Matter had already been settled two years ago:
Next CHOGM venue already decided - Indian Foreign Secretary
Indian Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said there can be no issue
with regard to the venue of the next Commonwealth Heads of Government
meeting, which is Sri Lanka, since this matter had already been settled
two years ago and the subject is closed.
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Ranjan
Mathai |
Answering a journalist at a media briefing on the CHOGM, the Indian
Foreign Secretary said “first of all on Sri Lanka, the decision was
taken in 2009 for the next two CHOGM summits.”
“I think the matter has been decided already and it is not a subject
which needs to be reopened.”
The journalist asked that “there had been a push in Australia and
also from the Canadian Prime Minister to have the Sri Lankan proposed
hosting of the CHOGM in 2013 postponed until there had been some
progress on human rights and accountability.”
To another question that India might not support the creation of a
Human Rights and Rule of Law monitor as suggested in the Eminent Persons
Group Report that is likely to be submitted during the CHOGM, Manthai
inter alia said that the real focus of the Commonwealth should be once
again on the development challenges which are uppermost in the minds of
the vast majority of the members.
“So while we support the important values of democracy, rule of law
and human rights, we believe the commonwealth should focus on
strengthening the existing institutions rather than trying to create new
ones.” |