India, Pakistan back Lanka in ‘rights battle’
India and Pakistan find themselves on the same side with Sri Lanka as
Europe accuses Colombo of “war crimes” against the Tamils.
A special session of the UN Human Rights Council was due yesterday in
Geneva where Denmark and Britain are leading a vocal and sustained drive
to pin down Sri Lanka. The deliberations could extend to today.
The meeting became possible after Denmark got together 17 of the UN
body’s 47 member countries to press for the special session to probe
charges that Colombo violated human rights and committed “war crimes”.
A minimum of 16 signatures is a must to convene a special session.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador and Special Representative to the UN in
Geneva, Dayan Jayatilleka alleged that a section of the West had
attempted to prevent the military defeat of the LTTE and save at least a
section of its leadership.
“Having failed, this (special session) is a punitive measure,”
Jayatilleka told IANS in a telephone interview. He alleged that the LTTE
had enjoyed a degree of patronage in some Western countries and sought
to know if these countries would ever accord a similar status to the
Taliban and Al Qaeda.
Sri Lanka, he said, was confident of defeating any resolution
detrimental to its interests with the help of friendly countries in
which he listed India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Cuba, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Nicaragua and Bolivia among others. India and other countries
are as much concerned as the others about human rights violations in Sri
Lanka but resent the convening of a special session to discuss the
issue. The regular session of UN Human Rights Council is due in the
third week of June, and Sri Lanka could have been discussed then.
The feeling in New Delhi is that some Western countries appear to be
playing a larger game, perhaps setting a precedent to convene similar
special sessions vis-vis other countries in the name of human rights.
There is also growing disquiet over the way bodies like the UN Human
Rights Council do not take seriously terror acts of powerful non-state
actors such as the LTTE.
Britain, which along with Canada is home to tens of thousands of
Tamils, has taken a visibly aggressive line against Sri Lanka, accusing
its military of killing thousands in the name of fighting the LTTE.
Jayatilleka said it was regrettable that Sri Lanka was being pulled
up when the world should be thanking it for crushing “one of the biggest
brand names in the international terror market”. “They are playing a
dangerous game of pandering to militarized lobbies in their own
countries,” he said, referring to Europe and the pro-LTTE Tamils. He
warned that if Europe had its way at the special session, it would lead
to “hardening of sentiments in Sri Lanka, narrowing of political space
and be profoundly counter-productive”. Express Buzz
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