Canada’s CHOGM rep on fact-finding tour of north

Wednesday, 13 November 2013 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s representative to attend the CHOGM 2013 in Colombo, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Deepak Obhrai is on a fact-finding mission to Jaffna ahead of the summit.

Obhrai visited the Uthayan newspaper offices in Jaffna and tweeted that he was “horrified” by what he had heard there. The Uthayan newspaper and its editorial staff have been attacked reportedly for its reportage from the north. Obhrai noted the bullet holes in walls of the newspaper offices during his visit there, he said. At Elephant Pass the Canadian official also laid a wreath of flowers to commemorate victims of the conflict. “At Elephant Pass, in memory of all Sri Lankans who fell victim to violence,” Obhrai said, tweeting a picture from the site. He also held discussions with the Bishop of Jaffna Rev. Thomas Soundaranayagam, saying he was “a voice of reason” in the north. Obhrai also had talks with Northern Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran during his fact finding mission. The Canadian official’s flight to Jaffna was cancelled and he said he had been compelled to travel eight hours by road to the northern capital. On Sunday Britain’s ITV crew also found their flight cancelled due to bad weather. (DB)