The Government of Sri Lanka has decided to place its hopes on Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma seeking the protection of the Secretariat ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November, the Colombo Telegraph learns.
Rajapaksa and Sharma
Sharma has promised to assist the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) to regain its status as a credible mechanism after the Commission was downgraded to “B” status.
The Commonwealth Secretary General recently dispatched a team for a dialogue with the HRC in Colombo. During the discussions the Commonwealth team has assured they will help the HRC to raise its standards and build capacity in a bid to help the commission to uplift its standards putting the past behind. Human Rights Commissioner Prathibha Mahananama told our sources that looking beyond the past was essentially mean that the HRC would not focus on the post-war period but look to the future.
Colombo Telegraph further learns that during the recent visit of External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris to London,conversations have taken place between the Sri Lankan Minister and Secretary General Sharma with specific reference to the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay to the island last week. Pillay who left Colombo on Sunday issued a strong criticism against the country’s human rights record and said after the war, Sri Lanka’s “democracy was undermined and the rule of law eroded.” She warned that the country was moving in an increasingly “authoritarian direction.”
Minister Peiris has appealed to Sharma to help Sri Lanka to mitigate the damage caused by Pillay’s departing remarks in Colombo. The Commonwealth Secretary General has promised to take effective measures to protect Sri Lanka’s image ahead of the CHOGM and do what is possible to reverse the adverse impact of Pillay’s fact finding mission, Colombo Telegraph learns.
The Secretary General is seen as being increasingly prejudicial towards Sri Lanka after it was exclusively revealed by Colombo Telegraph that he had buried legal opinions sought by the Secretariat on the Sri Lankan impeachment proceedings against Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake. The legal opinions from eminent Commonwealth jurists are believed to have opined that Bandaranayake’s impeachment was flawed but Sharma saw fit to keep the documents even from the powerful Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group. The move has drawn serious criticism of the Secretary General from within CMAG.
Colombo Telegraph can now also reveal that it was the Commonwealth Secretary General who advised the Government of Sri Lanka to reverse the Supreme Court and Appeals Court orders against Bandaranayake’s illegal impeachment prior to CHOGM in order to retroactively legitimise her sacking.
Highly placed legal sources said that the the case filed by the Attorney General to reverse those judgments is expected to come up at Supreme Court on September 26 with a judgment to be delivered with ample time left before the summit takes place.
J.muthu / September 5, 2013
Indian Sharma, You can buy him nicely. Cool million pounds enogh. For Mahinda packet of peanuts…Sinhala modayas just another day…
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KK / September 5, 2013
For all the tamil terrorist everyone in the world are bad people except terrorist and terrorist supporters
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Dodo / September 5, 2013
The Commonwealth of Clowns needs to draw up a plan to down size, DEMOBILIZE AND REINTEGRATE the Sri Lanka military instead of pretending to build capacity of the defunct Human Rights Commission.
Reducing the MILITARY DICTATORSHIP should be the top DONOR and international aid groups priority, but rather the World Bank is funding the militarization via UDA.
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James Bond / September 6, 2013
The Commonwealth of Clowns is clearly upside down and obsolete
Sri Lanka’s human rights track record indicates that the country should be turfed out of ALL organizations – rather than hosting heading CHOGM!
Time to declare the Commonwealth of Nations as a morally and intellectually bankrupt British colonial outfit on which the sun set long ago and shut it down rather that throw good money after bad on this organization.
Commonwealth of Clowns so-called head who must be quite corrupt and bought by the Rajapassa regime – Kamalesh Sharma – has turned the irrelevant outfit positively malevolent and anti-democratic and made it a platform for third world military dictators. He should be fired first and the organization SHUT DOWN!
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Bruno Umbato / September 5, 2013
Thst’s right, Muthu … Who says Sri Lanka is poor …
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Lanka Liar / September 5, 2013
Indian things are very cheap. They very crude but last longer.
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Leo / September 5, 2013
So much? He is an Indian, [Edited out]
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Mano / September 6, 2013
Not in millions of pounds, a handful of bills in any denomination would do the trick.
Nay, a promise of a future deal too would suffice. If one keeps in his mind he is dealing with INCREDIBLE INDIA AND INCREDIBLE INDIANS, then the task is very simple.
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justice / September 5, 2013
Sharma knows that when countries come to know about what happened during Pillay’s visit,sri lanka’s suitability to be the venue for CHOGM will be damaged.
It is shocking that Sharma not only ‘buried’ legal opinions by jurists in favour of CJ Bandaranayake,but has now also advised GOSL to sacrifice CJ Bandaranyake’s honour and prestige,in an attempt at ‘damage control’.
Every man has his ‘price’.
What was Sharma’s ?
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gamini / September 5, 2013
Justice, do you seriously believe Kamalesh Sharma is acting on his own against the wishes of India? No Sharma is doing the bidding for India. Obviously after India connived with America to help MR annihilate VP and the LTTE are still backing MR to cover War Crimes. At the same time India is holding bi-lateral Talks with RW. Americans craftily used the LTTE to get rid of Rajiv Gandhi to have a weak leadership in India as Manmohan Singh to arm twist India. Otherwise will India allow China to establish in Sri Lanka? Killing of Rajiv Gandhi effectively put Indian public against the LTTE, which VP would have never done knowing the consequences. In the end VP had no option but to take the word of the Indians and the Americans to have abandoned their strong hold kilinochchi to be massacred on a beach front with no cover whatsoever. The Drama is not yet over, let us wait and see the final out come, as to who is smarter, America or India or China?
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Silva / September 5, 2013
China has built its public toilet in South of India in Sri Lanka but the idiot Manamohan Singe is fast asleep! India will only open eyes when the toilet pit begin overflowing but then it will be too late! India will have live forever with this toilet right in front of their nose! Remembers the devastating arson-generated forest fires that affected and crippled Singapore few weeks back. India will have similar results in not so distant future due to Chinese influence in Sri Lanka. China is going to transform this country into an industrialized and environmental disaster! Welcome to the Chinese neighborhood, India!
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Thiru / September 9, 2013
Gamini,
Your comment is closer to the truth than many of the others’.
The drama is unfolding – how to keep the flirtatious Sri Lanka in the fold of the West/India! Who knows, Sri Lanka may be able to out wit all these fellows and still destroy the Tamils.
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Percy Jilmart / September 5, 2013
Mahinda Chinthanaya in a nut shell:
Bribe them, threaten them, beat them up and then abduct them, and if they still dont dance to your tune…kill them.
Looks like Mr.Sharma has been bribed, just like bought and paid for journalists Rajpal, Malinda and many others.
All the UNP MPs who crossed over to the government were either bribed or threatened (with existing court cases against them)
Those who protest against the regime are beaten up or imprisoned under the PTA.
…and finally those who cant be bribed, threatened or beaten up are abducted and killed like Eknaligoda and Lasantha.
…a very simple theory that works as long as a majority of voters are apathetic to what happens in the country.
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srilal / September 6, 2013
“Looks like Mr.Sharma has been bribed, just like bought and paid for journalists Rajpal, Malinda and many others”.
the clown Sharma may have been bribed , but the bigger picture lays some where else , that is this despicable clown SG acts according to Prime minister Singh’s instructions on SRi lankan related matters, PM Singh is a virtual puppet of Sonia , Sonia is eternally indebted to MR for finishing VP as well as personally helping to cue her cancer (by sending his Miracle quack doctor to India)
in terms with USA, Americans just twisting MR’s arm as they are not happy with overwhelming Chinese presence in SL , Arm twisting might get harder if MR doesn’t stop red dragons military/navy presence in SL , we may be able to see real arm twisting with the forth coming Geneva sessions.( not as earlier useless UN resolutions )
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gonbella / September 5, 2013
I just wonder how many pieces of gold the above handshake is worth for Sharma.
Sharma and Pillay originate from different parts of India. Sharma wil claim that he is from the land of Rama, north india whereas Pillay’s ancestry is from South India, the land of Hanuman, the monkey god. Hanuman was a mercenary hired by Rama.
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Thiru / September 5, 2013
What happened? Where are the comments?
Have the readers given up on Sharma as his master’s mouthpiece?
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Saro / September 5, 2013
We remember why Mr. Nambiar of the UN sidelined the alleged human rights violations and war crimes of the Sri Lankan forces in the aftermath of ending the war in the light of his brother being employed as the presidential advisor. Secretary General of the Commonwealth must be investigated to establish if he was also under obligation to protect Sri Lankan leaders. The high ranking officials of international bodies must declare their financial possessions before assuming their offices.
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Don Stanley / September 5, 2013
What a bloody disaster of Asia is the Rajapassa regiem that fronts the military dictatorship!
The UN Human Rights Commissioner no less was sexually harassed by a Minister no less of the Rajapassa Cabinet of morons and criminal clowns..
Sharma would be a knavish clown to defend such Rajapass. The CHOGM or Commonwealth of Clowns that is a platform for third world dictators should be aborted, i.e. SHUT DOWN.
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Minesh / September 5, 2013
“..What a bloody disaster of Asia is the Rajapassa regiem that fronts the military dictatorship!
The UN Human Rights Commissioner no less was sexually harassed by a Minister no less of the Rajapassa Cabinet of morons and criminal clowns..
Sharma would be a knavish clown to defend such Rajapass. The CHOGM or Commonwealth of Clowns that is a platform for third world dictators should be aborted, i.e. SHUT DOWN..”
Don Stanley, well said! Rajapakshas literally wedded Hon. Pillai to a dog and the two legged dog vermin Silva almost raped her! These bloody fools in the international responsible positions are incapable of deciphering these signals and one wonders what is wrong with all these idiots! Have they all spell-bound by bloody king’s magic ball?
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manisekaran / September 5, 2013
Shameless Sharma shaking hands of a killer.
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kk / September 5, 2013
Then sharma should not hand shake with David Cameron too
Idiot you think only barberic LTTE tamil terrorists are the only human beings
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manisekaran / September 6, 2013
So you agree that MR is a killer as much as LTTE and D.cameroon, Thanks for accepting the truth.
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Lapatiya / September 5, 2013
Kamalesh Sharma is Indian version of Sri Lanka’s Mohan Peiris. Both are shameless persons and both are using their good offices for prostitution.
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mike / September 5, 2013
Amongst other things ($$) Sharma has Paba and Anarkali to pick and choose! I agree, both Sharma and our Moron Peiris are shameless[Edited out].
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Chandra Seneviratne / September 5, 2013
Kamalesh Sharma has proved himself a shameless one who is unfit to hold the supposed to be prestigious position of Commonwealth Secretary General. One would have expected him to step down when he was caught red- handed in suppression and hiding the independent opinions on impeachment debacle from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group . The reasons adduced by him in doing so proved that he has been bought over by MR to serve his corrupt stricken regime. By this Sharma as an Indian Civil servant has put Indian civil service into disrepute as well.
Now Sharma has now left with nothing but go further and cry out ahead of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo in November uttering that “democracy was not undermined and the rule of law has not eroded in Sri Lanka. Can any level headed person tell this about of Sri Lanka?
MR always gets mean and corruptible persons to wash his dirty linen as Sharma is going it in public.
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Punchinilame / September 5, 2013
White-Leaders are modayas by Rajapakse standards and GLP has been sent
to drag them in to show what the King can do. We Lankans just await the
tides that come and go.
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Oneshot / September 5, 2013
“..During the discussions the Commonwealth team has assured they will help the HRC to raise its standards and build capacity in a bid to help the commission to uplift its standards putting the past behind. Human Rights Commissioner Prathibha Mahananama told our sources that looking beyond the past was essentially mean that the HRC would not focus on the post-war period but look to the future..”
Ha..ha..haa. What fucking nonsense. “…putting the past behind..”!!! Human rights, accountability and reconciliation have everything to do with the PAST! There would be no UNHRC in the world without punishing the offenders who committed crimes against humanity IN THE PAST! These rogue regime happy [Edited out] are trying to inject their own perverted and biased interpretations into the fundamental concepts upon which UNHRC is built and functions. This bloody Sharma [Edited out] who appear to have sold his consciousness and responsibility to Rajapakshas criminals will drag India to infamousness and shame by aiding and abetting Rajapaksha crimes.
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nadarajah rajendra / September 5, 2013
millions of pounds? why not a pretty lady?
raj
germany
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Hamban / September 6, 2013
No wonder, Sharma would do anything for Rajapassa regime as he has been bought over by them.
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Hela / September 6, 2013
The endorsement of CT of Navi Pillay’s naked partiality only confirm’s CT’s anti Sri Lankan agenda.
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Leon / September 8, 2013
Every Indian has a price be it be Sharma, Narayan, Shiv Shankar Menon.
Vijay Nambiar and Subramania Swamy .They can all be bought.MR knows the
price of each one of them.
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