Sri Lanka’s position understood at C’wealth – G.L. PeirisDespite the well planned and persistent attempts, in some quarters, to re-canvass the decision to hold the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka in November this year, the government has been able to defeat those efforts and it is a matter for satisfaction that […]
Commonwealth
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Kamalesh Sharma is sure of very good results in all the areas of human rights, of rule of law, of governance, and institution building and strengthening in Sri Lanka
CHOGM summit in Colombo as planned- Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said that Sri Lanka would be hosting the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, as planned, and that no member government had indicated that it wishes to change the venue. Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma responded to questions from […]
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Canada attacks ‘evil’ of Sri Lanka hosting Commonwealth summit
John Baird, Canada’s foreign minister, said he was stunned that Colombo was not facing censure for its behaviour. Photograph: Alex The Canadian government has launched a blistering attack on Sri Lanka‘s “appalling” record on democratic accountability as the controversy intensifies over the Commonwealth‘s decision to allow Colombo to host its biennial heads of government meeting […]
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Sri Lanka’s rights violations bring Commonwealth to turning point
Frances Harrison Sri Lankan Tamil families hold up photographs of their missing sons during a protest against the Sri Lankan government in Colombo.—Reuters/File Photo LONDON: When they decided to have a meeting at their party office in the north of the island, the four Sri Lankan MPs probably didn’t expect that it would start raining concrete […]
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Sri Lanka: Commonwealth Should Relocate November Meeting – HRW
Accountability Failures, Ongoing Abuses Make for an Unworthy Host”The Commonwealth will rightly face international ridicule if it goes ahead with its summit in Sri Lanka. The CMAG meeting should send a message to the Sri Lankan government that the scale and severity of its abuses violate the Commonwealth’s core values and will not be rewarded.” […]
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Commonwealth lawyers call for suspention of Sri Lanka form the Commonwealth
Lawyers of the Commonwealth today passed a resolution on Sri Lanka at a special plenary session during the Commonwealth Law Conference in South Africa.The resolution was submitted by the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA) and the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA).The resolution called for the island to be suspended […]
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Law Society of England and Wale supports CLA call for suspension of Sri Lanka from Commonwealth
The Law Society of England and Wales today added its voice to those calling for the suspension of Sri Lanka from the Councils of the Commonwealth, following reports of serious breaches of the rule of law and judicial independence. It announced its support for the high-level international resolution at the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference in […]
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Hope and reconciliation: Healing Sri Lanka’s wounds of conflict
Mary Robinson with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who she and the rest of Nelson Mandela’s Elders group refer to as ‘the Arch’. Attila Photograph:Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images DESMOND TUTU & MARY ROBINSON Absence of war is not peace: the saying is true of Sri Lanka today.While the country’s civil war ended four years ago, and roads have been […]
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A message to Colombo: The Commonwealth meeting
James ManorIndia will soon be blamed — unjustly — for an international catastrophe. Since 1991, the Commonwealth has been a potent force behind the scenes for democracy, rights and human dignity. For example, it has persuaded the leaders of several one-party states to adopt open multi-party systems and it has ensured that leaders who have […]
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Justice crushed in Sri Lanka – Commonwealth countries risk a human rights nightmare if they capitulate to the Rajapaksa regime.
Illustration: Andrew Dyson. Geoffrey RobertsonThe Commonwealth is sleepwalking towards a human rights disaster, if it goes ahead with November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, where it will be presided over by Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Perhaps emboldened by getting away with murder – the army slaughter of some 40,000 Tamil civilians in […]
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Don’t Let the Rajapaksas Ruin Sri Lanka
Photo by Getty; Illustration by Bloomberg View By the Editors Sri Lanka was for decades an example of how sectarian conflict can wreck an otherwise fortunate country. It has had three years to show how devolving power to an ethnic minority can bring about lasting peace. Now it looks as if the opportunity will be […]
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Sri Lanka: Commonwealth SG Kamalesh Sharma promises to help politically controlled institutions to become more stronger
Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma with FM G.L. Peiris in Colombo By SLB. Issuing a statement at the end of his 3 day visit to Sri Lanka Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma promised to strengthen the Human Rights Commission and Press Council of Sri Lanka among other such promises. Both institutions are politicaly controlled by the Rajapaksha government. […]
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Sri Lanka: Move Commonwealth Summit; Colombo Venue Undeserved without Progress on Rights, Accountability – HRW
“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. 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 […]
