Canada’s Persistent Accusations Against Sri Lanka And Name Calling The Commonwealth Secretary General Will Not Prevent The CHOGM Summit.
Posted on October 9th, 2013
Insight By Sunil Kumar
Octoberber 9th 2013
Hence it seems a bit rich and irresponsible given Canada’s credibilities as well as the non aligned status‚ Canada renowned for and when Mr.Hugh Segal, Canada’s special envoy to the Commonwealth‚ has accused Kamalesh Sharma the Secretary General of the Commonwealth‚ of “acting as a ‘shill’‚ a k a stooge for the Sri Lankan leadership, defending their every mistake” he seems to be getting a bit carried away as well as leaving himself open to a lot of flack from those who know the real situation in Sri Lanka, its torrid Tamil Tiger insurgency of the past as well as the reality that beyond hearsay, cooked up innuendo and falsified reports, Canada does not have a smidgen of evidence to support the claims it stubbornly persists in trying to maintain.
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It is also a broad based reality that Sri Lanka today is acclaimed for the peace and harmony enjoyed by her populace and the rapid development projects which have embellished the Island nation where observers marvel in wonderment that this is a nation which was under threat of destruction at the hands of ruthless terrorists where the rebuilding of the nation has been effected through the dedications and careful planning‚ by an adminstration which has spared no pains towards transforming Sri Lanka into what many global observers of importance ‚ have deemed “the Marvel of South Asia!‚ “‚ ‚
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Perhaps it is time appropriate for Sri Lanka to confront the Canadian Government towards substantiating‚ its claims and accusations‚ and if unable to do so tangibly simply desist in what is beginning to be a consternation for the Government of Sri Lanka in the face of all the progress made towards rebuilding the nation in the aftermath of great adversity caused by the troubles of the past!
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What makes all of this even more ludicrous‚ as Canada’s‚ remarks intensified the row over the Commonwealth’s decision to host its biennial heads of state meeting in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo next month is,‚ Canada’s Prime Minister, Mr.Stephen Harper, ‘s announcement that he would boycott the summit because of alleged human rights abuses by Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government, which until 2009 was engaged in a brutal civil war.
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The allegations, to reiterate are based upon pure conjecture, hearsay, falsified, contradictory reports and presentations which have been proved to be just that by experts and professional analysts‚ who have examined them carefully, so where does the buck stop one wonders?
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Once again it needs to be pointed out that Canadian PM Harper has complained of “reported disappearances, and allegations of extra judicial killings with no evidence or proof towards his claims and to suggest ( once again in irresponsible perspective perhaps) that‚ ” It is clear that the Sri Lankan Government has failed to uphold the Commonwealth’s core values, which are cherished by Canadians.” which is not kosher and unacceptable given the large proportion of Countries within the Commonwealth who have decided to attend the summit where an isolated few nations based on their own agendas( once again relative to the coercions of the Global Tamil Diaspora) with particular reference to India ‚ are obviously undecided whether or not to attend and in the end will in all probabilities be academic whether or not they attend as the summit will go on regardless!
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Canada‚ being ‚ the Commonwealth’s second biggest funder of Sri Lanka ‚ after the UK and is now reviewing its ‚£12m a year financial backing and looks set to cut support for the secretariat headed by Mr.‚ Sharma which of course is not only a cheap shot based on the non submission nor capitulation by Sri Lanka to Canada’s demands in the face of Mr.Sharma’s resolute support as well as justifications on the part of Sri Lanka not to be sunjugated by‚ Canada.‚ It‚ has also been observed by some, quite alarmiingly as having ‚ shades of‚ gross irresponsibility‚ falling ‚ short of blackmail to which in all probabilities Sri Lanka‚ will be non commital where the onus in the end will be on Canada for accountability for such‚ draconian action and deemable as apathetic and hopefully answerable to the adjudicators within the Commonwealth who just might frown on Canada’s stand.
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As is commonplace in these times and once again for very obvious reasons the UN resonates its clarion call‚ about “continuing high levels of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists” in Sri Lanka‚ which at the best of times are distorted, isolated incidents within a sovereign juridiction well within its rights to adjudicate and legislate the relativities which are internal matters of no concern to outside interference linked to the pomposities and arrogance of those who care to do so‚ and blown out of proportion.
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To add insult to injury‚ when India this week reiterated calls for all sections of the Sri Lankan population to be treated with “equality, justice, dignity and self respect” it seems to have taken on an air of arrogance and self imposed authority over issues which are already set in place and perhaps an attempt to appease the deadbeat politicos of‚ Tamil Nadu‚ nattering away at the imagined plight of the Sri Lankan Tamils( Tamil Tiger supportive notwithstanding!) at times hardly realising that‚ there is a contented Government supportive community of Tamils ever grateful for the manner in which the Government has responded to their needs where regardless of what good is done to them there will always be a segment of disgruntled Tamils disgruntled mostly because they could not achieve their pipe dream of Eelam and are now attempting to use a petty provincial council single victory in the North as a stepping stone towards their failed objectives of the past which in the end is wishful thinking!‚
On a very positive note for‚ Sri Lanka however‚ the Commonwealth which has spoken collectively through its leadership has said that “it respected Canada’s decision but that Commonwealth leaders had made a collective decision in 2009, confirmed in 2011, that Sri Lanka would invariably ‚ host the summit.
October 10th, 2013 at 7:45 am
Harper’s playing “Goody Two Shoes” with his own backyard in disarray with previous regimes having bent over backwards to the Tiger terrorits who sought refugein Canada, the scars of interned Japanese during WW2 and the apathetic neglect of the aboriginal people which has gone on for years. Now the copycats such as Cameron of the UK seems to be mimicking the unsubstantiable clarion call over rights abuses which are the wrong interpretations by the many finger pointers whose only evidence is hearsay and innuendo based fabrications where in the end the accusations might come back to haunt them as Sri Lanka progresses towards illuminated posterity.
October 10th, 2013 at 11:52 am
Sri Lanka did what it had to in order to keep the nation united. If Canada finds the victory over the Tamil Terrorists so obnoxious then why don’t they give the French speaking province of Quebec her demand for a separate land and if not then do not pass criticism to other nations who had to fight for three decades in order to stop the attempts by forces to divide Sri Lanka.
Canada’s stand lacks an moral ground. It is imperialistic in tone and condescending towards a nation she deems below her. Though Canada is the second largest nation by land her population is not that much to consider and her trade with Sri Lanka will not made or break Sri Lanka if she chooses to boycott Sri Lanka based on a biased unsubstantiated accusation of human rights against a terrorist groups who flagrantly violated those same human rights on a routine basis.
Even her national anthem starts off with the words “Oh Canada” which can be interpretated as a praise or a question. Even in the US Canada is not a power to even consider and should be even less for Sri Lanka.
October 11th, 2013 at 11:29 am
HARPER HAS FALLEN SUCKER TO HIS TAMIL VOTE BASE. NONETHELESS, HE IS WELL PAID BY THE TAMIL TIGER TERRORISTS DIASPORA SUCKERS.
October 12th, 2013 at 8:39 am
Mr. Harper seems so misinformed about the realities of Human Rights violations, attributable to a matter of interpretstion. He is now in Indonesia blabbing about Sri Lanka’s misgivings at the CPAC summit where Indonesia has a notoriety for real human rights violations, mass killings by war lords and attrocities which by far exceed those of any nation in this century.This is a nation which even supports Islamic terrorists albeit covertly.
Mr. Harper’s political days must surely be numbered as Canada is now apparently headed towards a Liberal surge with Mr.Justin Trudeau leading the charge.
Indeed there is a strong influence by the Tamil Diaspora Tiger sympathetic mob on the stand he has taken against Sri Lanka which is ironic as it was his Government that sent the Tamil Tiger cells in Canada packing which of course was instigated by the now retired wonderful personality of Mr.Stockwell Day whose insight into the terror groups activities in Canada was greater than Mr. Harper’s by far!
October 12th, 2013 at 12:25 pm
Opening doors to Foreign Investors should be done with GREAT CARE, without allowing them to DICTATE government policies on INTERNAL POLITICS, or overwhelming the ECONOMIC rights of Sri Lankan citizens.
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Sri Lanka to open more avenues for investors ahead of the Commonwealth Business Forum
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Oct 12, Colombo: Anticipating a large number of foreign business delegates at the upcoming Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) 2013 that will take place alongside the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, Sri Lanka has agreed to open more avenues for investors.
During a discussion held earlier this week with the Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Commonwealth Business Council Chairman Dr. Mohan Kaul has requested the Sri Lankan government to open more opportunities for the foreign business community.
Dr. Kaul has pointed out that potentially the Forum could generate over US$ 2 billion worth Foreign Direct Investments for Sri Lanka over a period of time after the meeting.
The Commonwealth Business Forum, jointly organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the Sri Lankan government, will take place in Colombo Nov. 12-14 under the theme “Partnership for Wealth Creation and Social Development: The Commonwealth, Indian Ocean, Pacific, and SAARC.”
The CBC Chairman has also discussed identifying areas in the island suitable for investment and inviting potential investors to visit them.
Dr. Kaul and the Minister have agreed that building expressways, developing the textile industry, power generation, establishing a village for handicrafts and infrastructure development are among the many areas to which the investors can be attracted.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to promote and market Sri Lanka as an ideal place for investments,” the Chairman of CBC has said.
Around 1,000 delegates form 65 countries are expected to participate in the Forum, making it largest ever business gathering in Sri Lanka. Some of the participants are from countries outside the Commonwealth such as China, Russia and Japan.
According to the organizers, the Forum will enable a diverse business networking opportunity for the participants to share a common platform and have the unique opportunity to discuss potential projects in the fastest growing markets in the world.
Representatives from key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism, education, information technology and energy, among others, are expected to be present at the Forum.
The CBC Chairman has also Dr. Kaul confirmed the participation of the Canadian business community in the CBF despite Canada’s decision to boycott the main summit.
According to Minister Rajapaksa, the participants, representing the chambers of commerce, the private sector and governments have already registered to attend the Forum.
October 12th, 2013 at 12:27 pm
WHO really gives a damn about whether Harper attends the CHOGM? Sri Lankans don’t!
As a matter of fact, Sri Lankans have ALREADY paid DEARLY for hosting this WHITE ELEPHANT of a CHOGM in Sri Lanka:
1. Sri Lanka hid REVOKING the 13th Amendment under the carpet to please the attendees,
2. Sri Lanka held the Northern PC Election to please India and Western Critics, without first investigating the ILLEGAL IMPORTATION of up to 1.6 million Kallathonis by the LTTE during the last 30 years, and without REVOKING the 13th Amendment and DISMANTLING the PC System,
3. Sri Lanka DEBASED itself sending Minister G. L. Pieris to INdia to beg for the President of India to attend the CHOGM and subsequently quickly signed the Sampur Power Plant agreement with India despite objections of many CEB and other officials and patriotic political forces. India now has Embassies in Colombo, Jaffna, Hambantota; the airfield at Palaly, the oil storage plant in Trincomalees, and now the Sampur Power Plant in Trincomalee. Day by Day, Little by Little the Indian Octopus is enveloping and infiltrating Sri Lanka with its tentacles. We will RUE the day when this policy of acquiescence to the gradual Indianization of Sri Lanka was aided and abetted by MYOPIC politicians.
4. Sri Lanka signed an agreement with India on the Tri-Lingual Language Policy during Minister Kurshid’s recent visit to Sri Lanka. Although I believe that a Tri-Lingual Language Policy is a GOOD THIND, why do we have to enter into AGREEMENTS with a forreign country about it. Such Agreements … like the Agreement that led to the 13th Amendment … come back as inflexible international commitments to HAUNT Sri Lanka in the future. Our National Policy should be … NOT TO ENTER INTO ANY INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS that affect Sri Lanka’s DOMESTIC matters. That is for SOVEREIGN Sri Lanka and its SOVEREIGN people to decide without compromising its sovereignty piece-by-piece in agreements with foreign nations.
No INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS should be entered into with FOREIGN COUNTRIES on Power Devolution, Government Structure, Human Rights, Democracy, Good Governance ad inifinitum, ad nauseam. NONE WHATEVER!
Do not BIND Sri Lanka’s hands to truss it up like a HELPLESS TURKEY with these NONSENSICAL agreements, that will be wielded like swords later to blackmail and threaten Sri Lanka in the future.
While the ADVERSE IMPACTS on Sri Lanka of the CHOGM meeting are already a MYRIAD, NOTHING GOOD will come of the CHOGM meeting, none of the expected ECONOMIC RETURN … except the massaging of a FEW OUTSIZE Sri Lankan Political EGOS …. and OPENING the DOOR WIDER to FOREIGN POLITICAL INTERFERENCE in Sovereign Sri Lanka’s Domestic Matters.
Will we EVER LEARN?
October 13th, 2013 at 7:59 am
At least Sri Lanka has become the cynosure of all eyes internationally whose favours many countries eye as fortuitous by way of investment.The irony of it all is that this is a tiny island with a burdgeoning population, a non expandible surface area, no GDP nor real political stability as the Administration sways to the beck and call of all and sundry including former terrorist supporting wolves now in sheep’s clothing. India certainly seems to have an eye on the Pearl of the Indian Ocean and would dearly love to annex at least a part of it given the continued rumblings of Tamil Nadu and the forced Indian presence in Sri Lanka under the guise of benevolent investments, advisory capacities and consuklar postings in various parts of the Island which the Administration should be vary of.
Indeed the 13th Amendment needs to be diluted to the extent where no extraneous federal powers in any capacity is accessible to secession seeking minorities who should be removed from their capacities of political office if they pursue their ambits and the entire nation under the constitution administered without reservation by a single federal authority that deals with all matters related to the continued well being and posterity of all citizens.This is where the need to block all foreign interference whether it be the NGOs who tend to creep into administrative matters or foreign powers who extend aid and eventually use it as a tool to blackmail using the excuse that what Sri Lanka does to preserve Sovereignity and territorial integrity is not to their liking as they need to appease Sri Lanka’s enemies to maintain their own stauses quo which is what most of the turmoil over the CHOGM is all about.As Ananda has suggested, this hosting seems to be a wasted one based on the expenditures incurred where the offers from friendly nations such as China , Iran and others who are genuinely interested in Sri Lanka’s well being should be viewed objectively while uprooting and rejecting the countries that think they have a foothold in Sri Lanka towards furthering their own agendas! The CHOGM is none but an ego booster and an unnecessary exorbitant privilege which Sri Lanka should have opted out the moment countries like Canada and the UK started their shenanigans about labelling Sri Lanka in a derogatory manner rather than lauding her accomplishments.