best way to send a message to the government.

  • It's not all cocktails in coconut shells in Sri Lanka'
    Writing in the LabourList, Britain's largest weblog that supports the opposition party, Amy Lamé stated that British Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague should cancel their trip to Colombo, for the upcoming CHOGM.

    Extracts from the piece are reproduced below. See the full piece here.
    "It’s not all cocktails in coconut shells in Sri Lanka. President Mahindra Rajapaksa is personally accused of war crimes. In his effort to finally crush the Tamil Tigers, the 26 year civil war ended with 40,000 dead civilians. 12,000 disappearances, more than any other country bar Iraq. This includes opponents of the government, journalists and activists. In its role as Commonwealth Chair Sri Lanka would be responsible for addressing the human rights of other member states. I could see the irony if it wasn’t so chilling and tragically sad."

    "Nick Clegg has promised that during the Commonwealth summit the UK Government will be highlighting the abuses that have taken place, and continue to happen, in Sri Lanka. How? Polite conversation over canapés is not only not good enough, it’s downright shameful.
  • Sri Lanka denies barring visas for IBAHRI officials

    The Sri Lankan External Affairs Ministry rejected the charges made by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute that it had denied its officials visas to visit the island as “an attempt to sully the image of Sri Lanka”.

    The Ministry said the visa applications were made for a seminar organised by IBAHRI and the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and it was due to the failure of the organisers to follow due process of hosting such an event that it was unable to facilitate the visas.

  • Singh 'unlikely' to attend CHOGM reports Indian media
    Published: 16:45 GMT

    Indian media has reportted that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is 'unlikely' to visit Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, due to take place next week.
  • Sri Lanka: Feels like paradise?
    As part of a campaign calling on Commonwealth members not to allow Sri Lanka to become chair of the organisation, Amnesty International New Zealand produced the video below.

    They also had written this letter for delegates attending next week's CHOGM summit.

    "Dear Commonwealth delegates,

    Welcome to Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean.

    Sri Lanka is a country famous for tea, gemstones and spices, a land where journalists can be disappeared for speaking out against the Government and where human rights abuses are commonplace.

    Visit some of the most beautiful beaches in the world or take a drive to the sites of some of the worst atrocities committed during the 26 year civil war.

    See some of the island’s amazing wildlife or visit the hospital where Sri Lankan women gave birth as bombs fell around them.

    Take a trip to the area east of the Nanthi Lagoon where thousands of innocent civilians were killed believing they were safe in Government declared No Fire Zones.
  • JPC calls for assistance to victims of coercive birth control
    The Chairman of the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Catholic Diocese Jaffna, in a report released on today, called for immediate assistance to victims of coercive population control.

    The report, which outlined the complaints from women in three coastal villages who were subjected to birth control implants,  urged the Northern Provincial Health Ministry, to remove the implants and assist the victims that were suffering from side-effects.
  • Cameron warning on international investigation of Sri Lanka atrocities
    Britain will support an international investigation of Sri Lanka’s wartime atrocities if the government there does not conduct an independent investigation, Premier David Cameron said Friday.
     
    Mr. Cameron again rejected growing calls to boycott attending the Commonwealth summit in Colombo next week, following the decision by Stephen Harper, his Canadian counterpart, not to attend.
     
    In comments to the Financial Times, which the paper described as his starkest warning on the atrocities, Mr. Cameron said:
     
    “If an independent inquiry isn’t carried out, it needs to be carried out on an international basis and I’m absolutely clear about that and will make that point when I go to Sri Lanka.”
     
    It’s appalling some of the things that have happened in Sri Lanka and it’s absolutely vital that a proper shared future is delivered for everyone in Sri Lanka and I will not be backward in making those points.”
     
    This is the first time the UK has talked about holding an international inquiry, the FT said.
     
    Although Mr Cameron’s tough message may irritate the Sri Lankan authorities, they will be relieved that he is not refusing to travel to the country, the paper also said.

  • Strongly believe Sri Lanka boycott would be wrong – William Hague

    The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary William Hague has said in an opinion for The Telegraph that although he wants to see change in Sri Lanka, a boycott of the Commonwealth heads of Government Meeting in the country would be wrong.

  • Why I am attending CHOGM – David Cameron


  • IBAHRI delegation denied entry to Sri Lanka

    A high-level delegation from the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has been denied entry to Sri Lanka, reported the DailyMirror.

    The delegation, including the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Gabriela Knaul, and the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Param Cumaraswamy.

  • Tamil protester continues hunger strike, calling on Cameron to boycott CHOGM
    Tamil protester, Parameswaran, continues his hunger strike opposite Downing Street, calling on the British Prime Minister to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to take place in Sri Lanka later this month. Photograph TYOUK
  • Sri Lanka needs to face international pressure, including CHOGM boycott - Archbishop Tutu

    A boycott of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka could help pressure Colombo to address alleged war crimes against Tamils, suggested Archbishop Desmond Tutu today.

    Speaking to journalists in New Delhi, Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said:

  • British Tamils disappointed at Cameron’s commitment to CHOGM, continue call for boycott

  • Cameron to push for international investigations if Sri Lanka doesn’t credibly investigate itself

    A spokesperson for Number 10 has said that the Prime Minister David Cameron will call for an international inquiry, if Sri Lanka does not deliver an independent investigation into accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    "We have consistently called for an independent inquiry into the allegations,” the spokesperson said.

    “To date, that has not happened. And the PM believes that in the absence of an independent investigation, an international inquiry would be needed.”

  • Why Commonwealth nations should boycott the Sri Lanka meeting - CTC
    Writing in Embassy, Raj Thavaratnasingham, the president of the Canadian Tamil Congress, called on Commonwealth heads to boycott CHOGM next week. The full text of his opinion has been reproduced below: 

    In 2009, the Canadian government refused to support a bid by Sri Lanka to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, as a way to pressure the government to allow relief workers access to refugee camps following the end of the Sri Lankan civil war. In 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper first mentioned his intent to boycott the biennial summit if the human rights situation in Sri Lanka did not improve.

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