Force Sri Lanka to end rights abuses: Amnesty

Diplomats from Commonwealth countries meeting here Thursday must push Sri Lanka to end its crackdown on human rights defenders, Amnesty International said.

The Commonwealth Committee of the Whole is meeting Oct 17-18 to prepare for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo in November.

"Commonwealth countries must agree new measures to address the continuing human rights crisis in Sri Lanka and especially to monitor and condemn any civil society repression around CHOGM," said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International's Deputy Asia-Pacific Programme Director.

"Sri Lanka has a disturbing record of repressing civil society activism. Its officials have intimidated, threatened and even attacked human rights defenders around previous international events.

"We are extremely worried about the safety of such activists around the summit in Colombo in November," he said.

In August, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay after a visit to Sri Lanka noted the country's worrying "authoritarian turn".

She pointed out that surveillance and harassment of human rights defenders, journalists and many ordinary citizens appeared to be getting worse.

After CHOGM, Sri Lanka is expected to be handed the chairmanship of the Commonwealth for the next two years.

"Given the persistence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka, it would be ludicrous to reward the country with the Commonwealth's chair," Truscott said.

"It's crucial that CHOGM does not lead to Sri Lanka being handed any Commonwealth role with responsibility for the protection and promotion of human rights," he said.