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Commonwealth Chief accuses Britain of perfidious scandal
From Neville de Silva in London
Britain that created the Commonwealth took a battering last week from the head of the Commonwealth for its "selfish imperialism." New Zealand's former foreign minister Don McKinnon who is now secretary-general of the Commonwealth charged that Britain was pursuing a selfish policy by not allowing the Commonwealth Institute, in which Sri Lanka too has an interest, to sell off or demolish its former building, thus depriving children in Commonwealth countries of educational programmes.

The Commonwealth Institute in London's Kensington area has been defunct for three years or more due to lack of funds. Its building has been lying idle because the British Government has maintained a preservation order that prevents the Institute's Trustees from selling off the building or letting others put it to some other use.

An application to de-list the building was made by the Trustees supported by Britain’s own Parliamentary Under-Secretary with responsibility for the Commonwealth as well as all other Commonwealth governments, which are the governor's of the Institute.

Despite this call from the entire Commonwealth, the British Government is following what one individual with long-time interest in the organisation called "a dog in the manger policy." The British Government does not use and it will not allow anybody else to do something with it."

The recent British decision not to lift the preservation order prompted Don McKinnon to lash out at the 'mother' of the Commonwealth which at one time was called the "British Commonwealth." Sri Lanka is one of the Commonwealth countries that has benefited from educational and other programmes launched by the Institute since it was set up in the 1960s.

"This scandalous act robs millions of children in the developing world of educational opportunities. By having this white elephant de-listed, the Commonwealth Institute could have realised funds for education programmes for 75 million children in the Commonwealth who have never seen the walls of a classroom," the Commonwealth Secretary-General said last week.
He pointed out that the Commonwealth countries invested in today's terms something like £40 million to establish the Institute.

"This perfidious decision means that their return on the investment, instead of being close to £80 million which could be used to further education in the Commonwealth, will not even reach one-fifth of that amount. The decision is a betrayal of the Commonwealth Institute and its objective of increasing educational opportunities for young people in poor countries," said McKinnon in an attack that is unlikely to endear him to the British Government.

It might be recalled that when Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar unsuccessfully tried to oust McKinnon from his post at the last Commonwealth Heads of State and Government summit in Nigeria, there were rumours circulating here that some in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, disgruntled with the SG had earlier signalled that they would support an alternative candidate.

Some Commonwealth observers here argue that McKinnon who had been biding his time to get back at the British had been handed an ideal opportunity and grabbed it with both hands.

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