WSO Lauds PM Harper’s Boycott of Commonwealth Summit In Sri Lanka

OTTAWA – The WorldSikh Organization of Canada(WSO) commends Prime MinisterStephen Harper for decidingto forego his attendance atthe upcoming CommonwealthHeads of Government Meetingin the Sri Lankan capital ofColombo due to deterioratinghuman rights conditions in thecountry.Citing Sri Lanka’s lack of accountabilityfor serious humanright abuses as well as reports ofextrajudicial killings, harassmentof minorities and intimidationof members of civil societyPrime Minister Harper said thathe would not attend the summitas Sri Lanka was not upholdingthe values of the Commonwealthwhich are also cherishedby Canadians.At the last Commonwealthsummit in 2011, Prime MinisterHarper had suggested he wouldnot attend the Commonwealthsummit to be held in Sri Lanka,unless the state addressedits serious human rights issuesincluding allegations of warcrimes and continuing abuse ofthe country’s Tamil minority.WSO President Prem SinghVinning said, “Prime MinisterHarper has taken the boldstep of boycotting a notoriousviolator of human rights. Hehad indicated this might happentwo years ago and Sri Lankatook no steps to improve itshuman rights record. This stepsends a message to other stateswho consistently violate humanrights that there will be consequencesfor their actions andCanada will not turn a blindeye.”WSO’s Senior Policy AdvisorGian Singh Sandhu said,“Canada has always been a humanrights leader and we arepleased to see Prime MinisterHarper continuing in that tradition.Canada must continue topress states who violate humanrights for accountability.”The World Sikh Organizationof Canada (WSO) is anon-profit organization with amandate to promote and protectthe interests of CanadianSikhs as well as to promote andadvocate for the protection ofhuman rights for all individuals,irrespective of race, religion,gender, ethnicity, and social andeconomic status.