As Cameron and other leaders prepare to travel to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka in November one supporter of Tamil separatism said "Before, it was safe for women, now it isn't … Before, we could talk freely, now we can't. OK, so there is some development but that is not real freedom … this is not true peace."
Ananthi Sasitharan of the Tamil National Alliance said “ We have suffered very much from the war. But during the LTTE time [in power] we had a very happy life. So the political struggle must go on...They [the Sinhalese government] destroyed our beautiful country. They eliminated our society and erected victory monuments in our land and now they are coming to enjoy our destruction," she said. "We are a people changed by war. There is no healing."
The United Nations last month warned of "continuing high levels of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists" in Sri Lanka.
The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, is staying away. Canada's special envoy to the Commonwealth, accused Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth secretary general, of "acting as a shill for the Sri Lankan leadership, defending their every mistake."
India, the Commonwealth's largest country, is undecided about whether its prime minister, Mahoman Singh, should attend. India this week reiterated calls for all sections of the Sri Lankan population to be treated with "equality, justice, dignity and self respect".
“ [the Commonwealth] has tried to reinvent itself as a values-based organisation promoting democracy, freedom of the press and human rights and it is going to hold its big summit in an oligarchy. It is increasingly authoritarian and it makes the Commonwealth look ridiculous...” said Professor Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London.
Ananthi Sasitharan of the Tamil National Alliance said “ We have suffered very much from the war. But during the LTTE time [in power] we had a very happy life. So the political struggle must go on...They [the Sinhalese government] destroyed our beautiful country. They eliminated our society and erected victory monuments in our land and now they are coming to enjoy our destruction," she said. "We are a people changed by war. There is no healing."
The United Nations last month warned of "continuing high levels of harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists" in Sri Lanka.
The Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, is staying away. Canada's special envoy to the Commonwealth, accused Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth secretary general, of "acting as a shill for the Sri Lankan leadership, defending their every mistake."
India, the Commonwealth's largest country, is undecided about whether its prime minister, Mahoman Singh, should attend. India this week reiterated calls for all sections of the Sri Lankan population to be treated with "equality, justice, dignity and self respect".
“ [the Commonwealth] has tried to reinvent itself as a values-based organisation promoting democracy, freedom of the press and human rights and it is going to hold its big summit in an oligarchy. It is increasingly authoritarian and it makes the Commonwealth look ridiculous...” said Professor Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London.
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