Kamlesh Sharma, promises made to you, personally by the GoSL have been shamelessly, unrepentantly broken

Samaraweera: Sharma, act now

''We recall that you promised Sri Lanka would put plans in place to change its legislative procedures to remove senior judges within weeks of a key meeting of a Commonwealth Ministers Grouping (CMAG) in April last year. We were further encouraged by your announcement that the Commonwealth Secretariat will assist Sri Lanka in setting up a National Inquiry on Torture on the eve of CHOGM. Repeatedly we have been told that the Commonwealth Secretariat had in fact initiated a process that would bring the issue of national reconciliation under Commonwealth scrutiny and compliance.''

Mangala Samaraweera writes to Kamalesh Sharma

Mangala urges removal of Mahinda Rajapaksa as C’wealth Chair;Sharma is not a baby

Sharma is not a baby, says mangala

United National Party (UNP) parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera said today the Hambantota incident was further evidence of the violation of the Commonwealth Charter and urged Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma to remove President Mahinda Rajapaksa from the post of Commonwealth Chairman. “Mahinda Rajapaksa is not Gaddafi. He is the Chairman of the Commonwealth and therefore he is bound to uphold the Commonwealth Charter. However, what happened in his electorate is evident that he has violated the Commonwealth Charter. Therefore I urge the Secretary General to call for a meeting of the Ministers and expel Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Chairman after considering the violations of the Charter,” he said.

Sri Lanka: Commonwealth chair Rajapaksha party rejects Latimar House principles of the Commonwealth

‘Latimar House principles a necessity, beneficial to Lanka

UNP MP Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe yesterday claimed that some UPFA ministers didn’t know what was good for the country as well as the government.
President’s Counsel Rajapakshe said that he was dismayed by the UPFA’s opposition to his motion seeking consensus on the removal of judges, of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, in accordance with the Latimar House Principles already adopted by several leading members of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Summit: the aftermath

Photo: Earanga Jayawardena/AP

The Sri Lanka Campaign

 The Commonwealth Summit has now ended. It was broadly seen as a complete disaster for both the Commonwealth and Sri Lanka.
Only 27 of the 53 invited Heads of Government attended. 23 nations sent lesser representation (Antigua, Sierra Leone, Botswana, Canada, Mauritius, St Lucia, Malawi, Belize, Dominica, Jamaica, Cameroon, Kenya, Barbados, Mozambique, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent, Tuvalu, Uganda, India, Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea) and three didn't attend at all (Grenada, Kiribati, and the Maldives - which is in the middle of its own constitutional crisis).

Supreme Court rejects Commonwealth assistance in ousted CJ case

Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake.

Impeachment of Chief Justice:SC denies foreign lawyers, HR group permission to appear

The Supreme Court yesterday refused applications by the Commonwealth Bar Association and the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. They had sought to appear as amici curiae to inform Court on the Constitutional Act of 2005 of the UK, which refers to the removal of judges.

The Commonwealth in troubling times and the controversy surrounding Sri Lanka

Sir Ronald Sanders KCMG AM
is a Senior Research Fellow at the
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
and a former Caribbean diplomat

''If the Summit in Sri Lanka is to be meaningful, Heads of Government must set up machinery to address this issue urgently and credibly. It will call for careful diplomatic stage-managing by the Secretary-General, and transparent and open chairmanship by the Sri Lankan President. Whether this can be achieved is left to be seen. But, if this matter is not tackled with urgency and credibility, the Commonwealth may well go over the cliff to disintegration on which it is now dangerously perched.''

By Sir Ronald Sanders KCMG AM

Seven things Sri Lanka is doing for CHOGM

Pprotests banned in Sri Lanka

With the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) just around the corner, Sri Lanka in general, and Colombo in particular has gone a bit mad getting things ready for the visit of the world’s great and good (minus Canada).  In Colombo especially it feels a little bit like living in a city sized version of a young married couple frantically getting the house ready for when the in-laws are due to visit for the first time.

Britain cuts funding for the Commonwealth

As the organisation faces criticism over its forthcoming Sri Lanka summit, major donors are pulling funds due to concerns over its direction

A billboard advertising the forthcoming Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka's captial, Colombo Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Damien McElroy and Steven Swinford

Britain has pulled funds from the Commonwealth over concerns about its leadership and performance, it emerged on Wednesday, as the troubled organisation faces mounting criticism over its forthcoming summit in Sri Lanka.

Commonwealth chief is stooge of Sri Lanka regime – Canadian envoy

Hugh Segal accuses Kamalesh Sharma of defending regime accused of human rights abuses, intensifying row over summit

Robert Booth, and Jason Burke in Delhi /The Guardian,  

Commonwealth secretary general, Kamalesh Sharma. Photograph: Akira Suemori/Associated Press

Canada has launched a direct assault on the authority of the Commonwealth secretary general, attacking him as a stooge for a Sri Lankan regime it accuses of serious human rights abuses.

GoSL has failed to uphold the Commonwealth’s core values; I will not attend the 2013 CHOGM - Canadian PM

Harper: GoSL failed to uphold  Commonwealth’s core values

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement:
“When Sri Lanka was selected to host the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Canada was hopeful that the Sri Lankan government would seize the opportunity to improve human rights conditions and take steps towards reconciliation and accountability. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.

“Canada is deeply concerned about the situation in Sri Lanka. The absence of accountability for the serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian standards during and after the civil war is unacceptable.

The Commonwealth Summit in Colombo should not be boycotted; all should go there and read the riot act to Rajapakse

The war in Sri Lanka is not over by Shivam Vij

Shivam Vij

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the recent Northern Provincial Council polls in Sri Lanka would not have been held had it not been for the immense pressure that Colombo faced from New Delhi. But for international pressure, Colombo was not going to hold these elections. Despite numerous incidents of voter intimidation, the polls must have been free and fair if 60 per cent voters cast their votes, making the opposition, Tamil National Alliance, win 30 out of 38 seats.

Commonwealth giving Sri Lanka carte blanche for human rights abuses - AI

Sri Lanka’s disturbing human rights record means it should be barred from hosting a key Commonwealth summit in November or chairing the organization, Amnesty International said ahead of a key meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers today.

Sri Lanka: Commonwealth’s secretariat cover ups report on Independence of Judiciary

Shirani Bandaranayake has denied all corruption charges

''THE Commonwealth’s secretariat has been accused of covering up a damning report that described the impeachment of Sri Lanka’s most senior judge as “unlawful” and “unconstitutional”.

Sri Lanka: Slaughter in the no fire zone

 The Sri Lankan government still denies responsibility forthe killing of up to 70,000 Tamil civilians at the end of the civil war in 2009. So why has it been chosen to host a Commonwealth summit asks Callum Macrae, director of a harrowing film about the massacre

Two young girls caught up in the shelling … a still from No Fire Zone.

Canada attacks 'evil' of Sri Lanka hosting Commonwealth summit

Canadian foreign minister criticises Sri Lanka's 'appalling' record, authoritarianism and failure to tackle rights abuses

John Baird, Canada's foreign minister, said he was stunned that Colombo was not facing censure for its behaviour. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Canadian government has launched a blistering attack on Sri Lanka's "appalling" record on democratic accountability as the controversy intensifies over the Commonwealth's decision to allow Colombo to host its biennial heads of government meeting later this year.

Busting the common wealth of the people - Editorial,, Daily Mirror .

While millions of people in Sri Lanka are struggling for survival and the cost of living keeps on soaring, the Government is to spend a staggering Rs. 1,930 million for the Commonwealth Summit to be held here in November.

CPA delegation disappointed that President Rajapaksa nor Defence Secretary, Rajapaksa, could not meet them

A six-member Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) delegation representing the UK Parliament visited Sri Lanka last week, on the invitation of the Sri Lankan Government. However, they were disappointed that neither President Mahinda Rajapaksa nor Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, could meet them.

CPJ voice concerns on press accreditation for CHOGM

The Committee to Protect Journalists has voiced concerns about press accreditation procedures for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka in November 2013.
 In the following letter to the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat Kamalesh Sharma, the CPJ's Executive Director Joel Simon voiced his concerns.

CHOGM: To have any credibility the Commonwealth People’s Forum need to be managed by civil society

Commonwealth people’s forum can enhance government’s credibility
Jehan Perera
The significance of international pressure in directing the government along the path of good governance can be seen in several recent developments. As a member country of the international community, Sri Lanka has many obligations to fulfill, even as it seeks the benefits of being a member of the international community.  But for the country, and its political leadership, to reap these benefits that accrue from being an integral part of the international community, it has also to subscribe to international rules and norms.

CHOGM - 2013 in Sri Lanka: Where are the core values of the Commonwealth Charter?

Samaraveera (UNP) challenges Sharma

H.E. Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary-General, The Commonwealth, 

Your Excellency,
I am writing to you with reference to a news item published in the Sri Lanka Daily Mirror of 29th June 2013. The story, captioned 'Commonwealth wants to make practical difference in Sri Lanka' quotes a letter you have reportedly sent to an unspecified recipient . In the absence of any contradiction or clarification from your organisation, I assume that the remarks are accurate. You are quoted as saying: