Rajapakse regime gearing to commit daylight ‘robbery’ on valuable lands and properties in Colombo

(Lanka-e-News -30.Oct.2011, 11.55PM) The Rajapakse regime is making urgent arrangements to pass legislation with a view to ‘pillaging’ at short notice valuable lands and properties like Ceylinco, Hyatt, Taprobane etc.

The Govt. is in the process of getting ready to passing an enactment swiftly which will enable it to take over all private businesses which are supposedly unsuccessful. The draft bill presented by the President has received the approval of the Cabinet. The draft bill was presented to the supreme court for its examination and decision last Tuesday . Under this new piece of legislation, a separate Authority is to be established in regard to private business entities which are running at a loss , and the Govt. is to take them over after paying compensation to them. The authority is also to be vested with the power to choose the other Establishments that are to take over and run them, according to Basil Rajapakse.

The regime’s opponents are of the view that the Govt. which is unable to run its own Institutions at a profit embarking on this venture is aimed at duping the public and a maneuver to ‘pillaging’ valuable lands and properties in Colombo.

The Rajapakse regime’s immediate and direct targets are the Ceylinco Building and land, and Hyatt land and building in Fort. The Rajapakse regime has the need to purchase the Ceylinco building and land for Rs. 5.57 billion and complete this transaction within the next 18 months. The regime is to use this legislation to pillage the Taprobane Hotel and other five star Hotels too which they are eyeing, the regime’s adversaries say.

The Rajapakse regime has been a total flop itself unable to bail out the massive losses incurring Govt. Institutions like Electricity Board, Mihin Lanka, Sri Lankan Air, Railways, Broadcasting coporation etc. The Govt . had not even been able to make them run without incurring loss let alone making profits . In these circumstances , the Regime seeking to pass legislation to take over private loss incurring Institutions and to convert them into profitable entities , to say the least is most ridiculous and ludicrous. It is therefore a manipulation of the Govt. to commit daylight ‘robbery’ on valuable properties and lands for the most diabolic reasons and motives , the adversaries added.

Amnesty slams ‘disgraceful’ Commonwealth inaction on Sri Lanka

30 October 2011,
Amnesty International is outraged that the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth has utterly failed to hold Sri Lanka to account over allegations of war crimes and other grave human rights abuses arising from the 2009 conflict.

“It is an absolute disgrace that Commonwealth leaders have agreed to hold their next meeting in Sri Lanka in spite of its appalling human rights record,” said Amnesty International's National Director Claire Mallinson.

“They are allowing war crimes to go uninvestigated, unpunished and unaccounted for. The Australian Government as host and other members of the Commonwealth have missed a crucial opportunity to show leadership on human rights,” said Ms Mallinson.

Amnesty International is continuing to call for a full independent international investigation into the final months of the Sri Lankan civil war, when it's believed that tens of thousands of civilians were killed as they were trapped between the army and the Tamil Tigers. A UN report released earlier this year found that government forces were responsible for most of those deaths, and that they had deliberately shelled hospitals and Red Cross aid ships.

Amnesty International is aware of thousands of Tamils still being held without charge in government ‘rehabilitation’ camps.

With reports of human rights abuses - including rape and torture - continuing to emerge, Amnesty International is urging Australia and other nations to show greater political will to bring alleged war criminals to justice. The human rights organisation is reminding Commonwealth leaders that they have a mandate to act on serious violations of their values.

“Considering the atrocities, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard simply raising the issue of human rights with the Sri Lankan President is woefully inadequate. Commonwealth leaders have failed a critical moral challenge – standing up for the tens of thousands of victims of this brutal conflict,” said Ms Mallinson.

The organisation is also disappointed that both the recommendation to decriminalise homosexuality and the proposal for a Commissioner for Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights failed.

Given the lack of consideration for grave human rights abuses committed in Sri Lanka, Amnesty International is also sceptical that the announced strengthening of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group will be effective in addressing serious human rights concerns.

“By turning a blind eye to war crimes, the Commonwealth is losing its legitimacy on human rights.”

PM 'skeptical' of Sri Lanka's president's promises

By David Akin, Parliamentary Bureau Chief October 30, 2011  

Prime Minister Stephen Harper holds a news conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth October 29, 2011. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz PERTH, AUSTRALIA - Alone among its Commonwealth peers, Canada is calling out Sri Lanka's government for failing to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by Sri Lanka's army in the final months of that country's bloody civil war. The Commonwealth, on the other hand, rewarded Sri Lanka Sunday by re-affirming its decision to hold its 2013 heads of government summit in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo. Prime Minister Stephen Harper won't be going, though. He said Canada will boycott that meeting unless Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa allows an independent investigation into allegations that the Sri Lankan military engaged in indiscriminate shelling of civilians and bombed hospitals in 2009.

"I had a couple of opportunities to speak to the president of Sri Lanka," Harper said at the conclusion of the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government summit held over the weekend here.
But Rajapaksa, who lobbied hard here to prevent any discussion of his government's potential complicity in war crimes, failed to convince Harper that he was serious about facing up to what a United Nations fact-finding panel called "credible allegations" of wrongdoing.
"I think it's fair to say that the general tone of the president of Sri Lanka regarding these concerns was reassuring. However, I remain skeptical of some of the reassurances and will be working, obviously, between now and the next Commonwealth to insure that our concerns are genuinely addressed," Harper said. "And if they're not genuinely addressed, my previous position remains what it is."Sri Lankan foreign minister G.L. Peiris tried to make it sound like Canada was out to lunch.
"Canada raised this issue," Peiris told reporters here. "It is a unanimous decision so as far as we are concerned, it¹s final. It is irrevocable. It has never been subject of a dispute at any time during these proceedings."
If Harper doesn't go to Sri Lanka in 2013, his next chance to attend a Commonwealth summit will be in 2015 when it will be held in the Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius.

CHOGM 2011: Fifteen nations help GoSL defeat Canada’s anti-Lanka move

October 30, 2011,

By Shamindra Ferdinando in Perth

Sri Lanka had thwarted an attempt by a minute section of the Commonwealth and the LTTE to humiliate Sri Lanka, at the CHOGM 2011, External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris said yesterday.

Addressing the Sri Lankan media at the conclusion of the three-day biennial in Perth, Prof. Peiris said that Sri Lanka faced threats on three fronts, namely CHOGM 2011, litigation initiated by the LTTE and perceived bid to re-open the venue issue.

Minister Peiris said that Canada had raised the alleged accountability issues in Sri Lanka under any other business at the end of the third session of ministerial-level talks.

Recalling a statement attributed to Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd in the run-up to the inauguration of the summit on Friday 28), Minister Peiris said that the former Australian premier had discussed the possibility of Sri Lanka’s accountability issue coming up at the summit.

Minister Peiris said that Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird had criticised Sri Lanka’s human rights record, prompting him to protest. Peiris alleged that the Canadian move was an attempt to politicise the process. "Commonwealth is a totally inappropriate forum for this kind of discussion, therefore domestic issues cannot be taken up," Minister Peiris said.

Rudd declared that there was no scope for discussion on the accountability issue after 15 countries endorsed the position articulated by Prof. Peiris. Canada, however received the backing of New Zealand. Prof. Peiris quoted Rudd as having told the meeting that consensus in the room was very clear and he wouldn’t take up the matter no further.

Commenting on the recommendations by the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) and the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) aimed at revamping the grouping, Minister Peiris emphasised any attempt to discuss domestic issues would be at the expense of the organisation. The minister reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to addressing concerns of the international community at bilateral level.

Prof. Peiris expressed confidence that Canada wouldn’t raise the issue during final retreat session of Commonwealth leaders on Sunday.

The External Affairs Minister said that Sri Lanka had been battling LTTE-led propaganda efforts at the Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva, UNGA in New York and the Commonwealth. He briefly explained the meetings President Rajapaksa and he had had in New York and Perth as part of Sri Lanka’s strategy to meet the challenge on the ‘human rights front.’

Responding to a query, Prof. Peiris said that many countries felt that Sri Lanka should be given space and an opportunity to recover from a devastating war. They had felt Sri Lanka’s efforts should be appreciated, Prof. Peiris said pointing out that speedy resettlement of the war displaced, rehabilitation of the vast majority of ex-LTTE combatants, successful de-mining operations and having local government elections in the Northern Province had been major achievements. The vast majority of countries had appreciated what Sri Lanka had achieved, though some were still seemed to be backing the LTTE’s eelam project.

PM 'skeptical' of Sri Lanka's president's promises

MONDAY, 31 OCTOBER 2011
Alone among its Commonwealth peers, Canada is calling out Sri Lanka's government for failing to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by Sri Lanka's army in the final months of that country's bloody civil war.

The Commonwealth, on the other hand, rewarded Sri Lanka Sunday by re-affirming its decision to hold its 2013 heads of government summit in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper won't be going, though. He said Canada will boycott that meeting unless Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa allows an independent investigation into allegations that the Sri Lankan military engaged in indiscriminate shelling of civilians and bombed hospitals in 2009.

"I had a couple of opportunities to speak to the president of Sri Lanka," Harper said at the conclusion of the 2011 Commonwealth Heads of Government summit held over the weekend here.

But Rajapaksa, who lobbied hard here to prevent any discussion of his government's potential complicity in war crimes, failed to convince Harper that he was serious about facing up to what a United Nations fact-finding panel called "credible allegations" of wrongdoing.

"I think it's fair to say that the general tone of the president of Sri Lanka regarding these concerns was reassuring. However, I remain skeptical of some of the reassurances and will be working, obviously, between now and the next Commonwealth to insure that our concerns are genuinely addressed," Harper said. "And if they're not genuinely addressed, my previous position remains what it is."

Sri Lankan foreign minister G.L. Peiris tried to make it sound like Canada was out to lunch.

"Canada raised this issue," Peiris told reporters here. "It is a unanimous decision so as far as we are concerned, it¹s final. It is irrevocable. It has never been subject of a dispute at any time during these proceedings."

If Harper doesn't go to Sri Lanka in 2013, his next chance to attend a Commonwealth summit will be in 2015 when it will be held in the Indian Ocean island state of Mauritius. (Souce: Edmonton Sun)

Editor Threatened

 

 

Sunday, October 30, 2011
The way with cowards

Sarath Fonseka outside the Colombo High Court

By Indika Sri Aravinda

The Editor of The Sunday Leader, Frederica Jansz last Thursday (27) received a death threat via the post to her residence. Frederica lodged a complaint with the Mirihana Police after receiving the threat.
This is not the first time and it certainly will not be the last that Editors at this newspaper receive death threats. Sometimes handwritten, sometimes typed, these vicious little notes (this time it was four pages long) always come anonymously posted by persons too cowardly to be identified.
Last Thursday, a letter such as this arrived at the home of Frederica Jansz. Handwritten, the letter spewed venom and gutter language. The letter threatens Frederica warning her that irrespective of the verdict due on November 18, in relation to what is known as the ‘White Flag Case’ she will be dealt with.
Interestingly the letter carried some facts related to the White Flag case in which Frederica was the key witness. For instance the letter mentions the name of two staffers at The Sunday Leader Raknish Wijewardena (no longer at the paper) and Photographer Thusitha Kumara both of whom accompanied Frederica to the interview she conducted with former army commander Sarath Fonseka after which she subsequently published a Page One Lead story and interview on December 13, 2009.  Both Wijewardena and Kumara were not named as witnesses in the White Flag case.  Yet, if indeed this letter has emanated from an army person in the Sinha regiment (formerly under Fonseka’s command) as the writer attempts to have us believe, it is indeed more than strange that a soldier or officer could have recalled the intricacies of Frederica’s evidence in court to name both Raknish Wijewardena and Thusitha Kumara, despite the fact that neither of these two men were named as witnesses nor did they ever appear in court.
Furthermore, if indeed a soldier or officer of the Sinha regiment wrote this letter it is strange that he would have a political insight to predict a future regime naming persons such as the former Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Sarath Fonseka, Wijeydasa Rajapaksa, Tiran Alles, Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Kumara Dissanayake who “will have to take over this country.”
All the previous written death threats Frederica had received had been sent by post to the office. This is the first time such a letter was sent to her home. Even an army officer who sat daily in the Colombo High Court where the White Flag case was being heard could not have known the address of the Editor’s residence.  Only on one instance has Frederica been served summons and a letter of demand to her home address.
This is not the first time that Frederica has been threatened in relation to the White Flag case. Previously, a photograph of her arriving in court which was published in the daily Island newspaper was cut out and posted to her with a written warning that it was only a matter of time before she would be killed.

A translation of the threatening letter …
Frederica Sandra Carmela Jansz, that damn prostitute, you are now safeguarding the President. By you giving evidence to put Mr. Fonseka in trouble he had to go to courts 57 times. You have even printed the Presidents manifesto. Can you remember that there was a comparison of countries run by Generals in Head to Head?  Where was Rakmish Wijeywardene, photographer Thusither Kumar, they have disappeared at the beginning of the case. Lal Wickremesinghe too was dropped half way. Finally you (tho- in Sinhala) appeared on behalf of five people. You gave false evidence to get promotions. Your genitals were touched nicely by Lasantha Wickrematuge. Now Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa is coming to see you?  That bugger also is having sex with that whore. Bloody whore on the 18th of November whichever way the judgment is given you will not be spared. Do you know that? 1 SR means what? We are the Sinha regiment who took the brunt of the war on our shoulders. Because of our Leader’s instructions we didn’t get killed during the war. We suffered for what? For this country. The Leader who fought so well was brought to the Military Court by a bloody bitch like you. He slept in the jungles amidst mosquitoes and snakes, with us. In addition to having suffered during the war he is now jailed and tortured.
We will not spare you. (underlined) If you want to escape you go to Temple trees and sleep where the President sleeps. There is nothing else to do. Even if Mr. Fonseka comes out or not we will continue our fight. We have enough weapons which we got from the war. It won’t be long before the people of this country would join us. Will the people give power to the President and his family to rule forever? Let’s see.  The win in Colombo is like a victory over the entire country. If the main town was won, what more is there to speak?  This time also the full might of the Rajapaksas, of the State, and all the Ministers came to Colombo. In how many staggered times did they hold elections? Why was that done? Because its easy to use State power then. If elections were held in one go State power cannot be used. Anyway the government is falling little by little now. There is turmoil within. When more positions are given to the family the balance will also be destroyed. Someday Chief Justice Sarath N Silva, Fonseka, Wijeydasa Rajapaksa,, Tiran Alles, Mangala Samaraweera and Anura Kumara Dissanayake will have to take over this country. Then those SLFP people will join them. The UNP will be destitute. Those who are from the underworld, dealing in drugs, into taking bribes, making money by suppressing the people must be vanquished first. That is the day the country will turn right.  We heard that you too have a brothel.  You cannot do this everyday.  A change will come soon.  You bcareful. Our Sinha regiment boys are very angry now.  Your genitals must be smashed.  Bloody whore ..because you gave false evidence.

--------------------------------------------------------

Tamilnet editor’s murder still unpunished after one year

   Newspaper journalist and media freedom activist threatened at her home

Where is Prageeth?

Ten years of impunity for Jaffna-based journalist’s murderers

Tamil journalist killed in bombardment amounting to "war crime"

 

Newspaper editor injured in stabbing attack, other journalists forced to flee island

TV reporter hacked to death in Jaffna 

 

Young reporter with Tamil newspaper murdered in Jaffna

 

Kidnapped Tamil journalist freed but climate of fear persists

 Lasantha

Family of  journalist Mayilvaganam Nimalarajan demands justice, four years after his murder

Tamil journalist gunned down in east of country

Government minister threatens to kill newspaper editor

LankaeNews editor freed on bail, authorities still have him in their sights

“I want to continue to highlight the activities against the humanity” | Gnanasundaram Kuganathan

--------------------

President’s saffron robe donating pooja at Sri Maha Bodhi for and on behalf of Duminda

Colombo hub of huge heroin operation

By Leon Berenger

An estimated 350 heroin dealers are operating in the city of Colombo, with about 45 of them dealing in wholesale transactions involving millions of rupees, National Dangerous Drug Control Board (NDDCB) detectives said yesterday. They said their investigations had revealed that 10 to 15 drug lords were leading the mafia-style operation with at least 25 kilograms of heroin being sold in every transaction, while the other 30 traded between one and two kilograms in each transaction. Apart from these drug kings, another 300 operators were actively involved in the heroin market trading in small quantities of between 50 and 100 grams, they said. In addition there were an undisclosed number, but believed to be in the thousands dealing in the retail market throughout the city and its suburbs, the detectives added. According to investigations, about 90 per cent of the heroin entering the local market came from Pakistan and South India – with the bulk being smuggled in by boat across the Palk Strait. A kilogram of heroin sells on the street between Rs. 4.5 million and six million, depending on the grade. The detectives identified the main landing points for the boats bringing in the heroin as Chilaw and Negombo on the western coast and Mannar further up north. They said the heroin was also reaching areas such as Hikkaduwa, Trincomalee, Talaimannar, Marawila Beruwala, Kalmunai, Akkaraipattu, Thoduwava, Batticaloa, Arugam Bay and Panadura. They said the heroin smugglers were known to tape the heroin to the bottom of the boat. If they were confronted by law enforcement officers, they would cut the tape and let the heroin sink to the bottom of the sea. Later they would send divers to fetch the packages of heroin when all is clear. The detectives said they also had evidence that refugees returning from Tamil Nadu were also being used as couriers to smuggle in the heroin for a large fee. The bulk of the smugglers using the sea route between Sri Lanka and India have been identified to be wealthy boat owners from Chilaw and Negombo.

Pro-Tiger groups gang up against Lanka in Australia

October 30, 2011

Long-planned propaganda onslaught as President attends Commonwealth Summit in Perth

By Our Political Editor

The three-day summit of Presidents and Prime Ministers of 54 countries of the Commonwealth ends today in Western Australia and the focus shifts to Sri Lanka once more.

Attention will now centre not only on the next Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Hambantota in 2013. More importantly, it will also be on the final report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission due within the next two weeks. Western governments in particular await the report before they determine whether they should raise alleged war crime issues before the March 2012 sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. This is based on the report of the three-member UN Panel appointed by Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Should such a development take place, Sri Lanka will again make newspaper headlines and figure in prime time TV slots.

read more..

Sri Lanka and China

Oct 29th 2011
SRI LANKA has cancelled the sale of one of its most valuable commercial properties, which would have gone to the state-owned China Aviation Technology Import-Export Corporation (CATIC), amid local protests over some of the deal’s shadier-seeming aspects. Sri Lanka’s government is now negotiating with the exasperated investor to see whether a deposit of $54.5m, already paid by the Chinese, can be diverted to a fresh land deal somewhere nearby.
Full Story

TNA leaders meet U.S., U.N. officials

Even as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and its diplomatic corps douse the many fires at the Perth Commonwealth summit, the Tamil National Alliance leaders are in the United States, meeting ranking leaders in the Obama administration and the United Nations to press for an amicable political solution.

Mr. Rajapaksa had travelled to New York to address the U.N. General Assembly too, last month. He held a series of bilateral meetings with leaders to impress on them the progress Sri Lanka had achieved since the conclusion of the bloody war with the Tamil Tigers in May 2009. In Australia too, he is in the same mode, even as the Tamil diaspora has tried to approach the courts to bring him to justice over alleged war crimes.

While the efforts of the diaspora have at best been irritants, the decision of the TNA to travel to the U.S. to engage the State Department, and the U.N. has been viewed with hostility in the Sri Lankan administration. It has made it clear that the TNA is not the sole representative of the Tamil people, and hence, a meet with the U.N. officials is unnecessary. The TNA, however, has the support of the main Opposition party, the United National Party. According to media reports, the UNP has held that there was nothing wrong in the TNA meeting U.N. Secretary-General and the others to help speed up a political solution.

The TNA's concerns are in three major areas: the militarisation of the North and the East, the lack of economic opportunities, and the slack attempts at rehabilitation.

According to TNA leader M.A. Sumanthiran, after May 2009, the defence forces have occupied more than 7,000 sq km of land owned by Tamil people. There is one member of the armed forces for approximately every 10 civilians in the Jaffna Peninsula. The heavy presence of the military continues to be the most serious concern in the North and East. More than two years since the conclusion of the war, the government has still failed to facilitate the proper transition of these areas from a situation of conflict to a ‘normal' environment.

A cursory drive through the A-9 highway to Jaffna, or anywhere in the North will reveal that the military is increasingly involved in economic activity in the North and East. Mr. Sumanthiran says that the military has established a string of restaurants along the main Jaffna highway. An entire military tourism industry catering to Southern visitors is run by the military establishment. The Navy uses state resources to run ferry services for the Southern tourist industry.

Progress in the resettlement of Tamil communities displaced due to the war has been extremely slow. This is a fact that has been independently verified and reported on by the UNHCR too. “According to the government's own figures as at 1st July 2011, 258,446 had been ‘returned' or ‘resettled' from welfare camps, leaving 12,661 in the Kadirgamar, Anandakumarasawmi (Zone 1), Arunachalam (Zone III) IDP camps. The most current figures suggest that only 7,440 persons remain in these camps, insinuating that all others have been returned or resettled. What the statistics do not reveal is that over 200,000 persons in the North and East have not been returned to their places of origin. These persons either continue to be confined in transit camps or have been compelled to take shelter with host families. Such persons include those displaced from Valikamam North in the Jaffna Peninsula, Sampur in the Trincomalee District, and several other areas in the Vanni,” Mr. Sumanthiran said.

Canada Fires Warning Shot

Sunday, October 30, 2011

• Concerns will not be limited to words says Canadian MP

Canada has fired a warning shot at Sri Lanka saying it will not just sit back and wait if the government fails to address human rights concerns before the next Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka.
The Canadian position was stressed during a two day debate in the Canadian Parliament late last week where Sri Lanka was the focus of attention.
Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Deepak Obhrai said that his country was not limiting its concerns to just words and not actions and was working behind the scenes on Sri Lanka.
“The Government of Canada’s position is very clear. The Prime Minister has stated it, and he has stated it very clearly in Perth, Australia at the Commonwealth Conference. He has said he would like to see Sri Lanka move forward to address the allegations of human rights abuses. If there is no credible movement toward addressing that issue, he will then rethink about his attendance at the next Commonwealth Conference in Sri Lanka,” Obhrai told the Canadian Parliament, according to the transcript appearing on the Canadian parliament website.
Sri Lankan born Canadian opposition parliamentarian Rathika Sitsabaiesan said the Canadian Parliament should not limit its concerns to just words  for which Obhrai responded by saying that the wheels were spinning even on the diplomatic front with regard to Sri Lanka.
“We have been sending a message to the government in power that these are our concerns. That is how people can achieve results. That is what we have been doing since the civil war ended. If the government does not address the issues of what transpired during the reconciliation process, then we would be in a situation where possibly down the road the same conflict would start up again. Sri Lanka must also address the credible concerns of the UN Secretary-General on the violation of human rights in that country,” Obhrai said.
Obhrai noted that the Canadian Prime Minister has relayed his government’s position to both the High Commissioner for Human Rights and directly to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, as well as his counterpart in Sri Lanka.
“Canada will continue to speak loudly and clearly on behalf of human rights around the world, and especially Sri Lanka,” he said.
He also said that Canada is of the view that a political solution, including the devolution of power, is a critical component of sustainable peace in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankan Rights Abuses Obstruct Trade Efforts with Canada

Sunday, October 30, 2011 
By Fawzia Sheikh

TORONTO, Oct 29, 2011 (IPS) - Despite the crossfire of Canadian accusations of human rights violations by Sri Lanka at the end of its civil war and Colombo's corresponding counter-claims, the economically battered South Asian country aims to bolster its trading relationship with Canada and increase foreign direct investment.

A Sri Lankan trade delegation met with importers and exporters this week in Toronto and Montreal in the first trade-related push regarding Canada since 2009, which saw the end of nearly three decades of war between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan army. Full Story>>>

David Cameron human rights plea at Commonwealth meeting

UK  

29 October 2011

The Commonwealth must have strong values, David Cameron says 

David Cameron has pressed for progress on a range of human rights issues during the Commonwealth summit.

Mr Cameron told the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Australia that to stay relevant it must work harder to uphold basic values.
The Chogm leaders agreed on Saturday to step up efforts to wipe out polio from the four countries where it is endemic.
And the human rights record of the Sri Lankan government came under scrutiny. It will hold Chogm in two years' time.
The Eminent Persons Group, which includes former UK foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, has examined the challenges facing the Commonwealth, and made more than 100 recommendations.
The suggestions were proposed as ways to ensure that the organisation remains relevant in 21st Century global affairs.
Mr Cameron has said he expects good progress to be made on developing a "charter" of rights and freedoms.
Other recommendations, which are proving more problematic, are the appointment of a independent commissioner for the rule of law and human rights and a call for all member states to repeal laws banning homosexuality.
'Great network' The summit in Perth is the first Chogm meeting Mr Cameron has attended since entering Downing Street.
The prime minister said: "The Commonwealth is a great organisation, a third of the world's population, 54 countries across six continents, a really great network, but it is a network that must have strong values.
"The Eminent Persons Group report will strengthen those values particularly by having a charter setting out the rights, the freedoms, the democracy that we all believe in, and I think that is important."
Mr Cameron added that he thought "good progress" would be made in Perth.
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka's army has been accused of war crimes during the civil war with the Tamil Tigers.
Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper has said he will boycott the 2013 summit unless there are major reforms in the country.
When asked about Sri Lanka, Mr Cameron said there had to be a "proper, independent exercise to look into the whole issue of what happened, and whether there were war crimes, and who is responsible".
Mr Cameron also joined the leaders of Canada, Australia and Nigeria, in committing tens of millions of pounds towards eradicating polio in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.
The campaign will be supported financially by Microsoft magnate Bill Gates.
Australia's prime minister, Julia Gillard, said: "While polio remains anywhere in the world, it is a threat to everyone.
"We're here today to demonstrate our commitment to ending the fight against polio, that is, ending polio for all time."

CHOGM rules out human rights commissioner

Updated October 30, 2011 12:04:59 

Updated October 30, 2011 12:04:59

Photo: Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma at the leaders' retreat. (Claire Martin)

Leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth have ruled out setting up a Human Rights Commissioner.

The proposal, which was recommended by its eminent persons group, had the backing of several member countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom.
But, many Commonwealth nations disagreed with the idea of a commissioner.
Trinidad's Foreign Minister Suruj Rambuchan says it is not necessary.
"There have been a few blips like in any part of the world but I don't think it demanded a commissioner," he said.
The Prime Minister Julia Gillard says Australia backed the idea but the Commonwealth operates by consensus so it is not being set up.
She played down a suggestion Sri Lanka led the campaign against the commissioner because of the questions over human rights abuses during its recent civil war.
Yesterday, members of the eminent persons group, including Sir Malcolm Rifkind, pushed for a commissioner to be appointed.
He said it would ensure the Commonwealth acts when democracy is under threat in one of its member nations.
"Bring the analysis and the evidence to the ministers and thereby make it much more difficult to be frank that they could simply look the other way and take no action," he said.
Ms Gillard says CHOGM has, however, agreed to have a Commonwealth charter.
"It will bring together the Commonwealth's values principles and aspirations in one clear and powerful statement," she said.