Harper boycotts APEC summit due to Sri Lanka's human rights record

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that he does not support Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa, and hence, will not be attending this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, or APEC. 

In a report by CBC News, Harper says that he does not want to be seen or photographed shaking the Sri Lankan president’s hand because he believes he is a “serial abuser of human rights.”

The Prime Minister went so far as to say that given the many atrocities of the sri lankan civil war, he feels the need to end Canada’s yearly $20 million contribution to the Commonwealth organization. 

It seems that Harper is alone in his boycott. 

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron is attending the APEC summit, as well as Australian leader Tony Abbott who was quoted saying; “you do not make new friends by rubbishing your old friends or abandoning your old friends.” 

Story by Alexa Everett