{"id":2293,"date":"2013-11-18T11:19:41","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T08:19:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/?p=2293"},"modified":"2022-10-02T19:53:35","modified_gmt":"2022-10-02T16:53:35","slug":"cwealth-puts-on-united-front-after-summit-rifts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/cwealth-puts-on-united-front-after-summit-rifts\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u2019wealth puts on united front after summit rifts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Malta to host next CHOGM summit: Sharma<\/span><\/p>\n

COLOMBO \u2014 Commonwealth leaders agreed on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Following a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced that a communique had been agreed by the Commonwealth\u2019s 53 member nations after a summit which he said had been characterized by \u201cfruitful discussions\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

But he was again forced on the defensive and warned his critics against pushing him \u201cinto a corner\u201d by setting an ultimatum to address war crimes allegations by next March.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am happy with the outcome we have reached at this CHOGM,\u201d said Rajapakse, who has spent much of the summit having to fend off allegations that his government\u2019s troops killed as many as 40,000 civilians at the end of the country\u2019s 37-year conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n

Outlining the agreements inked by Commonwealth leaders, he said there had been widespread agreement on a series of issues — particularly on ensuring that economic growth does not come at the expense of equality.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAchieving growth with equity and inclusive development must be one of the priorities of the Commonwealth,\u201d said the Sri Lankan president. \u201cIssues covered in the communique include development, political values, global threats, challenges and Commonwealth cooperation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While only 27 heads of government attended this year\u2019s meeting<\/strong>, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the summit had helped strengthen the organization of mainly English-speaking former British colonies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI sense there is a reaffirmation of the spirit and ideals of the Commonwealth … the core values of the Commonwealth, namely democracy, the rule of law and human rights,\u201d Najib told reporters.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Malaysian prime minister said there was a general recognition among leaders of \u201cthe fact that we are different but should not be divided\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a reaffirmation of the spirit and willingness of wanting to stay together as a unique collection of nations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The summit was dealt several body blows before it began, with the leaders of Canada, India and Mauritius deciding to stay away to protest at Colombo\u2019s rights record.<\/span><\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Prime Minister David Cameron then stole the limelight on the opening day with a visit to the war-torn Jaffna region, where he met survivors of a conflict that killed more than 100,000 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who was handing over the chairmanship of the Commonwealth to Sri Lanka, acknowledged \u201cmore needed to be done\u201d to address concerns about its rights record but said he wanted to be \u201cgood mates\u201d with Colombo.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the United Nations and rights groups, as many as 40,000 civilians may have died as troops loyal to the mainly Sinhalese government routed the Tamil Tiger rebel movement in its last stronghold in Jaffna in 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka has refused to allow foreign investigators onto its soil, but Cameron warned Rajapakse he would lead a push for an international probe through UN bodies unless an internal inquiry produces credible results by March.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLet me be very clear, if an investigation is not completed by March, then I will use our position on the UN Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commission and call for a full, credible and independent international inquiry,\u201d said Cameron on Saturday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rights groups including Amnesty International urged leaders Sunday not to ease pressure on Colombo over an investigation after they leave the summit. But Rajapakse reiterated on Sunday that Sri Lanka would not bow to pressure and would complete its own inquiries in its own time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not something you can do overnight. You must also respect our own views without trying to push us into a corner, so please be fair,\u201d he said.<\/span>
\n \u201cWe have suffered for 30 years, that\u2019s why they (the people of Sri Lanka) want a new life. That\u2019s why people elected me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The largely pro-government press in Sri Lanka acknowledged that debate about Colombo\u2019s rights record had soured the summit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ceylon Today said Cameron\u2019s push for UN action had ensured \u201cthe festive mood at the Commonwealth parley turned sour\u201d, bemoaning how \u201cmedia obsession over the host country\u2019s human rights record had overshadowed the official business\u201d.<\/span>
\n Mauritius had been due to host the next summit in 2015 but it withdrew in protest against Sri Lanka\u2019s rights record.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malta will now step in as hosts, the organization\u2019s top official Kamalesh Sharma announced.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their communique, countries agreed to push world bodies to adopt a Commonwealth report on new ways for small and vulnerable countries to access funds to fight climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report suggests small countries with high debt, including some in the Caribbean, use climate change funds that wealthier nations have already pledged to instead pay off national debt.<\/span><\/p>\n

Smaller countries, in return, pledge to use their own funds to tackle rising sea levels and other climate concerns over a longer time frame. \u2014 AFP<\/span><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.saudigazette.com.sa\/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20131118186980<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Malta to host next CHOGM summit: Sharma COLOMBO \u2014 Commonwealth leaders agreed on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2293"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7062,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293\/revisions\/7062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}