President skips Commonwealth Games

Wednesday, 23 July 2014 00:37 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will skip the Commonwealth Games starting this week in Glasgow despite being chair of the bloc, his office said Tuesday, after activists threatened to protest at his attendance, the AFP news agency reported yesterday. President Rajapaksa’s Spokesperson denied he had decided to stay away because of the threat of demonstrations over Colombo’s alleged human rights abuses. “No such visit was scheduled,” Mohan Samaranayake told AFP. President Rajapaksa is the current chair of the 53-member bloc of mostly former British colonies and last November hosted a summit of Commonwealth leaders that was overshadowed by the allegations. Anti-Government websites based outside the country have said Sri Lankans in Europe were planning to stage street protests against Rajapaksa if he attended Wednesday’s opening ceremony in the Scottish city. President Rajapaksa was embarrassed in 2010 when an Oxford University debating team cancelled his address at the last minute due to demonstrations by ethnic Tamils who accuse the Sri Lankan leader of war crimes. Rajapaksa’s military crushed rebels fighting for a separate homeland for ethnic minority Tamils in 2009 following a decades-long war. Sri Lanka has faced international censure over allegations that troops killed up to 40,000 civilians in the final stages of the conflict, a charge Rajapaksa denies. Canada has suspended its funding to the Commonwealth for the two years that Rajapaksa is rotating chair of the bloc. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in November was marred by boycotts by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper over the alleged abuses, while the leaders of India and Mauritius also stayed away. Sri Lanka has sent a team of athletes to the Games. (Bangkok Post)

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.