loom over CHOGM
Britain also puts Lanka on notice while US envoy gets full briefing from TNA; Indian-American takes Blake's place
didates though any alliance with the TNA has been ruled out by the latter.
If the Government were to stick to its existing plans, constitutional amendments would become a knotty issue. This is for no other reason than being time bound. An NPC poll in September is a in view of the assurances given both to India and Japan. It was re-iterated to India via diplomatic channels after the UN Human Rights Council voted on the second US resolution in March this year. Diplomatic sources said President Rajapaksa also told Japanese leaders during his visit to that country in March, just ahead of the UNHRC sessions, of his plans to conduct NPC polls in September. Thus, the international community at large would watch this 'assurance' materialise ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November.
Hence, any proposed Constitutional amendment would have to come as an urgent piece of legislation before midJune, if the Government is to meet the time requirements of the Commissioner of Elections. It is relevant to note that two other important events are also slotted for September. One is the next meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. The other is the UN Human Rights Council sessions in Geneva where Sri Lanka will come up for debate. At both these events, the conduct of the polls will be a focal point. The UNHRC decided that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights presents an interim report on the implementation of the second US resolution when it meets at its 25th session in September.
The NPC polls have also drawn the attention of both the United States and Britain among others. On Thursday, US Ambassador Michele Sison held a lengthy meeting with TNA leader Sampanthan and other senior members at the party's city office in Bambalapitiya. It came at a time when a new Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in the State Department was named this week. She is Nisha Biswall, an Indian American (not as a native Indian American though) who is at present Assistant Administrator of USAID. She has held that position since 2010. Earlier,she served as the majority clerk for the State Department and Foreign Operations Subcommittee on the Committee on Appropriations in the U.S. House of Representatives, which has jurisdiction over the State Department and USAID, as well as other aspects of the international affairs budget. She succeeds Robert Blake who is to be US Ambassador to Indonesia. Sampanthan said matters relating to the NPC polls were discussed at length. Among other issues discussed, he said, were human rights, media freedom, land issues in the North and East, Government's implementation of LLRC recommendations, "militarisation" in the North and independence of the judiciary. "We spelt out our views on all these and other issues," he added.
With the official announcement that Prime Minister David Cameron and Foreign Secretary William Hague will attend the CHOGM in Colombo, the British Government has hurriedly put together its official position. In the absence of Premier Cameron, who was away in the United States, his deputy Nick Clegg fielded questions in the House of Commons. However, of much significance in this regard are letters Alastair Burt, minister in charge of Sri Lanka at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, wrote to MPs Lee Scott and Siobhain McDonagh. Scott is the chair and Mcdonagh is the joint vice chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils in the House of Commons. In some of the electorates, Tamil voters have swayed decisions during polls. Hence, particularly the Conservatives and the Labour Party woo organisations representing them. That was how the current Government leaders were at the Global Tamil Forum's annual event at the House of Commons in February this year and not last year as erroneously stated last week.
In the letters, Burt says: "Ahead of the meeting (CHOGM) we will urge the Government (of Sri Lanka) to hold the free and fair provincial elections which are vital to the long-term stability of the country. And we will make it clear to the Sri Lanka Government that we expect them to guarantee full and unrestricted access for international press covering CHOGM."
It is clear from the statement that the British Prime Minister and his Foreign Secretary have declared they will take part in the CHOGM on the understanding that NPC polls will be held. In other words, the British Government has also put Sri Lanka on notice.
Official accreditation of foreign journalists to cover the CHOGM is issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat in London. Already many media outlets in Britain including Channel 4, which has brought out two different controversial documentaries related to the military campaign to defeat Tiger guerrillas in May 2009, have planned to visit Sri Lanka. The Government will have no control in deciding which foreign media outlets will cover CHOGM though Secretariat officials in London will liaise with their counterparts in Colombo.
Another is Burt's admission in the letters that "there has been no widespread support for a change in location of CHOGM." According to diplomatic sources in Colombo, he was alluding to last month's CMAG meeting where members re-iterated that Sri Lanka should be the venue. As reported earlier, India had lobbied Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) member countries in Sri Lanka's favour. In addition, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma had successfully persuaded them on the grounds that a venue change could not be effected by CMAG. Now, Britain has made public the fact that it has accepted Government assurances that issues flowing out from the US-backed UNHRC resolution were being addressed.
has obtained a copy of the letter Burt wrote to Scott and MsMcdonagh on the official letter-head of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Charles Street, London. Here are relevant excerpts:
"Since we came to Government we have worked extremely hard to urge the Sri Lankan Government to improve its record on human rights. International pressure, including through support for the UN Panel of Experts, has borne fruit in persuading Sri Lanka to establish a domestic mechanism -- the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which reported in 2011. But without international scrutiny, and engagement, many of the recommendations of the LLRC are likely to languish unimplemented.
"The British Government is determined that this will not be the case and we have consistently urged full implementation of the LLRC. We have led efforts to raise the profile of the situation in Sri Lanka with the EU, the UN Human Rights Council and United Nations. Using regular bilateral contacts and UK chaired "like minded" meetings in the margins of the United Nations General Assembly 2011 and 2012 we have sought to maintain awareness and pressure across the international community.
"We co-sponsored the March 2012 and 2013 UN Human Rights Council resolu- tions on Sri Lanka lobbying for wide support for the texts which has put pressure on Sri Lanka to implement its own commitments and live up to the expectations of the wider international community.
"As Minister responsible for our relations with Sri Lanka, I visited the country in February 2013, delivering clear messages about UK concerns in public and in private.
"Some progress has been made in Sri Lanka on infrastructure development, demining, reintegration of ex-combatants and resettlement of internally displaced persons. However, we still have serious concerns about the lack of progress on reconciliation, accountability and respect for human rights, and the failure to implement in full the recommendations of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and the UN Human Rights Council's resolutions.
"In parallel with these diplomatic efforts, we have consulted our Commonwealth partners about the location of the summit and reviewed all the options available to member states.
"It is clear that we are not the only country in the Commonwealth to have concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka. However, there has been no widespread support for a change in location of CHOGM, and there is concern that the Commonwealth itself -- as an organisation which must serve the interests of all 54 of its member states - - should not be damaged, weakened or undermined by divisions over the location of the Heads of Government meeting.
"Having thoroughly assessed the merits of all the options available, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have decided to attend the meeting in Sri Lanka.
"We will do so because of the importance of the Commonwealth to the United Kingdom and its other members.
"We will attend the meeting with a clear message about the need for Sri Lanka to live up to the values of the Commonwealth, in particular to safeguard freedom of expression and the press, investigate and prosecute attacks on and disappearances of human rights defenders, protect minority rights (including those of both Tamils and Muslims), and uphold the rule of law and independence of the judiciary.
"Ahead of the meeting we will urge the Government to hold the free and fair provincial elections which are vital to the long-term stability of the country. And we will make it clear to the Sri Lankan government that we expect them to guarantee full and unrestricted access for the international press covering CHOGM.
"Furthermore, the Foreign Secretary intends to visit the north of the country during the visit, and meet civil society, NGOs and political representatives of all communities. We will continue our engagement with the Tamil community and other relevant parties in the lead-up to CHOGM to take account of their concerns and interests……"
Responding to questions in Parliament, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg declared that the British Government condemned "the way in which political trials, regular assaults on legal professionals and suppression of press freedom continue, and the fact that too many recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission have not been implemented. If such violations continue, and if the Sri Lankan Government continues to ignore their international commitments in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, of course there will be consequences."
This week's developments make clear that despite CMAG, the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) still remains uncertain. The UPFA Government will have to do a lot of tightrope walking. It is not an easy task since the rope will be an obscure one. Placating the international community will strain relations with partners of the UPFA. On the other hand, keeping the partners happy will, no doubt, internationally isolate the Government further.
Must one say again that this is the heavy price Sri Lanka is paying for not having a cohesive foreign policy and allowing emotions and irrational approaches to guide it. In the latest instance, the glory of hosting CHOGM seems to have not only clouded the issue but allowed storm clouds to form. The coming weeks will show whether they will dissipate or grow in strength.