Speaking to the UK's Channel 4 News, two former foreign secretaries - the Conversative Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Labour's David Miliband, condemned the idea of Sri Lanka hosting CHOGM later this year.
Rifkind said:
"Frankly against that background to have the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at this moment in time in Sri Lanka - I don't want to exaggerate but it would be rather like during the height of the Apartheid controversy when South Africa was still a member of the Commonwealth - having a Head of Government Meeting in Pretoria"
Miliband said:
"I think it would be grotesque for the Queen to open a meeting with words about democratic values and mutual respect in a country that stands.. whose government stands accused of the most serious crimes. Crimes against humanity. Tens of thousands of people dead at the end of the civil war and of course a major crack down still under way with the impeachment of the Chief Justice"
Geoffrey Robertson QC:
"It would be obscene if the Queen as leader of the Commonwealth went to shake hands with President Rajapaksa and his family who in various ministries, because that would be to send a signal that you can sack judges whenever they make a politically inconvenient decision, and it would send a signal of a royal seal of approval, its exactly the propraganda coup that these people want.
