Delhi prods Colombo to probe rights’ abuse

With India likely to vote in favour of a US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, New Delhi on Wednesday prodded Colombo for an independent, credible and time-bound probe into the alleged human rights violation by Lanka’s armed forces during the 2009 offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE).

New Delhi said that it had emphasized to Colombo the importance of a ‘genuine’ reconciliation process to address grievances of the Tamils in the Island nation.

The US-sponsored resolution ‘Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability in Sri Lanka’, is likely to come up for discussion at the ongoing 19th session of the UNHRC on Thursday.

The draft resolution seeks to condemn Colombo for violation of human rights by its Sri Lankan Army during the 2009 crackdown on the LTTE.

New Delhi said that Colombo should probe into the findings of the UN secretary general’s ‘Panel of
Experts on the Accountability in Sri Lanka’.

India also nudged Sri Lanka to “ensure that an independent and credible mechanism is put in place to investigate, in a time-bound manner, allegations of human right violations brought out by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission set up by President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government.

“The government has taken note of the report of the UN secretary general’s ‘Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka’.

It may be recalled that the panel was set up by the UN secretary general with the objective of advising him on the developments in Sri Lanka in the last stages of the conflict,” Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peiris on Tuesday called up External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and
conveyed Colombo’s request to New Delhi to reconsider its decision to vote in favour of the resolution against the island nation in the UNHRC.

But Krishna made it clear to Peiris that India would stick to its stand as enunciated by the prime minister in Parliament on Monday.