Saturday 19 September 2015

“Move resolution for international probe into war crimes of Lanka”

Extending the support of DMK to the TN Assembly resolution on war crimes of Sri Lanka and taking exception to the attempt of the US to revise historical incidents, DMK President Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi on Sept 16 urged India to move a resolution for an independent, credible international probe into the war crimes of Sri Lanka.
In a statement, Kalaignar said possibly because her conscience questioned her Chief Minister Jayalalitha, who was accustomed to read out 110 statements and leaving the Assembly since the session began on Aug 24, has moved a special resolution of the government on Sep 16.
That resolution asked the Centre to move a “strong resolution” in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for an international probe into the war crimes and genocide in the final phase of the civil war in Sri Lanka. It urged the Centre to move a resolution along with United States and other countries at the UNHRC for the international probe against all the perpetrators of the human rights violations and those responsible for the genocide. In case, the United States takes a pro-Lankan stand, India should take diplomatic efforts to change that”.
The UNHRC adopted a resolution for international probe into war crimes in Lanka in its meeting in March last year, which was strongly opposed by Sri Lanka then. Still the UNHRC proceeded with enquiry relating to prior arrangements and the report was to be tabled in March this year. But in the meanwhile there was a change of regime in Lanka and hence the Lankan government sought postponement of the tabling of the report and accordingly it was postponed and tabled on Sept 17.
It was in this situation that the TN Assembly resolution urged the Centre to take up with the UNHRC steps required for international probe against those who perpetrated war crimes. This was what he had said in a reply on Aug 29 to the reported move of the US to hand over the probe to Sri Lankan regime that the truth of genocide has come out in the three-member UN team enquiry.
The US resolution in UNHRC in 2014 demanded an independent, credible international probe into the war crimes in Sri Lanka. In the resolutions adopted at the TESO conference on 12.8.2012, DMK executive committee meeting on 25.3.2013 and in the General Council on 15.12.2013 demanded that an international experts committee be set up to find out war crimes perpetrated there and those perpetrators should be punished.
The international experts committee set up by the UN was not permitted to enter into Sri Lanka by the then Rajapaksa regime, which he condemned then. Now the decision of the US seems to be attempting to cover up genocide in Lanka and hand over the probe into war crimes to the Lankan government, Kalaignar noted. This was reported by the US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia who visited Sri Lanka recently. “It is widely reported in the press that the USA is going to bring in a totally revised resolution seeking a domestic inquiry into alleged war crimes and human rights violations during the peak of civil war in 2009. This was contrary to their earlier stand demanding an independent international probe. I wish that this report should not be true; on the contrary, if it is true the DMK condemns the US attempt to revise historic incidents”, he had said.
Extending the support of DMK to the TN Assembly resolution on war crimes of Sri Lanka as it echoed the DMK demand Kalaignar urged the Centre for India to move a resolution for an independent, credible international probe into the war crimes of Sri Lanka

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