Boycott-hit Commonwealth summit begins in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Nov 15 – A Commonwealth summit meant to showcase post-war Sri Lanka was to begin in Colombo on Friday but faced being upstaged by an historic visit to its northern killing fields by Britain’s David Cameron.

More than four years after the end of one of Asia’s bloodiest ethnic conflicts, President Mahinda Rajapakse will host dozens of leaders from every continent.

The biggest such event in Sri Lanka since the 1976 Non-Aligned Movement summit was meant to have been a chance for the Sinhalese nationalist leader to showcase the development of his country since government troops crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009.

Since the war, the economy has enjoyed growth rates of up to 8.2 percent and more than one million tourists visited Sri Lanka last year – a new record.

But after refusing to bow to demands for an independent investigation into the end of the conflict, Rajapakse is now confronted by a public relations disaster.By AGENCE  FRANCE  PRESSE