Towards truth, justice and a political solution in Sri Lanka: what role will the Commonwealth and its 2013 Summit in Colombo play?
Friday 16th November 2012
Deller Hall, Senate House, University of London. WC1E 7HU.
Welcome Remarks
Daisy Cooper, Director, Commonwealth Advisory Bureau
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kkwCFI7Tzw
Session 1: The importance of Truth, Justice and Accountability for peace in
Sri Lanka
Ms. Yasmin Sooka, member of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on
Accountability in Sri Lanka, former member of the South African and Sierra
Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commissions
Chair: Ms Daisy Cooper, Director, Commonwealth Advisory Bureau
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-KTPZQ0ZoI
Session 2: What could a political solution in Sri Lanka look like?
Speakers:
Ms. Yasmin Sooka, member of the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on
Accountability in Sri Lanka, former member of the South African and Sierra
Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commissions
Prof Mark McGovern, Edge Hill University (Northern Ireland’s experience)
Chair: Ms. Frances Harrison, former BBC Correspondent, author of “Still
Counting the Dead”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ5SlVRclZo
Session 3: India’s influence and the Commonwealth’s engagement with Sri
Lanka and milestones on the road to the 2013 Colombo CHOGM
Speakers:
Dr Rajesh Venugopal, Lecturer in International Development and
Humanitarian Emergencies, LSE
Yolanda Foster, South Asia Desk, Amnesty International
Chair: Fred Carver, Director, Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8GvkQQYFig
Session 4: Colombo 2013: scoping the opportunity
Closing keynote speech: Senator Hugh Segal, Canada’s Special Envoy on
Commonwealth Renewal
Chair: Professor Philip Murphy, Director, Institute of Commonwealth Studies
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb5VRqwUzJs
Closing Remarks
Daisy Cooper, Director, Commonwealth Advisory Bureau
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGjI_Nv7CGg
Read the agenda here
K.A Sumanasekera / December 12, 2012
Looks like these dudes got the goods to make us natives become a prosperous member of the Commonwealth.
Good on you.
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Mango / December 12, 2012
Un-believable! Not a single Lankan (either pro or anti-GoSL) on the speakers list!
Aiyooo.. just the usual list of whiners including Yolanda Forster, here promoting C4’s ‘Killing Fields’ with an activist drone from the British Tamil Federation, an Eelamist front group. http://tinyurl.com/cmtw854
.. and that ludicrous Fred Carver of “Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice”. Standards are slipping at UCL.
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Bedrock Barney / December 20, 2012
All this time and money for what? Has no effect on any person living in SL nor are they aware of such a meeting. All that happened is people who know what going on in SL got a chance to sound intelligent and ask questions that I”m sure they knew the answers anyway.
Poor Daisy Cooper. Right in the end she says she is quitting organizing commonwealth events because she just realized its a big farce and countries do whatever the hell they want. Commonwealth summits and meeting are for smiling, laughing and backslapping. Not frowning and starting arguments! It’s a way for countries to give their surplus diplomats something to do.
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Candidly / December 13, 2012
Britain’s radical-chic chattering classes are like some bizarre orgy where they all sit in a circle pleasuring the persons next to them. The Guardian praises Amnesty International, Amnesty International praises Channel 4, Channel 4 praises The Guardian, etc. To keep the circle of delusion going they need some “victims” to justify their activities. And here various little groups claiming to represent tens of thousands, such as the Global Tamil Forum, step forward as volunteer victims so that the radical-chic chatterers can justify their misguided hatred of democratic principles.
This particular sub-group, centred around the highly suspect Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, is just another little clique mourning the defeat of their favourite terrorist group, the Tamil Tigers. It’s all just a silly game really, and few people in the UK, except the participants, take them seriously these days.
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dicky Bird / December 13, 2012
Commonwealth will come and pull the wool over its members go away to get ready for the next meeting after Colombo.
If the Commonwealth was real, they would have intervened in the 30 year war and brought peace to Sri Lanka long ago & to many other member nations who face problems…. This is the reality of the C’wealth.
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Sirisena Yatawara / December 13, 2012
Is very necessary to any foreing community to respect Sri lankan Indepandeanc and Sovergnity and Terrorial Intergrity of Our Democray values had been PROTECATED BY OUR PEOPLE OVER MORE THAN 80 ODD YEARS.
We having fair Justice and Legal system as similar as Western Countries,there may be operatioanl and enforcement weakness certain of Justice system persons who are in-charge,that has to be address by State of Goverance.
Indeed CJ of Corrupation is very serious, one such Case has to address by Parliment Committe to recficity grave error OF HER UNPERDITICAL WHIMSICAL BEHAVIOUR done by CJ while on Duty.Her charges are serious nature by Public are concern, is NOT SUITED HER POSITION OF RULE OF LAW OF OUR LAND.
SUPEREME POWER OF PARLIMENT HAD BEEN ELECATED BY PEOPLE AND ITS MANDATE HAVING EVERY LEGAL RIGHT TO ADDRES CJ AND HER HUSBAND CORRUPATION CHARGES HAS DONE HARM AND DAMAGE FOR JUSTICE SYSTEM AND RULE OF LAW OF ISLAND.
BRING BACK TO LAW AND ORDER OF INDEPANDENCE JUDICIARY AND RULE OF LAW IS DUTY AND RESPOANSIBILITY OF PEOPLE’S ELEACTED PARLIMENT TAKE NECESSAY ACTION WITHING HER MANDATED POWER ON BEHALF OF PEOPLE OF SRI LANKAN.
WE WISH INTERNATIONL COMMUNITY OF RIGHT THINKING PEOPLE AND ORGINIZATION BE FAIR TO HAND OFF INDEPANDENCE JUDICIARY AND MAINTAIN RULE OF LAW IN OUR LAND OF SRI LANKA.
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Michelle Brooks / April 30, 2013
Childish and bourgeiose attitudes from those who have no clue about Sri Lanka, it’s people and the future that Sri Lankans are totally committed to. So angry to see this, I am looking forward to putting the record straight in a couple of days when I speak at the Commonwealth Secretariat (on their invitation) on the project that I began in 2010 to work alongside government, supporting the country’s quest for greater democracy, fair living conditions for vulnerable and displaced people and nationwide policing reform. Clearly, the ‘commonwealth advisory bureau’ did not recieve an invite, pity, they are in urgent need of an education and in particular on the ethics of claiming to have an expertise (so much so that one could advise the entire commonwealth) on a country without having ever set foot there. The prevailing conversation on Sri Lanka and human rights changed direction on the ground some time back, hopefully very soon, the wider world will learn of this. In 2013 Sri Lanka was voted number one tourist destination this is because in the real world Sri Lanka is making progress in social and economic spheres, inspiring confidence in industry and once again welcoming the world to its shores.
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