Sri Lanka’s reputation hangs in the balance

Enchantment and affection will be in short supply at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo

National flags of Commonwealth member countries fluttering in the night air against the backdrop of the City Town Hall, Colombo
National flags of Commonwealth member countries fluttering in the night air against the backdrop of the City Town Hall, Colombo Credit: Photo: EPA

In his memoirs, Sir John Major praised the Commonwealth as an “enchanting institution” whose biennial summits were “by far the friendliest” that a British prime minister could attend. Sadly, enchantment and affection are likely to be in short supply when the Prince of Wales opens the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, today. Instead, this occasion will be dominated by the controversy over its location.

In retrospect, it was indefensible that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka’s authoritarian and tarnished leader, should have been given the honour of hosting the Commonwealth. Incredibly, he will also become the organisation’s formal chairman for the next two years. But before anyone condemns David Cameron for attending, they should remember that these decisions were nodded through by Gordon Brown at the Trinidad and Tobago summit in 2009. When Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, denounces the Prime Minister for refusing to boycott Sri Lanka, he is displaying the most brazen kind of opportunism.

In any case, no purpose would be served by reopening that particular question. Instead, today’s ceremony is a moment to recall the enduring value of this unique institution, which draws together 53 rich and poor countries from every continent, together comprising almost a third of humanity. These nations are bound not by a formal alliance, but a shared history, the English language and a common adherence to the values of freedom and democracy – even if, in some cases, they are paid only lip service.

On those terms, therefore, the Commonwealth can be prized as a force for good; but we should not be blind to its shortcomings in failing to enforce the very principles that underpin it, as is the case with Sri Lanka. Mr Cameron says he will make clear that President Rajapaksa’s behaviour has violated the Commonwealth’s most cherished ideals: no one has been held accountable for atrocities allegedly committed by Sri Lanka’s army in the final stages of the civil war in 2009; and the whereabouts of 5,676 critics of the regime, dissident politicians and journalists are unknown.

The Prime Minister is right to demand an independent inquiry into these cases, and Mr Rajapaksa should be aware that his country’s reputation will never recover until the fate of the disappeared is settled. In the same way, evidence of atrocities committed by Tamil rebels during the civil war should also be investigated. If progress is made, then some good might yet come of the summit. But with the Sri Lankans already fulminating against what they see as the old imperial power “treating us like a colony”, then this summit promises to be far from enchanting.