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CHOGM starts in Sri Lanka amid human rights protests
On Thursday, a human rights festival being hosted at the main opposition headquarters in Colombo was attacked by protesters, before police ordered it to be shut down.
Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa.
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth summit is under way in Colombo, amid continuing scrutiny of Sri Lanka's human rights record.
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat is present, accompanied by Foreign Minister George Vella.
The leaders of India, Mauritius and Canada have boycotted the summit due to Sri Lanka's human rights record.
Yesterday, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa - who is set to chair the Commonwealth for the next two years - rejected criticism of his government's actions during the campaign which defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.
In an angry riposte to the growing tide of criticism, Rajapaksa yesterday highlighted that killings had taken place in Sri Lanka not only in 2009, as his government crushed the rebels, but for 30 years up until then, with the victims including children and pregnant women
"Every day there was a dead body or 10 or 15 dead bodies," he told reporters, adding "no one made an issue over that". That had now been stopped, he said, and there were no more bombings.
He said his government was ready to take action against anyone found guilty of violating rights but it would not "divide the country".
On Thursday, a human rights festival being hosted at the main opposition headquarters in Colombo was attacked by protesters, before police ordered it to be shut down.
Prince Charles is opening the summit, for the first time representing his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of the Commonwealth.
British Prime Minister David Cameron is attending the summit but said he would raise "tough questions".
In May 2009 Sri Lanka's army defeated the separatist Tamil Tigers after almost 30 years of brutal and bloody civil war. But the spotlight has focused on the final phase of that war as civilians were hemmed into a thin strip of land on the north-eastern coast - both sides are accused of atrocities here.
However one UN report estimates that as many as 40,000 civilians were killed in that final phase, mostly by government shelling - and Sri Lanka continues to be accused of the rape and torture of detainees, enforced disappearances of activists and the intimidation of journalists.
Joseph MELI •
It would be intersting to learn precisely what our governments position is with regard to Sri Lanka's human rights abuse record -as we adopt our usual non-provocative and ostrich -like, three wise monkeys stance -as in hear all ,see all but say 'eff all!
This meeting place location was tacitly agreed too without any dissent by the previous administration yet the incumbent one,even when in opposition, offered no protests then as now when in power.Could it be that we are considering a trade/commerce deal with Sri Lanka ,as then ,like with China (whose human rights records are non-existant), our alleged 'values'of and 'respect ' for the upholding of human rights fly out of the democracy window when the carrot of profits is dangled to this particluar donkey !
