A major foreign policy blunder - Indian Daily Pioneer

With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deciding to place his interests as also those of the Congress above our national interest, India has committed one of its worst foreign policy blunders by voting for the US/EU-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the prestigious Indian daily The Daily Pioneer stated in an editorial.

The editorial: "Thursday's vote marks a sharp departure from India's long-standing principle of not voting in favour of country-specific resolutions at the UNHRC. On March 1, India abstained from voting on a resolution targeting Syria, a country in which we have little or no stake and where recent developments have been far less than happy.

Yet, Singh decided to vote in favour of the anti-Sri Lanka resolution, ignoring the twin facts that this would further sour bilateral relations and push Colombo closer towards Beijing. His decision to break with past practice and deliver a body blow to New Delhi's already shaky relations with Colombo have nothing to do with the alleged 'plight' of Sri Lankan Tamils. It's a decision that has been entirely dictated by what he lamely describes as "coalition compulsion" - the DMK, which keeps the Congress in power and Mr Manmohan Singh in office, blackmailed him into voting for the resolution. In a sense, what was witnessed on Thursday was not India but Singh voting against Sri Lanka: This is a vote that has shocked the overwhelming majority of Indians who believe the pursuit of national interest should shape the contours of our foreign policy; barring Tamil chauvinists and their political patrons, few, if any, including in Tamil Nadu, would want to associate themselves with Singh's shameful deed of abandoning Sri Lanka when that country needed us the most.

The US, of course, would be gladdened by Singh's flawed decision, not the least because it diminishes, though not for the first time ever since this Government came to office, the primacy of India's national interest. Nothing would delight the US more than an isolated, friendless India which is despised, if not hated, by its neighbours. Strangely, Mr Singh claims that his decision to vote against Sri Lanka is aimed at helping Sri Lankan Tamils "get justice". That's balderdash. It's a non-binding resolution which Sri Lanka will be entirely justified in spurning with the contempt it deserves. If the US and its EU allies decide to take the issue to the UN Security Council, that move will be blocked by China and Russia - both countries have wisely voted against the resolution at UNHRC, placing their own interests above those of Western countries which are desperately seeking relevance in international affairs.

Sri Lanka has rightly described the passage of the resolution as a move which will not foster reconciliation between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamils but only serve to further polarise communities. That's precisely what busybodies in the West want - to disturb the peace that has prevailed ever since the LTTE was decimated by Sri Lanka's military, and then fish in the troubled waters. India should have tried its best to prevent that goal from being achieved. Instead, we must now live with the shame of not only letting down a friend but also supping with its enemies. For that, only Singh can be blamed."