People In Glass Houses Do Throw Stones
Lal Wickrematunge
Varying shades of opinion were expressed leading up to CHOGM being held in Sri Lanka. Many countries voiced their opinions through the media and independent media outlets raised the question of the propriety of Sri Lanka hosting this event given the accusations of human rights abuses, suppression of media freedom, torture in custody and lack of reconciliation during the last five years.
The final consensus amongst the Commonwealth partners was to hold this event in Sri Lanka but to raise concerns over the issues mentioned above. In a recent BBC ‘Impact’ interview with Mishal Husain, I agreed with this sentiment.
Remember that Australia passed the baton to Sri Lanka to host this event and defended that decision strongly. Australia had her own reasons to support Sri Lanka, beyond the above widely mentioned accusations. Their primary concern was the influx of Sri Lankan refugees numbering in the thousands into Australia, as they had laws which accepted people who were subject to victimisation under the enhanced umbrella of human rights abuses. It is pertinent to note that Australian law allows a long drawn out and costly legal process to decide on each individual entry. It did not take long for the Australians to unravel the ethnic mix of the exodus from Sri Lanka. Contrary to belief they uncovered that the majority of such ‘boat people’ were not from the north and east of Sri Lanka. Australia spent a considerable amount of her tax payer’s money to stop this trend which was gathering momentum. It is public knowledge that the government of Australia was working with the Sri Lanka government and financing the island nation to patrol her maritime borders more effectively as a solution.Read More
President Rajapaksa Delivers His Welcome Address
Malinda Seneviratne
[In a parallel CHOGM, perhaps....]
Fellow Commonwealth leaders, ministerial and parliamentary colleagues, delegates from around the Commonwealth, other distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I extend a warm welcome to all of you on behalf of the citizens of Sri Lanka, a resplendent and resilient land whose cultural ethos if marked by anything is signature by the privileging of the quality of equanimity. We take our joys and sorrows, fame and misfortune, profits and losses, praise and blame with a smile.
It is customary to allude to our shared past, refer to complexities of that past and the resolve by members to reinvent the collective that emerged from these commonalities. We are gathered here, men and women from different cultures and of different faith. We will speak about the commonwealth of values and the responsibility and accountability embedded in the idea of membership. If I were to pin it down to essence, two words remain: free and equal.
Re-invention implies a break from the past, a forgiving and forgetting, a restoration of civilization, recovery of dignity and such. This is good. It is good because it says that condescension has no place in this forum. It is good because there can be no more ‘talking down’ or ‘talking tough’. That’s what equality means.
