Violations of Commonwealth Values while the CHOGM 2013 in Progress
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- HR festival obstructed; Hate campaign launched
- Foreign journalists blocked visiting Jaffna
- Jaffna protest organisers threatened; people blocked
- Flights to Jaffna cancelled; Visit to East cancelled
- Canada denied pro govt media reports
- Sharma given 3 proposals to implement
Leader of the opposition attacked on his way to HR festival
An unidentified group has made an attempt to attack the opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe a short while ago , who participated in the Human Rights Festival held at United National Party headquarters, said UNP parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera.
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‘Security personnel assaulted coming to HR festival in Colombo
Security personnel have stopped the bus carrying Tamil nationals travelling from Mannar to Colombo for the Human Rights festival today (13) near the Madu church and assaulted them, UNP MP Mangala Samaraweera says. He was speaking at a media briefing in Colombo today (13). They have been assaulted after paying no heed to the security personnel’s instructions to turn back without attending the event, the UNP MP added.
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3 buses from North to HR festival stopped
Security forces have stopped three buses carrying Tamil nationals from the North region to the Human Rights Festival scheduled to be held at the UNP headquarters today afternoon (Nov. 13), Britto Fernando of the ‘Samagi Balawegaya’ said. The buses have been stopped at Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi and Madu this morning.
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Channel-4 journalists sent back to Colombo; Not allowed to proceed to Jaffna
Channel -4 journalists including Callum Macrae, who were heading to the North were sent back to Colombo in a special vehicle by the police saying it was being done for security reasons after their train was blocked at Anuradhapura Railway Station by a group of protesters. Meanwhile Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the safety of the Channel 4 journalists was of paramount importance and that travel restrictions would be imposed taking into account their safety.
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Investigations into journalist approaching President
Minister of Mass Media and Information Keheliya Rambukwella today stated that an investigation was underway as to how journalists belonging to United Kingdom’s Channel-4 was able to question President Mahinda Rajapaksa, breaking protocol at the Commonwealth Business Forum event held yesterday amid tight security.
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SL military issues death threats to elected members amidst presence of foreign journalists
Amidst the presence of foreign journalists who have come to Jaffna in connection with the CHOGM meet, alleged operatives of the occupying SL military have been issuing death threats to the organisers of the protest scheduled to take place on Tuesday. In the early hours of Monday, heads of dead cows were dumped in front of the houses of chairman and deputy chairman of the elected civic body of Valikaamam North
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Sri Lanka Tamils protest land grab ahead of Commonwealth meet
Agence France-Presse
Ethnic Tamils staged a rare protest in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday against the military’s refusal to hand back land after the war, as Colombo prepared to host this week’s Commonwealth summit. Several hundred Tamils demonstrated in the former northern war zone of Jaffna, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Colombo, even though organisers received telephone death threats beforehand against the move, a local Tamil politician said.
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People blocked from protesting in Jaffna
Over 500 residents of Valikamam North in Jaffna are engaged in a five-day protest, which began Monday (11 November) asking the government to return their lands. According to sources, the full anticipated crowd of 30, 000 – mostly people who had lost their land to the State – however had been unable to participate as certain political parties and outside elements had blocked them from leaving their welfare centres where they have been living since the war came to an end in 2009.
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Colombo suspends flights to Jaffna ahead of CHOGM
In an apparent move to make foreign diplomats and journalists attending Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting [CHOGM] in Colombo steer away from Jaffna and block them from witnessing the protest of uprooted people of Valikaamam North as well as meeting their representatives, Colombo government has instructed the only private passenger flight operator, FITS Aviation (Pvt) limited, to suspend all flights from Ratmalana in Colombo to Palaali in Jaffna till 18 November. On Tuesday, the Canadian officials visiting North had to travel by road to Jaffna.
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Commonwealth heads of states cancelled Batticaloa tour; civil society disappointed
Commonwealth heads of states have canceled their visit to Batticaloa today. Heads of states from 20 nations schedule to make two days visit to Batticaloa district. However delegates have canceled their tour on Tuesday evening. Batticaloa district secretariat together civil committees organized various events in the district. Officials and civil committee members express disappointment over this sudden decision. 13 November 2013
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Canadian government rejects Lankan media reports
The Canadian Government says it recognizes the suffering that the LTTE brought upon all Sri Lankans. A statement by the Canadian Government said the LTTE has been proscribed as a terrorist organization by the Stephen Harper government since 2006, and remains so today. Canada categorically rejected what it said was grossly false reporting in the Sri Lankan media suggesting that Canada’s head of delegation for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) Deepak Obhrai had engaged in an activity to commemorate the LTTE.
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UNP communications head, Samaraweera chellengs Sharma, Sec Commonwealth , sets 3 proposals
‘In fact, in your enthusiasm to go ahead with this unholy alliance, steps were taken to conceal the legal opinion sought by you regarding the scandalous impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike, earlier this year. You invited two senior jurists to tell you whether removal of the chief justice was consistent with Commonwealth values and principles. Their responses were unequivocal. “Instead of merely basing your assumptions on information provided by a few salaried members of the regime, you should at least now speak to members of the opposition and civil society as well as affected parties and ordinary citizens of this country to assess the prevailing situation,”
