Canada should not boycott the upcoming Commonwealth meetings in Sri Lanka, former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney said Sunday.
“If
you were going to boycott the Commonwealth because of illustrations of
improper government or abusive treatment of people within some of the
member countries, some days you wouldn’t have too many people around
that Commonwealth table for tea,” Mulroney said during an appearance on
CTV’s Question Period.
“There’s a lot of developing countries in there, countries with
problems, and the best thing I think that we can do is be there at the
table and illustrate, by our presence, the value of what we’ve learned
as a country over 146 years and how we conduct ourselves with our
democracy and with our generosity to friends internationally.”
Mulroney said the 53-nation Commonwealth is a powerful group and
Canada should work within it to make a statement. For example, Mulroney
pointed to the accomplishments of prime minister John Diefenbaker who,
at the 1961 Commonwealth leaders’ meeting, denounced South Africa’s
apartheid policy and joined forces with Asian and African government
leaders to push through a resolution making racial equality a condition
of Commonwealth membership. South Africa subsequently withdrew from the
Commonwealth and was not re-admitted until its apartheid regime ended in
the 1990s.
“Working within the Commonwealth, we were able to score more heavily than by sitting outside,” Mulroney said.
Prime
Minister Stephen Harper announced earlier this month that he would
boycott November’s Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka
because of the country’s failure to investigate war crime allegations
and human rights abuses during and after its civil war, which came to a
bloody end in 2009.
“Canada believes that if the Commonwealth is to remain relevant it
must stand in defence of the basic principles of freedom, democracy and
respect for human dignity, which are the very foundation upon which the
Commonwealth was built,” Harper said in a statement. “It is clear that
the Sri Lankan government has failed to uphold the Commonwealth’s core
values, which are cherished by Canadians.”
He also said Canada would review its financial contributions to Commonwealth programs.
Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, will attend the meetings in Harper’s absence.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sridas <srisridas@rogers.com>
Date: 21 October 2013 12:28
Subject: Re: Brian Mulroney speaks out against boycotting Commonwealth meeting?/
To: Sandy Vadi <sandyvadi@gmail.com>
The
Commonwealth is just about being able to have tea around a table ?
The
Commonwealth, as per Mulroney should exist just that representatives of member
countries could sip tea around a table! Yes, that is exactly what the
Commonwealth has been reduced to, judging from the manner the host country, Sri
Lanka, is sought to be sanitized while the regime is holding sway with
transgressions including gross human rights violations and even Genocide.
What John
Diefenbaker achieved in 1961, attending the Commonwealth Head’s meeting at a
time almost all civilized Nations were castigating the Apartheid regime,
reciprocating the treatment it was dispensing to the black population, is totally
different in context. Diefenbaker’s
contribution has to be reckoned as the last straw to break the camel’s
back. The scenario is not the same in
2013 with the Heads of so many countries anxious to have tea with a war
criminal, glossing over matters that should be of great concern to the
participants paying lip service to the so called commonwealth values they
profess to cherish. At the time economical
and geopolitical factors takes centre stage, to the chagrin of the adversaries
crying for international remedial attention, the would be Head of the
Commonwealth, Mahinda Rajapakse is to be
the sole beneficiary.
Canada seeks to make a statement by boycotting
the event and the very fact that there are others constrained to criticize
Canada’s stand is validation of the rationale underlying the boycott. This
approach with the moral compass will naturally be inconvenient for those
prepared to throw it away just to sip tea around the criminal’s blood stained
table, reminiscent of the proverbial
monkey that lost its tail appealing to others of the kind to lose
theirs.
Canada’s
principled stand is certainly backed by the entire Tamil Diaspora hoping for incremental progress culminating in
dragging the Genocidal criminals to the international courts .
In the mean-
time it would be very interesting to see events unfolding in Colombo next month
as we shall all be privy to the parts played by the Heads of Countries like
Great Britain and Australia having articulated vehemently in support of raising
the index issues with the host from within in contrast to that of the Canadian Prime Minister choosing
to do from without.
Magnificently
conversant with the modus operandi of the Rajapakses we can rest assured that
the visiting Heads will be treated to more than a cup of tea while also some
like Cameron would be taken down A9 to
Jaffna to see first- hand the special brand of “development”, their corner stone showcasing
‘reconciliation’ efforts.
Of course, there will be strict instructions
to the high level tour guides that potential requests to be taken inland beyond
a one or two mile corridor skirting A9, has to be vehemently and perhaps politely
ignored and the guests, in deference to the degree of hospitality otherwise
extended, shall not make a hum about the ‘slight’ on their return
to their own perches.
Sivasambo Sridas
605-3151 Bridletowne Circle
Scarborough, Ontario
M1W 2T1
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