Step into my parlour

President Rajapaksas benevolent smiles and warm hospitality as he welcomes world leaders to his showpiece summit may mask the grimmer realities facing the people living in the shadow of the new Chair of the Commonwealth

Days ahead of being crowned king of the Commonwealth of Nations, President ahinda Rajapaksa is a jubilant mood!

"he #ri $ankan %ead of #tate is often pictured beaming with pride at various precursor events leading up to the main Commonwealth %eads of &overnment morning! %is good spirits are such that not even the spontaneous meeting with the controversial Channel ' news team that obtained accreditation and arrived in #ri $anka to cover the summit could mar the mood! #ummoning up his customary charm, an affable President Rajapaksa sauntered up to the (ritish broadcasters )oreign *ffairs Correspondent +onathan iller and shook his hand, shortly before dismissing concerns over mounting allegations eeting that will get underway at his namesake theatre tomorrow

of rights abuses by his &overnment and inviting the crew for tea! *s incoming chair of the Commonwealth and host of the organisations largest meeting held biennially, President Rajapaksa has a great deal to smile about! *ll smiles $isping children in spotless white lama sari stand up before international dignitaries and speak hopefully about their future under his watch! Presenters hail him as the ,)ather of the Nation! "amil and #inhalese dances are fused artistically on stages to symbolise ethnic harmony in the ,new #ri $anka! %is capital is gleaming from its recent makeover! -ts .uaint colonial architecture has been dusted off and restored to herald the arrival of the heir/apparent of the former (ritish 0mpire! 1n roadsides that will be fre.uented by 22-P motorcades in the ne3t three days, larger/than/life images of the President and his siblings smile benevolently in welcome of delegates for a historic summit that will seek to reinforce Commonwealth values of democracy, human rights and good governance when world leaders gather here

tomorrow! President Rajapaksas own speeches at various opening ceremonies have been filled with commitments to human rights, democracy, press freedom and development with social justice! "hose bu44 words are ironic, because the gathering takes place in the long shadow of certain events and legacies that the lights at the Nelum Pokuna ahinda Rajapaksa theatre will not entirely blot out! Poor media relations "he Rajapaksa administration started C%1& week off on the wrong foot after attempting to detain and deport two P $ee

Parliamentarians from *ustralia and New 5ealand for violating the countrys immigration laws! &reen Party

Rhiannon from *ustralia and +an $ogie from New 5ealand arrived in #ri $anka on tourist visas, immigration officials say, to conduct a fact/finding tour in the North and hold a press briefing, in violation of the countrys immigration laws! "heir detention has created a hailstorm of controversy in *ustralia, where Prime inister +ulie (ishop were preparing to arrive in Colombo for C%1& ! )or the second time in two weeks, an *ustralian national had been detained by #ri $ankan immigration authorities! "wo representatives of the -nternational )ederation of +ournalists, *ustralian nationals, had been detained for interrogation the previous week, also for allegedly violating visa regulations! *ustralian )oreign been compelled to raise the issue of the detained media activists with 03ternal *ffairs inister (ishop had inister "ony *bbott and )oreign

inister &!$! Peiris in order

to have them released! *ustralia has been #ri $ankas most strident supporter in the past year or so, both within the Commonwealth and outside! Realising the value of the Rajapaksa *dministrations support to curb the flow of illegal immigrants to its shores, Canberra has actively chosen to gloss over the countrys rights record and make a strong case for C%1& in #ri

$anka! New 5ealand has shown e.ual solidarity! "he countrys Premier was the first %ead of &overnment to confirm participation at the November summit in Colombo! -n one fell swoop with $ogies detention on #unday, Colombo had managed to embarrass the &overnments in both Canberra and 6ellington, for continuing their association with Colombo which was 7harassing8 its own national (aiting *ustralia )our days after the unfortunate incident, therefore, the &overnment is still doing damage control! -ssuing a media release yesterday, the &overnment is now claiming -mmigration authorities never detained Rhiannon and $ogie, but only 7apprised8 them of their visa conditions at the "N* office in (ambalapitiya! (y blowing the issue out of proportion, the &overnment had successfully turned a rather nondescript visit by little known diplomatic incident! ost of what has transpired since, as the countdown to the summit of world leaders winds down, amounts to similar attempts by the ruling administration to shoot itself in the foot! -n the full glare of the worlds media that has descended on Colombo to cover the summit, #ri $anka is cracking down hard on anti/&overnment demonstrations, journalists and rights activists in befuddling ways! (ritains Channel ' network and the #amagi %uman Rights )estival have faced the brunt of the assault! Ps into a full/blown Ps!

Demonstrations greeted Channel ' teams at the (andaranaike -nternational *irport and the %ilton Colombo Residencies where the team is staying during its visit! "he book ,Corrupted +ournalism published by 0ngage #ri $anka mysteriously slipped into the media packs of foreign reporters travelling from overseas for C%1& coverage! "he publication was an attempt to deconstruct Channel ' documentaries that have repeatedly alleged the #ri $ankan #tate committed major rights abuses in the final phase of the war with the $""0! Commonwealth #pokesman Richard 9ku has promised to e3amine how the book came to be inserted into the official C%1& media packs! (ut media relations with the host nation of a major international summit were already off to a bad start! -n the week of C%1& deepened! so far, the mistrust between the foreign press and the #ri $ankan &overnment has only

Private airlines grounded

"errified of stories that could emerge if foreign media crews descend on the Northern Province, circulars were sent out to private domestic airlines from the Civil *viation *uthority, ordering the suspension of all flights to +affna from ::/:; November <=:>! *ircraft could be chartered but only subject to Defence inistry clearance! 6hen a private

airline operator happened to inform President Rajapaksa of the development, aides say he was indignant about the move! 7-f we ground the flights, theyll walk there if they have to ? theyre journalists ? dont these people understand that@8 the President is reported to have remarked! #ince then the #ri $anka *ir )orce operator %elitours is permitting bookings, but it is not clear if the flights will take off! 1ver the weekend, (ritains -"2 crew found their flight to +affna grounded ,due to bad weather! "he crew finally travelled to the Northern Province by road and spent three hours at the 1manthai Check Point before they were permitted to pass! #tory of the disappeared Aet, of all these onslaughts upon fundamental freedoms, the most poignant tragedy to unfold '; hours before world leaders converge on the nations capital is the story of bus/loads of "amil families stopped from entering Colombo to raise awareness about missing loved ones! #ri $ankas B,=== plus disappeared, the second largest number in the world only after -ra., is one of the most heart/ wrenching parts of the countrys post/war narrative! $ast morning, several bus/loads of families of the disappeared were stopped by the military in edawachchiya and adhu and prevented from proceeding to Colombo where they

were to participate in the %uman Rights )estival! "he same thing happened in arch this year, bus/loads of the same families had been turned back by the military

when they attempted to travel to the 9N %ead.uarters to hand over a petition on the disappeared to officials there! Aesterday, frustrated in their efforts to reach Colombo to attend the festival, the civilians sat on the roadside near the adhu Church and in 2avuniya and staged brief demonstrations before Police dispersed the crowds!

$aw enforcement crackdowns on pro/establishment demonstrations are far less emphatic! Police were no match for the crowds that flooded the railway track at *nuradhapura when pro/&overnment demonstrators laid siege to the train carrying Channel ' journalists to the former rebel capital of Cilinochchi last morning! "he siege continued for hours after which Police insisted they could not guarantee the security of the foreign journalists and escorted them by car back to Colombo! "he incident was tweeted widely and ended in an irate (ritish )oreign #ecretary 6illiam %ague taking the issue up with inister Peiris, almost soon after he arrived in Colombo yesterday!

Ranil under fire

eanwhile, the only kind of demonstrators able to mobilise and assemble in the heavily/garrisoned capital of Colombo had now converged on the %uman Rights )estival taking place at the 9NP %ead.uarters of #irikotha! %undreds of male protestors holding posters decrying the event as being pro/$""0 mobbed the front and side gates of #irikotha, making it difficult for politicians, activists and civilians to enter! 6hen 1pposition $eader Ranil 6ickremesinghes vehicle neared the gates, demonstrators mobbed his vehicle and pelted it with stones! 9NP politicos claim vehicles attached to various &overnment ministries had transported the demonstrators to Pita Cotte! *s countless dramas unfold on the streets, C%1& side events continue to be filled with platitudes about inister of #ri $anka and the #ecretary

inclusivity and fostering Commonwealth values! "he 03ternal *ffairs

&eneral of the Commonwealth jointly co/hosted press briefings and insisted participation at this years summit in Colombo was robust, despite the calls for a boycott! 76e rejoice in our friends and in the confidence, they have placed in us and in the Commonwealth under our leadership,8 inister Peiris gushed at the (riefing Room of the C%1& edia Centre on "uesday evening! %is

views were fully endorsed by the #ecretary &eneral, who vowed #ri $anka would register progress on human rights protection in a tangible way going forward! 0leventh hour dropouts

"he events that unfolded hours after this e3pression of confidence never stood up to the claim! (ut the 1ffice of the #ecretary &eneral and the Conference #pokesman have remained tight/lipped about the conduct of their host, who has found it difficult to contain its rogue elements even in the very week of the controversial summit! Not everyone is as reticent! 1n "uesday D:<E, the Prime boycott of C%1& inister of auritius Dr! Navinchandra Ramgoolam announced an eleventh/hour

in Colombo, even though his country is the Commonwealths ne3t summit host! "hat the %ead host would absent himself from the summit on grounds of principle is auritius

of &overnment of the incoming C%1&

unprecedented! Dr! Ramgoolam alluded to the revolutionary spirit of his decision in a long speech to the National *ssembly on "uesday! 7 r! #harma, the Commonwealth #ecretary &eneral, had told me, ,if

auritius wants to host the #ummit, you have

to be present! "here is a passation of the whole system, that it would be unprecedented! - said - would watch very carefully and - would take a final decision,8 the auritian Premier told the Parliament!

"he candid statement outlining his reasons for the boycott reflects poorly on the #ecretary &eneral who appears to have soft/peddled #ri $anka related issues when other Commonwealth embers were pushing for stronger action!

#harmas inability to retain an objective distance from the international political machinations of the regime in Colombo has eroded confidence in his 1ffice, with member states now openly .uestioning his actions! "he auritian Prime inister e3plains to his National *ssembly that #ri $ankas hosting of C%1& was deferred

from <=:: to <=:> to give the country enough time to work on post/war reconciliation and a political solution for the "amil minority! -n the months running up to the summit in Colombo this year, Dr! Ramgoolam e3plains that auritius

repeatedly raised the issue of whether #ri $anka was doing enough to address all these concerns! Part of that transcript followsF 7- met the Commonwealth #ecretary &eneral on purpose because - wanted to know, what is the progress that is being achieved@ Can we justify@ *nd we had this meeting with r! Camalesh #harma in +une this year, - made it

clear that we intend to monitor the evolution of the human rights situation in #ri $anka and then take the appropriate action if we think we should take! %e made it clear to me that things are being doneG -n no uncertain terms e3pressed my grave concerns about human rights violations in #ri $anka! "he Commonwealth #ecretary &eneral told me that they are putting pressure for them to have the elections in the north of #ri $ankaG - have tried to get from different .uarters is that the #ri $ankan &overnment is not doing enough!8 auritius is not alone! Canada and -ndia are also in its corner, one e3plicitly so, the other more discreetly! (ut in the past several days, many delegations of Commonwealth ember states have downgraded their attendance, y information that

although the reasons for the downgrade have varied, according to Commonwealth #ecretariat sources! Aesterday, the Prime inister of "rinidad and "obago announced she was skipping the summit! #ome of the

eleventh/hour disappointments are *frican member states of the Commonwealth that the &overnment has been pushing hard to cultivate and build relations with as it takes arms against the 6estern lobby pushing for accountability for alleged crimes committed in the last stages of the war and a political settlement with the "amils! issed opportunities

-n its haste to control the message leaving the C%1&

reporting ground, the &overnment has done nothing to help

its cause! 0very story leaving #ri $ankas shores to be aired globally is unflattering in the e3treme for the regime! "he tragedy is that C%1& was the Rajapaksa regimes great window of opportunity to put its house in order ? not

superficially with pinwheels and pretty pavements, but in a credible way that would help its case internationally going forward to arch in &eneva, where a damning indictment on its rights record is e3pected from 9N %uman

Rights Chief Navi Pillay! -n a nuanced, tongue/in/cheek open letter to #ecretary &eneral Camalesh #harma, 9NP P angala

#amaraweera berates the high official for what he calls an ,unholy alliance with the ruling regime in Colombo! 7wish you a pleasant stay in our beautiful and tortured island,8 #amaraweera concludes his letter, calling on the Commonwealth to force #ri $anka to uphold the values enshrined in the new Commonwealth Charter! "he letter is #amaraweeras last salvo, after months of waging war against C%1& in #ri $anka on account of the Rajapaksa

*dministrations consistent flouting of Commonwealth values and principles! *s Commonwealth %eads of &overnment start arriving in the city over the ne3t two days, gracious hospitality, warm welcomes and twinkling lights of the Chinese/built, lotus/shaped auditorium may compensate for some of which has been found wanting in their host in this past controversial year! "ogether with President ahinda Rajapaksa,

chair in office of the Commonwealth as of this weekend, they will pledge to uphold core values common to the organisations membership, values that define the grouping as committed democracies that uphold the liberties and rights of their citi4enries! 1thers are also joined together this C%1& #ri $anka! week, in the ,beautiful and tortured island of

aligned rights activists and defenders, oppressed and marginalised communities of the north and

south, harassed local and foreign journalists will be united in their collective grim reality and the hushed whispers constantly ringing in their ears of a democracy in decline!