India will a play a crucial role in determining whether Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Sri Lanka this year or not, according to political observers in London.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma left for India last Tuesday to seek the country’s views on this matter, they noted. Refusing a visa for former Indian Chief Justice J. S. Verma would not help Sri Lanka’s cause, the observers said.
Following the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Canada has complained to Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) and want them to discuss Sri Lanka in their next meeting to be held in London in April. If CMAG decides to place Sri Lanka on the agenda, Colombo will not be able to host CHOGM.
According to President’s office sources Sharma will arrive in Colombo from India today (Sunday, 10th Feb.) and will leave Colombo on the 13th February. During his stay in Sri Lanka he is scheduled to have a luncheon meeting with the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris will host a dinner for him. Sharma is also scheduled to meet the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission.In this backdrop, External Affairs Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris arrived in London on February 5 on his way to Brazil and met with Commonwealth Secretary General to discuss about legal ramifications about Canada trying to bring up the issue of Sri Lanka at next CMAG meeting.
Minister Peiris briefed the Secretary-General in detail about the arrangements currently being made by the government of Sri Lanka for the hosting of the main conference in Colombo as well as the Commonwealth Business Forum, the People’s Forum and the Youth Forum.
In the course of the discussions Prof Peiris made a strong case against the inclusion of Sri Lanka as an agenda item at the next meeting of the CMAG.
The Minister pointed out that such a course of action is contrary to the decisions taken by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Perth, Western Australia in October 2011 regarding the mandate of CMAG and the scope of its functions.
Talking to Sunday Island Minister Peiris said CMAG rules do not allow Sri Lanka to be taken up for discussion. Keeping with the CMAG rules, CMAG can take up a matter only after exhaustion of the Good Offices Role of the Secretary General. That is the condition precedent. Diaspora influence should not lead to intervention in the affairs of the other countries under the umbrella of the Commonwealth. The motivation to punish Sri Lanka is Diaspora pressure. It is wrong for some countries to be held hostage to the political fortunes of personalities in other countries. That is entirely contrary to the spirit of the Commonwealth.
He also said that he pointed out to Sharma the legal bindings of the CMAG and the same information was sent to foreign ministers of the CMAG countries. Before leaving for Brazil, Minister also invited all the High Commissioners of CMAG countries to his hotel and briefed them the situation.
In the mean time, British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Alistair Burt had a question and answer session via Twitter on 5th February and confirmed that UK has not yet decided the level of participation to CHOGM in Sri Lanka. He also stressed the point that the UK will support a United States sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at United Nations Human Rights Council session in Geneva later next month. (By Sujeeva Nivunhella)
Source: The Island (Sri Lanka)
