News

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s gift for Prince Charles’ 65th birthday, which he will celebrate in Colombo, will be a fine collection of kavun and kokis. Prince Charles will arrive in Colombo by a special flight to inaugurate the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that begins on Friday. He is booked to stay at the boutique hotel Tintagel, the former residence of the Bandaranaike family at Rosmead Place. The suspension of Fiji from membership is one of the issues up for discussion.

As the countdown for the summit has begun, there was chaos and confusion in the streets of Colombo with traffic snarls at various intersections. It was caused by road closures to facilitate the movement of foreign officials and security personnel who began arriving from yesterday.

Canadian Premier Stephen Harper had announced earlier that he would not attend over what he called Sri Lanka’s bad human rights record.

British Prime Minister David Cameron who is coming to Colombo with his Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary William Hague made an announcement to the British-based Global Tamil Forum that his visit would mark a shift in London’s foreign policy. He told the GTF delegation and other Tamil Diaspora groups during a meeting at 10 Downing Street that Britain would call for an “international inquiry” in March next year if the Sri Lanka Government did not conduct its own inquiry. 

Mr. Cameron is scheduled to visit Jaffna on Friday, after the inaugural session to inspect a British aided NGO project and visit the Uthayan newspaper office. A one-on-one meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa is also fixed for Friday evening. He is due to leave on Saturday, soon after the leaders gather for their retreat at Waters Edge in Battaramulla.

The Government has rejected a British request for one-on-one meeting with President Rajapaksa before the summit opening. 
Mr. Hague is expected to travel to Matara though his engagements are not clear. The President’s Office was also unaware of the move. A British Government request to hold a news conference at the Ramada Hotel where the British media are being accommodated has prompted an External Affairs Ministry response querying whether they were trying to take the shine off CHOGM.The ruling Conservative Party has stopped five of its MPs from travelling to Colombo for CHOGM. Chief Whip Desmond Swain has withdrawn permission for them. The five include James Wharton, Aiden Bailey and Ian Paisely. The British delegation to CHOGM is said to be more than 150. CHOGHM officials say the total number of delegates registered so far was 3,100, though it may reach 4,000.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is expected to discuss the import of milk powder from his country with President Rajapaksa. Months ago, there was controversy over alleged chemical contamination. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray Mcully will accompany Premier Key to Jaffna. 

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris’ ‘look Africa policy notwithstanding,’ Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is unlikely to be in Colombo. Delegates from Rwanda are bringing their own cooks. They have asked that the same food be served to them during official banquets.

Contradictory messages to more than 800 media representatives have already caused confusion for foreign and local journalists. While a government note said the representative of one media outlet could collect the passes of all their colleagues, the Media Ministry has insisted that every member who has been granted accreditation should turn up at the Galadari Hotel where a media centre is located.

For a local television channel, that meant 40 of its staff having to go to the hotel. A local news agency would have to arrange for its 14 strong staff to drive direct from the airport to the media centre.

Singh skips the summit

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not attend Friday’s Commonwealth Summit in Colombo and the country’s delegation will be led by External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid, Indian media reports quoting government sources said last night.

The reports said Dr. Singh has decided against visiting Colombo in view of the opposition by Tamil Nadu parties as well as a section in his own Congress Party.

The NDTV said India’s decision and the level of participation would be communicated to the Sri Lankan government by tomorrow. “The Prime Minister is likely to write to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by tomorrow regarding his decision,” government sources said.

However, New Delhi has not yet issued an official statement on Dr. Singh’s decision.