Call on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib to do what is right and announce in Parliament tomorrow that he will boycott the CHOGM meeting.



Media Statement by M Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at Parliament House, Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, November 13, 2013


Call on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib to do what is right and announce in Parliament tomorrow that he will boycott the CHOGM meeting.

Yesterday, BBC news reported that Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam became the third leader to announce a boycott of this week’s CHOGM summit in Colombo over Sri Lanka's human rights record. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper are also staying away.

I welcome the announcement by the Mauritian Prime Minister as this is certainly a right step to take as a humanitarian protest against the Sri Lanka government. 

The DAP Central Executive Committee has on October 23, 2013 decided that DAP would call for the boycott of the CHOGM summit scheduled to take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng has in a recent statement announced the Party’s decision and stated the following:- 

DAP regards CHOGM as an important forum to articulate and highlight a wide range issues such as human rights, democracy, justice, and governance. DAP has supported CHOGM’s earlier initiatives to oppose the apartheid regime in South Africa and military interventions in Fiji and Pakistan. DAP has consistently opposed regimes that violate human rights and place constraints on democracy.

In this respect, DAP thinks that holding of CHOGM in Colombo is not an appropriate thing to do. To date, the Sri Lanka government has not taken any initiative to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes against innocent Tamils during the civil war in 2009. Beyond the killings, hundreds and thousands of Tamils who disappeared during the civil war have not been accounted for by the government. Those responsible for the rapes against Tamil women and girls have not been brought to justice

Hence, Malaysia and the international community must send a clear message to the recalcitrant Sri Lanka government by boycotting the CHOGM meeting.  I call on the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib to do what is right and announce in Parliament tomorrow that he will boycott the meeting. 

It is disappointing that MIC President Palanivel has announced that he will raise the issue over Prime Minister Najib’s attendance in CHOGM at coming Friday Cabinet meeting.

I wonder if Palanivel is aware that CHOGM meeting will be held from November 15 to 17?

Is it not too late for him to wait till coming Friday to raise the issue? Why can’t he make an urgent appointment to see the Prime Minister?

Can Palanivel also explain why MIC central leadership has not discussed and taken a stand on this important issue? 


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