But this year, in Colombo, "security " as much as "democracy" is becoming the catch cry.
Two countries' leaders aren't coming in protest at Sri Lanka's contemporary & very grim human rights record - Canada's Stephen Harper and lndia's Manmohan Singh.
A British TV crew enroute to a Tamil area in the country's north has been forced off a train by an angry pro-government mob, apparently tipped off about their presence by Sri Lankan intelligence agents who were tailing them. (That's despite the BBC Channel 4 crew having been invited by Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse to visit any part of the country they liked.) And Tamil protesters have been refused entry to the capital so they can't access anyone attending the summit, especially not media.
When we arrived at 2am this morning, our experience of Sri Lankan officialdom was surprisingly benign - not even a glance at our loose leaf visas & a don't-care wave through customs for me.
Our cameraman was delayed while his equipment list was checked but only because the official didn't seem to have a clue what he was meant to be doing.
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The volunteer CHOGM media support team at the airport were cheerfully friendly (especially for 2am) and when we reached the hotel at 4am, the staff here were similarly chipper & chatty as we pushed our luggage through the now-standard security scanners at the door.
But we're aware this is a country whose government doesn't much like the likes of us.
Point a camera in the wrong direction & you start to see the role "security" plays here (as defined & delivered by those in charge).
And then you get a glimpse of the other Sri Lanka - the one some members of the democracy club are so concerned about.
