Pushing Delhi to choose
Sri Lanka’s Tamil leadership has asked India to support an
international probe into alleged war crimes on the island at a key UN
meet this month, forcing the Narendra Modi Government into an
uncomfortable choice between a traditional ally and a new friend.
 |
“Our experience with past
domestic inquiries suggests that they can’t be truly
independent,” said Sampanthan.
Pic: The Telegraph.lk |
India has traditionally preferred only domestic investigations into
human rights abuses, especially in its neighbourhood.
It is also desperate to stand by the government of Sri Lankan
President Maithripala Sirisena, elected in January, which has attempted
a shift away from the pronounced pro-China tilt of former President
Mahinda Rajapaksa. Colombo is adamant that it will only agree to a
domestic probe.
But before Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrives in
New Delhi for his first overseas visit since taking office, the umbrella
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) today made it clear Modi risked belying
expectations of the country’s Tamils by supporting Colombo.
“We expect the international community, and that includes India, to
support an international investigation into war crimes in Sri Lanka,”
Leader of Opposition in the Sri Lankan parliament and TNA Chairman R.
Sampanthan told The Telegraph in an interview over the phone from
Colombo. “Our experience with past domestic inquiries suggests that they
can’t be truly independent.”
Sampanthan’s clear rejection of a domestic probe comes after days of
differences within the TNA – a grouping of four main parties – with some
demanding an international probe, and others willing to accept an
inquiry conducted by Sri Lankans.
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is expected to meet later this
month in Geneva to discuss a report on progress made by Sri Lanka on
combating human rights violations after the end of the country’s
three-decade civil war in 2009.
Sirisena has already told the UNHRC he wants to personally attend the
session.
Wickremesinghe, traditionally a friend of India, is expected to
discuss the UNHRC report and resolution with Modi during his three-day
trip, starting tomorrow (14).
Both Sri Lankan and Indian officials had indicated Wickremesinghe
might also nudge Modi to use India’s influence with the TNA to persuade
the grouping to agree to a domestic probe.
Their hopes were based at least in part on differences between some
TNA leaders who said they would visit Geneva to attend the UN conference
and demand an international probe, and others who appeared more
reconciliatory.
But 82-year-old Sampanthan today said the TNA had come to a firm
position on the UN session.
“Yes, the new Sri Lankan Government is coordinating more with the
international community, but it is the TNA’s clear position that an
international investigation is necessary,” Sampanthan said.
Accepting an international probe into Sri Lanka’s human rights record
would be very difficult, if not impossible, for the Modi government,
former Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka, Nirupam Sen, said.
Such a precedent could trigger similar demands for investigations in
Kashmir, something India is wary of. But there’s also a second reason
why India does not support international probes in its neighbourhood.
“This is an area where we want to strengthen our influence,” Sen told
this newspaper. “Why would we want an international presence instead?”
- The Telegraph
|