Monday, 18 November 2013 00:27
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As Sri Lanka, her collective citizens and the government heave a sigh of relief over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) drawing to a close; there is a need to evaluate the returns such a massive investment has brought for the country.
Caught in the midst of road and school closures, removal of beggars and stray dogs that made the streets their home, most Colombo residents had mixed feelings about CHOGM. Such sentiments were not helped by the largely negative coverage given by the international media that used the open invitation by the Sri Lankan Government to “come and see”.
Come and see they certainly tried to do, but with very limited success for the government. Channel 4 debacles aside, other media also had a negative impression of government control in the north and east with the deep influence of the military often seen in a negative light.
Channel 4 of course was a serious disaster with protests meeting the crew at the airport, intelligence agents trailing the journalists and a massive mob literally stopping the train they were travelling to Kilinochchi literally in its tracks. Try as they might the government cannot pass off the mob under the cover of “democracy” when they blatantly stopped a protest by the relatives of people who disappeared during the war from coming to Sri Lanka. The pro-government Bodu Bala Sena attack on the United National Party (UNP) headquarters under the guise of stopping “extremist elements” did nothing to brighten Sri Lanka’s reputation and an MP who crashed press conference to scream out his views simply added to the cringe-worthy moments of CHOGM.
Clearly much of what was focused on had little to do with CHOGM with it simply being a catalyst for a more spirited debate on Sri Lanka’s human rights record. Government Ministers also did not make the best show in responding to international media with the best response being provided, rather late by Sri Lanka High Commissioner to UK Chris Nonis and Plantations Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe. Why these two together with other officials such as Ambassador Palitha Kohana, Rajiva Wijesinghe and the envoy in Geneva were not flown down to deal with the international media boggles the mind.
Sri Lanka will be the head of the Commonwealth till the end of 2014 when Malta takes over. The decision was reached on Sunday after the Mauritius Prime Minister refused to attend CHOGM citing widespread human rights violations allegedly committed by Sri Lanka. This was unprecedented and again not a PR plus point for Sri Lanka.
As the dust settles on CHOGM, one point that can get bouquets is the trade and investment dimension. For better or for worse Casino mogul James Packer’s presence at the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) had a positive impact and balanced out a discourse that was peppered with too much politics. In his wholehearted endorsement of Sri Lanka there was surely a major push for the island to get close to the $ 2 billion dollar target set for CBF. The trade and investment exhibition that saw nearly 100 foreign companies participating along with over 7000 local visitors in attendance was undoubtedly a positive. So were the discussions on the sidelines by Chinese businessmen and their local counterparts at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce. Sri Lanka also signed $ 2 billion dollars’ worth of trade deals to build hotels, a port city, apartments and even a golf course in Mattala.
British Prime Minister Cameron’s ultimatum to push for an international probe at the UN Human Rights Council in March means tough diplomatic challenges ahead that have not been lessened much by CHOGM but the economic gains will hopefully balance out a summit that has brought very mixed results.
Whilst CHOGM 2013 had many hurdles even before it started, it did conclude in Sri Lanka though many originally campaigned for a shift in the venue. Once held, the focus was on the number of Heads of Government who made it. The Rajapaksa regime however would term CHOGM 2013 as a grand success though better diplomacy could have increased the number. Going forward, Sri Lanka faces many challenges as it gives leadership to the Commonwealth. How Sri Lanka uses this challenge as an opportunity will be known when CHOGM meets again in 2015.
