• Burmese
Monday, July 21, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Asia

Friction Over Sri Lanka Shows at Commonwealth Meet

Katy Daigle by Katy Daigle
November 15, 2013
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Friction Over Sri Lanka Shows at Commonwealth Meet

Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa speaks during a pre-CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting) news conference in Colombo Nov. 14

3.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka’s president lashed out at criticisms of his nation’s human rights record, saying Thursday that the government deals with any complaints of abuses committed during or after its bloody 27-year civil war. Pro-government protesters, meanwhile, attacked the headquarters of the main opposition party.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa was speaking on the sidelines of a summit for the 53 nations in the Commonwealth of Britain and its former territories. The group has been accused of making a mockery of its core values of democracy and human rights by holding this year’s summit in the seaside capital of Colombo.

“We are open. We have nothing to hide,” Rajapaska said, despite so far refusing demands by world governments and the United Nations for an independent investigation into alleged wartime atrocities committed by both rebels and government soldiers, as well as reports of media harassment and of thousands of people who went missing during and after the final months of the war in 2009.

RelatedPosts

The Nation Where Brave Hearts—and Martyrs—Dwell

The Nation Where Brave Hearts—and Martyrs—Dwell

July 19, 2025
563
Conjuring an Election Illusion in War-Torn Shan; Raiding Offshore Gas to Stay Afloat; and More

Conjuring an Election Illusion in War-Torn Shan; Raiding Offshore Gas to Stay Afloat; and More

July 19, 2025
497
Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

July 18, 2025
2.4k

“If anyone who wants to complain about human rights violations in Sri Lanka, whether it’s torture, whether it is rape, we have a system,” Rajapaksa told a news conference. “If there is any violations, we will take actions against anybody, anybody. I am ready to do that.”

A court on Thursday banned protests in Colombo until the end of the Commonwealth summit, police spokesman Ajith Rohana said, explaining that the move was intended to prevent traffic jams.

But hundreds of pro-government protesters attacked the headquarters of the main opposition United National Party. Police stopped the protesters from throwing stones at the building, but did not disperse the crowd.

Inside the building, dozens of ethnic Tamil parents had gathered quietly with photographs of missing children they believe were abducted by army soldiers after the war ended in 2009.

Siva Madi, clutching a portrait of her 22-year-old son, said he vanished from a bus stop on his way to get a driver’s license. “When I inquired, the army denied arresting him. I informed the police, the human rights commission, the Red Cross and took part in many protests, but got no result.” She said several hundred other Tamils wanted to come from the north for the protest, but were blocked by police.

Since the war ended with Sri Lanka’s Sinhalese-dominated armed forces smashing a sustained Tamil rebellion for an independent homeland, the government has denied that its side committed any rights abuses. It accuses journalists of fabricating allegations of atrocities, and rejects criticism of nepotism, even though five ministries are controlled by Rajapaksa and his three brothers. The Parliament is also dominated by Rajapaksa’s coalition.

Rajapaksa lauded the war victory, saying “people were getting killed for 30 years. At least after 2009 we have stopped it.”

Yet postwar reconciliation remains a far-off goal. Troops are still heavily deployed throughout the northern Tamil heartland in the teardrop-shaped island off southwest India, and local journalists still regularly report harassment. Provincial elections in September were seen as a step toward granting Tamils more autonomy, but also drew criticism for falling far below what is needed for reconciliation.

The leaders of Canada, India and Mauritius have stayed away from the summit. Other leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, have been pressured by rights groups to justify their attendance by promising to call Sri Lanka to task.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma defended having the summit in Colombo by saying it allows Sri Lanka to meet with leaders who have dealt with issues of human rights, rule of law and judicial independence in their countries. He said “it shows the Commonwealth in action.”

But the friction over Sri Lanka’s rights record was showing Thursday among summit participants, with civic leaders angry with a senior British official for using his speech at this week’s People’s Forum to press Sri Lanka to investigate people’s disappearances, guarantee freedom of expression and “stamp out intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders.”

Some the 350 or so international civil society members said Hugo Swire, a minister of state for the Foreign Office, had violated a Commonwealth understanding and agreement to work on global solutions rather than attack individual member countries.

“Britishers are the people who taught us manners, fair play, democracy,” said L.P. Chandradasa, chairman of this year’s People’s Forum, adding that Swire’s comments may have jeopardized tentative progress that had been made during the summit between civic leaders and Sri Lanka’s government. “We don’t deny that the relationship between the civil society and Sri Lankan government is strained. But now it is worse. The government is saying “how did this happen? It means you are not genuine, you are trying to attack us.”

Your Thoughts …
Katy Daigle

Katy Daigle

Contributor

Similar Picks:

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang
Burma

Exodus: Tens of Thousands Flee as Myanmar Junta Troops Face Last Stand in Kokang

by Hein Htoo Zan
November 28, 2023
98.5k

Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army troops are opening roads and pathways through forests for people to flee Kokang’s capital as...

Read moreDetails
Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public
Burma

Burning Alive in Myanmar: Two Resistance Fighters Executed in Public

by The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2024
90.4k

People’s Defense Force says junta troops told every household in the village to send one member to witness the double...

Read moreDetails
Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State
War Against the Junta

Another Entire Junta Battalion Raises the White Flag in Myanmar’s Northern Shan State

by The Irrawaddy
November 29, 2023
87.1k

Brotherhood Alliance member says it now has complete control of Kokang’s northernmost section after the junta’s Light Infantry Battalion 125...

Read moreDetails
Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks
Burma

Depleted Myanmar Military Urges Deserters to Return to Barracks

by The Irrawaddy
December 4, 2023
59k

The junta said deserters would not be punished for minor crimes, highlighting the military’s shortage of troops as resistance offensives...

Read moreDetails
As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue
Burma

As Myanmar’s Military Stumbles, a Top General’s Dissapearance Fuels Intrigue

by The Irrawaddy
April 19, 2024
47k

The junta’s No. 2 has not been seen in public since April 3, sparking rumors that he was either gravely...

Read moreDetails
Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow
Burma

Enter the Dragon, Exit the Junta: Myanmar’s Brotherhood Alliance makes Chinese New Year Vow

by The Irrawaddy
February 12, 2024
44.8k

Ethnic armed grouping says it will continue Operation 1027 offensive until goal of ousting the junta is achieved. 

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Police Open Fire

Police Open Fire, Injure 7 Protesters at Burma’s Letpadaung Mine

As Fractious Nepal Drifts

As Fractious Nepal Drifts, Regional Rivals Step In

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

What the ‘Snake Charmer’ Analogy Gets Wrong About Myanmar

5 days ago
1.6k
Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

2 days ago
865

Most Read

  • More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    More Than 20,000 Displaced As Myanmar Junta Burns Homes Around World Heritage Site

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta Airstrikes Protecting Irrawaddy Flotilla Kill 20

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Crisis Spells Opportunity for U.S.-India Cooperation

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Myanmar Junta’s Recapture of Nawnghkio Shows Strategic Missteps by TNLA

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Nation Where Brave Hearts—and Martyrs—Dwell

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.