The Aussie equation

AUSTRALIA joined its voice to Britain and several other countries that have urged for Sri Lanka to brush up its democratic and reconciliation credentials ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in November.  

 Australian Immigration and Citizenship Minister Brendan O’Connor speaking to media during a three-day visit to Colombo remarked that he had stressed on the importance of the Government moving ahead with implementing the LLRC recommendations in a way that shows tangible results ahead of CHOGM during meetings with senior officials including External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris.

With international challenges mounting over Colombo’s human rights record and the recent impeachment of the Chief Justice, Sri Lanka’s crucial role as host of the CHOGM and CHOGM Chair for the next two years has been in focus. The Government has engaged in extensive diplomatic lobbying to ensure Sri Lanka stays officially off the CMAG agenda, but some CMAG members were keen to raise the issue.

Canada remarked it is “appalled” that Sri Lanka has been chosen to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November, its Foreign Minister had told BBC after the meeting. John Baird said Sri Lanka had failed in the fundamental Commonwealth values of “freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law and good governance”.

South India, ever the thorn on the side of the Sri Lankan Government, made a heated last minute appeal to other members of CMAG to bring pressure on the island and throw a shadow over Sri Lanka’s chairmanship, but the move proved unsuccessful. However, it is unlikely that the poor showing at CMAG will deter these parties putting more onus on the Sri Lankan Government to make significant progress on reconciliation and human rights issues on the ground. Key in this endeavour is implementing the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) recommendations that were also highlighted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the US.

Following the meeting, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma confirmed that his organising would assist Sri Lanka in practical ways through his Good Offices engagement. This includes the provision of technical support to enhance the independence of the Human Rights Commission and the Electoral Commission, including internationally accepted standards for appointing and removing judges.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr also echoed this sentiment, insisting that a boycott would be counter-productive as it would simply isolate Sri Lanka and render it defiant of international opinion.

Even though Australia has so far voiced support for Sri Lanka, largely due to its own interests on the boat people issue, it needs to be seen as pushing Colombo towards a progressive direction or risk alienating its key Western allies including the US. The Gillard Government has to tread a tricky balance between protecting its interests against remaining true to Commonwealth principles. It would not augur well for Sri Lanka to push Australia beyond the tipping point.

So far, the Sri Lankan Government has certainly proven that it can be defiant, but now the world will be looking for tangible evidence that it will not rest on its laurels and will take up the opportunity provided by the Commonwealth to achieve sustainable peace within the country and thus prove to the world the validity of its standpoint.