Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown Friday vowed to block Sri Lanka's bid to host the next Commonwealth meetings, citing its alleged human rights abuses in suppressing the Tamil rebellion. Brown signalled his opposition to what had been believed to be a foregone conclusion as he arrived in the capital of Trinidad and Tobago for the summit of Commonwealth leaders held every two years.
According to the United Nations, at least 7,000 civilians were killed and more than 13,000 injured as Sri Lankan government troops moved in for the final blow to the Tamil rebel movement in May. As many as 280,000 people were displaced by the war, and nearly 250,000 are still in refugee camps in the northern zone.
Sri Lanka has been under international pressure to probe reports of human rights violations during the final phase of the war. The government has repeatedly denied that any abuses occurred. "The Prime Minister has real concerns about Sri Lanka's bid," a Downing Street source said. "We simply cannot be in a position where Sri Lanka - whose actions earlier this year had a huge impact on civilians, leading to thousands of displaced people without proper humanitarian access - is seen to be rewarded for its actions."
The choice of venue for the 2011 meeting is one of the key decisions of the two-day meeting of heads of state from the Commonwealth organisation that started Friday. The group is celebrating its 60th anniversary this weekend, with Queen Elizabeth II in attendance. Sri Lanka applied to be host at the 2007 meeting, and was thought to be the most likely candidate until Brown's remarks. It was not clear what the backup venues are.