Britain has cut funding to the Commonwealth over concerns about its performance and leadership, reported The Telegraph.

A former senior official said that Whitehall has imposed cuts of £3million over two years from its grant to the troubled organisation, which is facing increased criticism over the venue of its forthcoming summit in Sri Lanka. Britain is the largest contributor to the Commonwealth, giving £16million a year for the organisation’s activities.

A recently released affidavit from a Tamil man who was deported from Canada to Sri Lanka, reveals he faced brutal torture for almost a year, whilst being held in detention by Sri Lanka.

Sathyapavan "Sathi" Aseervatham claimed he was held without charge for almost a year and faced regular torture after being deported from Canada in July 2011.

The affidavit was released by his lawyer, Gabriel Chand after Aseervatham passed away in a car accident two weeks ago. It wasn’t released while his client was alive as Chand claimed it would put his client at risk.

Writing in the Globe and Mail, Canadian Senator Hugh Segal has applauded Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision not to attend the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Colombo, stating it would legitimise ‘a multitude of sins’.

Segal is Canada’s Special Envoy to the Commonwealth and the Canadian representative on the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.

Extracts from his piece have been reproduced below. Read the full piece here.

"As he pointed out, this was not an easy decision. Canada was one of the founding nations of the Commonwealth. All governments know and understand that there is a certain diplomatic simplicity in “going along to get along.” No confrontation, no hard feelings. But on this issue, the Commonwealth has sadly taken the path of least resistance. This is no credit to the Secretary General, the Commonwealth Secretariat or the member countries."

The government of Sri lanka has banned protests in its capital Colombo, ahead of the upcoming Common Wealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, reports the Asian Human Rights Commission.

Expressing their anger towards the decision to take oaths before Mahinda Rajapaksa, the people of Mullaitheevu burned effigies of Northern Provincial Chief Minister C. V. Wigneswaran, party leader R. Sampanthan and M. A. Sumanthiran MP.

"But progress is patchy – up to half of respondents in some areas said they had insufficient food – and by some measures things are worse than before. If rates of infant or maternal mortality in parts of the north have improved, in others they have risen, government statistics reveal."

"Before, it was safe for women, now it isn't … Before, we could talk freely, now we can't"

"OK, so there is some development but that is not real freedom … this is not true peace."

In an opinion piece written for the Hindu, TNA parliamentarian, M.A Sumanthiran, made a long awaited response to the recent Supreme Court Judgment on the devolution of land powers.

Extracts reproduced below.

“The timing of a judgment by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court recently on devolution of land powers — just two days after a historic election for the Northern Provincial Council — is of great significance.”

“Now, in a sudden instant, the Supreme Court tells us that these powers were in fact never devolved; that the way in which the Thirteenth Amendment has been understood for 25 years was erroneous; that the Thirteenth Amendment only meant for the Province to administer whatever land the Centre — in its beneficence — thought fit to give away.”

“The timing of the judgment is critical. The fact that it came two days after the historic election for the Northern Provincial Council where the people overwhelmingly voted for devolution and self-governance, but before the Council became functional, has received much comment. More critically however, the judgment arrives at a juncture where the government has explicitly committed to denying the Northern Provincial Council constitutionally mandated powers over land and law and order.”

“The government has now constituted a Parliamentary Select Committee — composed primarily of members opposed to any meaningful devolution — ostensibly to recommend a further weakening of devolution. The arrival of this judgment may be perceived by the government as easing its own burden and enabling it to hide behind a judgment of the Supreme Court. The government should be clearly told that this position is untenable and that it has a duty to make good on its promises of extensive devolution made to India and the international community.”

In a protest, organised by the human rights advocacy group, Tamil Solidarity,on Wednesday the 9^th of October, British Tamils demanded that representatives of the government boycott the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM). 

Coinciding with the Canadian prime minister’s announcement of his decision to boycott CHOGM, the British demonstrators demanded that David Cameron followed suit.

The demonstration, which was held outside downing street, individuals and speakers from the Tamil Solidarity organisation addressed the crowd.

Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs removed the flags of the Northern Province and India from the venue of the meeting between Northern Province Chief Minister Wigneswaran and Indian Foreign Minister Salman Kurshid.

Ceylon Today reported that sources claimed that the flags were removed as the Sri Lankan flag was not hoisted at the venue, and if the national fag was missing, no other flags should be flying.