Khurshid non-committal on PM participation

India on Monday kept Colombo guessing over the participation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the Chogm Summit here in November. External affairs minister Salman Khurshid, who is here on a two-day visit, refrained from giving any commitment on the issue. “Our commitment to the Commonwealth is complete and profound. Commonwealth Chogm events are very important for the growth and the sustenance of this very important movement in world governance.” “At an appropriate stage, looking at the prevailing conditions, looking at the importance of our relationship and looking at the conditions for which our Prime Minister has to give his attention and time. He will make an announcement that will come from the Prime Minister’s office,” Mr Khurshid said. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper while confirming he would not attend the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) in Colombo said the Sri Lankan government had failed to uphold the core values of the Commonwealth. His was replying to a query by a Sri Lankan journalist on whether Prime Minister Singh will take part in the Summit here from November 15-17. This year’s Chogm has been mired in controversy, with campaigners including Amnesty International calling for not holding the summit until an investigation is carried out into alleged human rights abuses in the final six months of the nearly three decade long civil war that left thousands dead. “I am in touch with the honourable minister and we will keep Sri Lanka posted. I will myself obviously come as part of the delegation as the foreign minister. The rest of the announcement has to come from the Prime Minister’s office. We will let you know,” Mr Khurshid said. Mr Khurshid on Monday held bilateral talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris on a host of issues. During a joint news conference with Mr Peiris, he called for “meaningful devolution” of powers to provinces, including Tamil-inhabited areas in the north.