Boycotting The Commonwealth over human rights in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman. Sri Lanka plays host this week to leaders from Commonwealth nations at a summit it hopes will generate enough good will to eclipse grim history & massive civilian deaths. (AP/Eranga Jayawardena)

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Criticism of Sri Lanka for the torture of Tamils in the four years since the end of a terrifying war, has Prime Minster Harper and other leaders staying away in protest as The Commonwealth summit is set to begin tomorrow. Today, we look at the sins of Sri Lanka.

Critics say it's hypocritical that Sri Lanka be allowed to host the Commonwealth meeting

"Some of you may recall what I said two years ago now. That unless we saw significant changes in Sri Lanka in terms of democratic governance, reconciliation, respect for human rights, I would consider not attending The Commonwealth leaders summit. In the past two years we have not only seen no improvement in these areas, in almost all these areas we have seen a rolling back, a considerable worsening of the situation. Based on that I have made a decision that I will not attend The Commonwealth leaders summit this fall".

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is very clear about why he's staying home from The Commonwealth leaders meeting in Sri Lanka tomorrow. And he's not alone. India's Prime Minister won't attend either.

The Sri Lankan Government is coming under increasing fire over its human rights record since it routed the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009. Last week, BBC Television's Our World broadcast a new documentary by Frances Harrison called Sri Lanka's Unfinished War that accuses Sri Lankan security forces of targeting, raping and torturing Tamil civilians.

Frances Harrison is a former BBC Correspondent who spent four years covering Sri Lanka. After the end of the war in 2009, she wrote a book called Still Counting The Dead, about the conflict's bloody final days, in which tens of thousands of people -- mostly Tamils and often civilians -- were killed.

Now, Frances Harrison says she has uncovered a disturbing pattern of rape and torture carried out against Tamils in Sri Lanka ... a pattern that endures four-and-a-half years after the end of the civil war. Frances Harrison was in London, England.

Sri Lanka's Unfinished War: Part One of the Documentary) 

Watch Part Two and Part Three of the documentary, Sri Lanka's Unfinished Civil War

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper is boycotting the Commonwealth meeting because of Sri Lanka's human rights record, Deepak Obhrai, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister will attend instead.

Hugh Segal is a Conservative Senator and the Prime Minister's Special Envoy to The Commonwealth. He was in Kingston, Ontario.

Chitranganee Wagiswara is Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to Canada and joined us from Ottawa.

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This segment was produced by The Current's Gord Westmacott and Lara O'Brien.