{"id":114539,"date":"2013-11-11T11:46:45","date_gmt":"2013-11-11T06:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=114539"},"modified":"2013-11-15T07:01:22","modified_gmt":"2013-11-15T01:31:22","slug":"chogm-no-show-if-human-rights-a-no-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chogm-no-show-if-human-rights-a-no-go\/","title":{"rendered":"CHOGM No-Show If Human Rights A No-Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Belinda Cranston<\/span><\/a> –<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Belinda<\/a>

Belinda Cranston<\/p><\/div>\n

There is little point in delegates gathering at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM<\/span><\/a>) in Sri Lanka unless rule of law issues in the South Asian nation are\u00a0raised, a Sri Lankan human rights lawyer says.<\/p>\n

The meeting, which will be opened by Prince Charles<\/span><\/a> on 15 November, has already been boycotted by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper<\/span><\/a>, who has criticised the host country for failing to investigate human-rights violations during its 29-year civil war.<\/p>\n

Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena<\/span><\/a>, who is delivering two public lectures at ANU next week, says countries including Australia are obliged to discuss the unravelling of the rule of law in Sri Lanka while attending the CHOGM meeting in Colombo.<\/p>\n

Rule of law refers to a legal system in which the law is able to impose meaningful restraints on a country\u2019s government.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf a country were to take the position that it observed the rule of law in its own country, but is not concerned about that not being observed in other countries\u2026I do not think that attitude is a reasonable one,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I do not think that that attitude is appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

For \u2018ordinary\u2019 Sri Lankans, Pinto-Jayawardena maintained CHOGM was of little relevance.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause the rule of law is not being enforced by the host country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Pinto-Jayawardena\u00a0attributes the \u2018complete and utter breakdown\u2019 of the country\u2019s legal system following the end of the civil war in 2009, to the centralisation of power in one person \u2013 namely Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n

In recent months, Rajapaksa removed Sri Lanka\u2019s chief justice from office \u2013 a move that was strongly criticised by religious leaders, pro-democracy activists and lawyers.<\/p>\n

In Sri-Lanka\u2019s north-east, where the Tamil population is highly concentrated, physical security and land ownership has been negatively affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cCivil administration has still not replaced military administration,\u201d says Pinto-Jayawardena.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithin the last three or four years, we have seen instances of places of worship being demolished, sometimes by government troops and sometimes by unknown groups, whose actions are not then investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the war ended in 2009, many family members were missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe welfare of these people has not yet been accounted for,\u201d says Pinto-Jayawardena.<\/p>\n

A 2010 government inquiry into Sri Lanka\u2019s civil war was flawed, she added, because the government wasn\u2019t interested in implementing most of its recommendations.<\/p>\n

Pinto-Jayawardena is delivering two lectures at the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific as part of its distinguished visitors series.<\/p>\n

The first lecture,\u00a0Braving the seas: Sri Lanka\u2019s post-war troubles<\/em><\/a>, will take place from 5-6.30pm on Monday 11 November.<\/p>\n

She will deliver\u00a0Women, politics and the law in Sri Lanka<\/em>\u00a0at Seminar Room 3, Hedley Bull Centre (Building 130) from 11.30am to 12.30pm on Wednesday 13 November.<\/p>\n

Pinto-Jayawardena’s visit is supported by the Research School of Asia and the Pacific at ANU.<\/p>\n

*Story by Belinda Cranston –\u00a0The Australian National University<\/span><\/a>, Canberra<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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