NZ Herald Nov 11, 2013
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will skip this week’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, as pressure grows for a boycott of the event over alleged war crimes by Colombo.
Singh sent a letter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday telling him of his decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which has become mired in controversy over demands for Colombo to address the allegations.
The prime minister was “unable to attend personally” the 53-nation summit which Sri Lanka is hosting from November 15-17, foreign ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said on Sunday.
Singh’s move is seen as bowing to pressure from India’s own large population of ethnic Tamils to stay away in protest at the alleged massacre of Tamil civilians by Sri Lankan forces in the final months of the Tamil separatist war in 2009.
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