DELHI VERSES THE WEST IN UNHRC SRI LANKA’S WAR CRIMES RESOLUTION?
After keeping the world in suspense Delhi voted for the West’s historic March 2012 UNHRC resolution only with a condition that SL consents to action on its crimes. In normal circumstances action on an UNHRC resolution follows automatically to begin accountability proceedings against those responsible for the crimes (the massacres). In SL’s case massacring over 40 000 civilians within a couple of days, detaining and starving over 300 000 civilians in concentration camps are grave enough crimes under international law.
Delhi’s stance on the March 2012 UNHRC resolution though meant to please the TN Tamil voters is a continuation of the policy it adopted in May 2009, when Delhi did push through a resolution congratulating SL for the massacres (an extra-ordinary act!) to deny UNHRC justice to the victims. Delhi effectively killed the March 2012 Delhi resolution by insisting on an iconic condition that UHNHRC accountability proceedings against SL require SL’s consent. (a rule that requires the murderer’s consent to bring the accused to court). When in May 2009 Delhi rushed through that resolution after watching the gruesome SL crimes using life satellite pictures it is unlikely to change its position even after viewing the Channel 4 documentary, Ban’s ‘expert panel’ report and more balanced professional media coverage. Delhi continues to downplay the Tamil tragedy to save the Rajapakses and their accomplices (including the Narayanan trio) from facing the UNHRC. Delhi and the Rajpakses that share deep anti-Tamil prejudice, demonized the Eelam insurgency as ‘terrorism’ to be defeated at any cost. Delhi’s sinful acts encouraged the Rajapakses to continue SL’s barbaric genocide with impunity to ethnic cleanse all Tamils out of SL soonest possible. This is proceeding fast and decisively.
Gothabhaya Rajapakse hinted to Delhi a comparable ‘in the loop’ complicity message recently stating ‘We consider those who talk about Eelam as terrorists.’ (Daily Mirror 20 April 2012) extending the codes of conduct for Delhi to keep SL’s friendship. The weakling PM Singh reacted within hours with a meek letter blaming India’s voting on TN Tamils. Delhi’s conduct of Indo-SL relations since May 2009 are suspect; Delhi dreads Rajapakses’ ‘in the loop’ weapon most to take extra-ordinary pains to please the Rajapakses even avoiding the use of terms like Eelam, the massacres and SL genocide, the Rajapakses dislike.
Sri Lanka the victor over the LTTE, with China serving as an ally unnerved Delhi that an emboldened Colombo puts Delhi on notice not to interfere in its ethnic problem especially its cleansing of the Tamils out of SL project; any interference will be an unfriendly act supporting the terrorists. Colombo is now dealing with Delhi from a position of strength (unheard of in the history of the region). So what then is fate of Delhi’s loudly touted 13th Amendment plus project?. More ominous is Gothabhaya’s threat that should the ex-CM or Delhi want ‘to establish Eelam, he could do so in Tamil Nadu where (most) ..Tamil people live.’ Rajapakses want a repeat of its precedents setting acceptance of a million up-country estate Tamils in 1949. Delhi/S M Krishna are seriously involved in delaying the implementation of the latest UNHRC resolution to allow Rajapakses time to complete TN’s acceptance of the Eelam Tamils to end SL’s Eelam problems for good. This suggests that SL’s reach on the Eelam Tamil issue will cross TN/SL borders should this be required? Anil Athale a serious analyst hinted at these risks to India’s soft underbelly from Delhi being too friendly with the Rajapakses.
Efforts to rid SL of the Tamils have historical roots. TN Tamil Kingdoms ruled major parts of SL for many many centuries. The Tamil Kingdoms in north SL fell to the Portuguese under a separate treaty in 1505. Other SL kingdoms in SL also remained administratively as separate entities and/or were part of the Madras Presidency when ruled by colonial powers. Right through modern history SL was not a single national entity with a distinct identity; Sinhalas and Tamils occupied different parts of Ceylon, Sinhala/Tamil history is a narrative of Tamil conquests and occupation and Sinhala resistance to it. Eelam Tamils identified themselves most closely with their brethren, the TN Tamils living across the Straits and Sinhala efforts to disrupt these ties (cutting the railway link, imposing restrictions on Eelam Tamils making regular pilgrimages for Hindu festivals and cultural events) was attempted by genocide SL after independence failed. Those ties still remain strong and now acquired an emotional character following the sufferings the Sinhalas inflicted on the Eelam Tamils. TN Tamils accommodated Eelam Tamils during periods of extreme sufferings, expressed anger against Sinhala oppression and supported the most in building the Tamil insurgency to fight Sinhala genocide. Thus the close emotional interaction between TN and Eelam Tamils is in contrast to the animosity that afflicts Sinhala-Tamil relations. This led Gothabhaya to suggest to the ex TN CM to create an Eelam in TN who responded that Tamil Eelam be carved out of SL and merged to TN. That would ensure that Tamil Eelam is safe for ever without danger to their lives, livelihood, homes and identity.
The modern term ‘Eelam’ itself originated as early as 1921 long before Prabhaharan and Ceylon’s (SL) 1947 independence; being the consequence of underlying historical identity tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils. Sinhala leaders exhibited genocidal tendencies right from the beginning of recorded history. Within one year of independence the identity tensions surfaced when SL committed the first act of political genocide – dis-enfranchised the up country Tamils. Eelam Tamils alarmed over this sought for over 3 decades for constitutional safeguards to save their identity opting for a federal constitution not outright separation as the Pakistanis did. The SL genocide had already begun then to destroy the Eelam Tamil identity initially using harsh severe violence against the non-violent Gandhite satyagraha struggle for federalism; regular pogroms killings, destroying Tamils ‘livelihood, destruction of Tamil property, ‘Sinhala only’ denying jobs and brutal armed oppression. Eelam Tamils essentially peaceful recorded until 1978 only two policemen killed in ethnic related incidents while thousands of Eelam Tamils perished in these Sinhala pogroms.
Eelam youth frustrated that the 3 long decades of pacific resistance to the oppressive Sinhala rule was taking the Tamils down the road of doom and gloom opted for an armed resistance to Sinhala genocide. The cruelty of the Sinhala genocide not only earned mass Eelam Tamil support but above all the support of India and TN to gain sufficient strength to rid the state sponsored Sinhala settlements in the North and East and run a de facto state for nearly three decades with International players having regular dealings with it. Strangely the sectarian South Block with an anti-Tamil agenda used its monopoly of bureaucratic power in Delhi to drag Delhi into a confrontation with the resistance using a vicious campaign to demonise Tamil resistance in the eyes of the world as a ruthless terrorist (not a resistance to genocide) movement. When the UPA returned to power in 2004 the South Block exploited the Rajiv’s assassination to hijack the policies of Rajiv supporting SL’s fight against the resistance as terrorists; after whose defeat in May 2009 that labeled all supporters of the Tamil cause/lives as separatist’s terrorists. Rajapakse had no hesitation in making the 87 years old ex TN CM a ‘terrorist’ overnight for merely expressing pro Eelam sentiments. Similarly almost all Tamils who express distress over the cruelty of SL genocide are treated as terrorists/LTTE.
Accordingly the diaspora according to the Rajapakses/South Block are terrorists not fighters to save their Tamil lives, their identity and homeland from Sinhala occupation. SL/South Block quotes sovereignty considerations against Delhi acting to redress Tamil grievances not realizing that R2P provisions can also kick in. The key issue for the Eelam Tamils today is to save their lives that the British provided when the Ceylon police was commanded by the British (not the Rajapakses) and during the 3 decades de facto rule of the Eelam resistance.
SL apologists (the Rajapakses and friends S M Krishna/Nachchiappan/Narayanan/Menon) proclaim loudly that 50 per cent of the Tamils are living in peace in the South SL today – a total myth expected from some of the members, regular Rajapakses’ visitors who ingest SL hospitality and…without interacting with the victims blacking outs of news of killings and oppression that is still going on. Some of these visitors have track records as propaganda agents of Gothabhaya.
Sufficient evidence in the public domain thanks to the independent international media vouching to the reign of terror conditions the Eelam Tamils are suffering even today that the Delhi visitors intentionally missed when reports about the white van visits and disappearances, regular mid night calls at Tamil homes by police or armed men, checks of identity papers, street check points that prop up at any time of the day followed by victims disappearing for good abound. SL’s own LLRC report has acknowledged the terror of the White van abductions operated out of the Defense establishment. That the North is the most militarized region in the world makes a mockery of the claim of Nachchiappan (a Sonia confidant) the most conspicuous of the ‘Friends of the Rajapakses’ visitor to claim that peace or normalcy has returned to SL.
Indians who are really aware of their history that present day India geographically was part of a single sub-continent that had to be split into India and Pakistan states when mature and honest leaders realized that the identity ingredients to survive as a united nation were missing. Still the divisive identities there created horrendous levels of animosities, partition, violence, inter-communal killings, massive displacement and tragic relocation of people. The dharmic Mahatma tutored leadership realized the futility of chasing after a contrived unity to agree to partition.
Unfortunately UPS Delhi (as SM Krishna does) disowns the noble Mahatma thinking to support the Rajapakses and participate in destroying the identity of the Eelam Tamils and resists solutions to avoid massacres and the evils of SL genocide oppression. The Delhi mandarins of today are not humanists of the Gandhis, the Nehrus, Indras and Shastris calibre. Rajiv in 1987 signed the Indo-SL Accord (alias the 13th Amendment) supporting SL’s subjugation of the Eelam Tamils without safeguards for Tamil lives, their homes and homelands and identity. The anti-Tamil axis that operated out of Delhi today has an S M Krishna who repeats the dud ‘united SL’ mantra and remains mute when the horrendous anti-Tamil inhumanity raged on for years. These mandarins do not shy away as normal humans would from the Rajapakses the world renowned murderers.
Since independence in 1956 SL state terrorism demographically rid South SL of the thousands of Eelam Tamils. For this India supplied the boats to carry them as refugees North following the 1983 pogroms. Tamils could not flee North by land in the so-called ‘land of Buddha’ without being killed. The genocide was so horrendous that over a million Eelam Tamils also fled overseas and now as the diaspora campaign vigorously against the brutal SL genocide. Over 50 per cent of the Tamils (estimated at 2.5 million) were demographically reduced by eviction and massacres to enlarge the political and economic base of the Sinhalese – SL’s success story.
It is strange unlike the civil international community Delhi that is fully aware of such an inhuman tragedy for the Eelam Tamils in SL still pleads that the Tamils to continue to bear the cruelty of SL genocide tormentors to spare their good friend Rajalakse. Delhi plea is for a SL’s geographic unity not a unity of its people. Geographic contiguity alone does not assure a nation’s survival. SL regimes chasing after a territorial unity were intent on altering SL’s demographic balance disadvantaging/subjugating the Tamils, which is immoral. Delhi vehemently supports this immorality.
India comprises linguistic entities/peoples that remains intact under its federal constitution with India observing the sanctity of its linguistive entities. But strangely that same India today cultivated Rajapakse friendship by encouraging the destruction of the linguistic Tamil identity in SL, erasing the Eelam Tamil homelands- a historic tragedy. Once the Sinhala regimes openly didmisses all resistance fighting to save their cultural identity (as Gothabhaya Rajapakses does) as terrorists and wage a vicious war to eliminate them for a ‘unity’ that is phoney. The R2P provisions adopted in the UNHRC is to safeguard against the excesses of the Rajapakses tendencies.
The international community should rightfully now invoke the R2P provisions to protect Eelam Tamils from the brutality of the continuing Rajapakses genocide though the much maligned terrorism of the Tamil resistance who were the legitimate and de facto protectors of the Tamils are totally destroyed Delhi contributing to it. Amongst others Delhi’s weapons include its diplomatic clout, advice of the ‘in the loop’ trio, RAW intelligence, even fire-power (China supposedly is pointing its fingers at Delhi on the cluster bomb recently found in Pudukudiirru) bombs. Political trends suggest that the UPA (the Rajapakse benefactor’s) era is about to end; the recent assembly election results are indicators.
The philosophical justification for Delhi’s support for UPA Delhi’s support just before the 16 March UNHRC 2012 sessions was given by Lord SM Krishna’s (a South Block ‘Friends..) in a divine pronouncements that besides India’s geo-politics most outrageously that Delhi ..(has given) up its Nehruvian style foreign polices based on ethics and self-righteousness to ..’ save SL’s unity and the Rajapakses friendship. The Delhi mandarins of today opted to forget the great humanist heritage of a Gandhi, Nehru, Indra in dealing with universal identity tensions.
Nations far away from Colombo/Delhi horrified on viewing the same images of the Tamils suffering brutality speak out at the injustice to bring the recent UNHRC March 2012 resolution. But Delhi was lulled by the complicit South Block ‘Friend of R….’ into a Kumbakarna slumber woke up confused, unable to ‘see no evil, hear no evil and not speak of any evil’ yet voted for the resolution against SL. Delhi’s amendment to the UNHRC resolution causes real harm to India’s regional power standing with Rajapakses bringing alarming new security threats that pacifists Gandhian/Nehruvian/Indra poliies kept at bay. The Rajapakses’ aggressive assertiveness is equally harmful to India’s regional standing.
Delhi’s predicament in not being able to act morally internationally is the product of the Sonia’s ‘in the loop ‘South Block’ trio’s collusion in the SL genocide. Delhi voted with the international community on the UNHRC resolution but the weakling PM Manmohan Singh concerned over the ‘in the loop’ complicity and the imminent cluster bomb leak had to write an apologetic letter as alternative of the tradition that Singh falls at Rajapkses feet seeking mercy.
The UPA spokesmen demonized the Eelam fighters when in deep distress in the ‘no fire zone’ blaming of them of using Tamil civilian as human shields to cause the heavy massacres casualties in M’kal . The core of human shield thesis peddled alongside the zero civilian casualties blamed that the Tamil resistance fired at civilians attempting to flee to the SL lines. Evidence have emerged that the casualties were caused by SL’s DPUs that operated within that zone when SL DPUs fired into government lines pre-arranged to invite retaliatory barrages (possibly using cluster bombs) to cause the heavy civilian casualties amongst civilians crowded there. Rajapakse boast in May 2009 , about well armed DPU’s action in the ‘no fire zone’ contributing to SL’s victory over the Tamil fighter exposes another SL ‘human shield’ hoax. An independent investigation under the UNHRC is a must to bring out the truth on who caused the massacres; the SL DPUs and cluster bombs that were used in the no fire zone. The DPUs reported directly to the Defense secretary Gothabhaya Rajapakse.
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