THE Commonwealth Games in Glasgow risk being overshadowed by a human rights row if Sri Lanka's president becomes chairman of the 53-nation organisation, Labour has said.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander called on David Cameron to push for a review of whether Mahinda Rajapaksa should be granted the position when he meets fellow leaders.
The Prime Minister is resisting pressure to boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, hosted by the island next week, over war crimes and other alleged violations.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, warned in August that Sri Lanka - considered a "country of concern" by the Foreign Office - was heading in an "increasingly authoritarian direction".
Critics say any engagement with the regime amounts to "collaboration".
Mr Cameron has told representatives of the minority Tamil community he believed his visit would help "shine a spotlight" on their concerns.
Among assurances they claimed to have secured was that the UK would consider raising the issue of breaking the tradition that summit hosts assume the chairing role for the following two years. In a letter to the PM, Mr Alexander sought clarification of the position.
"Serious questions will be raised by the prospect of President Rajapaksa representing the Commonwealth on an international stage," he wrote.
"Failure to address this would run the risk that upcoming events such as the Commonwealth Games, which will be a proud moment for Scotland and a celebration of world-class sporting achievement, risk being a time of sustained questions about President Rajapaksa's Commonwealth role and human rights record."
Mr Cameron said: "Four years after the conflict, no-one has been held to account for grave allegations of war crimes and sexual violence. Journalists are routinely intimidated. I want to see that change. And I do not believe boycotting the Commonwealth meeting will achieve that. The right thing to do is to engage."
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