Government of India should stand up for Sri Lankan Tamils

-PANKAJ CHAUDHARY

Presently, the DMK is supporting the Manmohan Singh government from outside. The DMK, which was part of the government till recently, withdrew its support because the central government could not persuade the USA to employ tough language against Sri Lanka. The DMK wanted that the GoI should bring pressure to bear upon the US to table a resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), seeking an independent international probe into the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka in the battle against the Tamils.

The DMK also wanted that the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka be seen as a genocide of the Tamils and should be presented as such in the UNHRC. The DMK contends that with the consent of India, the US tabled a rather soft resolution in the UNHRC, which hurt the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils and that was why, it was forced to withdraw support from the central government.

The policy of the Government of India towards the Sri Lankan Tamils has been changing by the day. Sometimes, it comes out in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils and on other occasions, it sides with the government of that country. The GoI has no clear and unambiguous foreign policy on the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils. The successive governments of Tamil Nadu and its people consider the Sri Lankan Tamils as one of them and have an emotional affinity with them. That is why they have been lobbying in support of the Sri Lankan Tamils and pressurizing the Union government to do something to help them. The Jayalalitha government of Tamil Nadu too seems to be openly siding with the Sri Lankan Tamils. It is high time that the GoI frames a clear-cut foreign policy that serves to protect the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils. The GoI should abandon its running-with-the-hare-hunting-with-the-hounds policy vis-à-vis the Sri Lankan Tamils and protect its long-term interests. There are some compelling reasons as to why the GoI should give priority to the interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils and win over the people and political parties of Tamil Nadu.

Sri Lankan government wants to wipe out Tamils

The Sinhalese–Tamil conflict has a long history. In a so-called democratic Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese-dominated government has always been discriminating against the Tamils. They are treated as second-grade citizens. Sri Lankan Tamils are deprived of their democratic rights and they have been, time and again, pleading with the international community to protect their human rights. When, under the leadership of Prabhakaran, the Tamils sought a separate Eelam for themselves and demanded democratic rights, they were crushed mercilessly. According to an estimate, the Sri Lankan army massacred at least 40,000 Tamils, including Prabhakaran, his family members and his associates. The prisoners of war were shot openly at point-blank range. Even the 12-year-old son of Prabhakaran was not spared. The Sri Lankan Army personnel raped Tamil women, disrobed them and then shot them.

The Sri Lankan government violated all international norms and fired upon and bombed even hospitals. The concept of No Fire Zone, it seemed, was alien to the Sri Lankan army personnel. It was a carnage, a genocide of innocent Tamilians. The murder of Prabhakaran and his associates in 2009 does not seem to have quenched the blood-thirst of the Sri Lankan government and even now, of and on, Tamilians are becoming the target of wanton violence perpetrated by the Army.

In these circumstances, it is the duty of the Government of India to take up the responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the Tamils that are left in Sri Lanka. The GoI should also make every possible effort to bring to light the war crimes committed during the battle against the Tamils and the atrocities they were subjected to. The Sri Lankan Tamils need our urgent and effective help to counter the human-rights violations by the government and the army of that country. The GoI should work towards ensuring that an international panel be constituted for a fair and independent probe into the war crimes and human-rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan army. It is only then that the Sri Lankan Army will withdraw from northern Sri Lanka, paving the way for the 1.5 lakh displaced Tamils to return to their homes. India is seeking a bigger role for itself in the international arena. It is, therefore, even more necessary that it raise its voice against the ethnic cleansing of Tamils. That will be in its long-term interests.   

Growing intervention of Pakistan and China in Sri Lanka

 China and Pakistan voted in favour of Sri Lanka on the issue of Tamils. This has once again bared the attitude of the two countries – especially Pakistan – towards India. Pakistan does not want to let go of any opportunity to humiliate India on international platforms. India needs to revisit its Sri Lankan policy, in view of the growing trade and strategic relations between Sri Lanka on one hand and China and Pakistan on the other. This is an opportune moment for India, whence, by coming out openly in favour of the Sri Lankan Tamils, it can give a befitting reply to Pakistan and China.

Need to work on Indira–Rajiv formula

Former prime ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had signed several pacts with Sri Lanka in the interest of the Tamils. It is another matter that according to Jain Commission report, LTTE had a role in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress-led UPA government should work on the lines of Indira and Rajiv. When PV Narasimha Rao was the Minister for External Affairs in the Indira Gandhi cabinet, he had announced that the GoI would follow the Munroe doctrine vis-a-vis Sri Lanka. That meant that India will not ignore the happenings in Sri Lanka. When the Tamils were being persecuted by the Sri Lankan government, IAF planes, escorted by fighter jets, dropped relief material in the Tamil-dominated areas. Rajiv Gandhi had signed a pact with the then Sri Lankan president Jayavardhane for a permanent solution to the Tamil problem and had sent IPKF to Sri Lanka to enforce the pact. Indira Gandhi had provided the Voice of America facilities to broadcast in Sri Lanka and had ensured that the Sri Lankan government’s plan to handover the strategically important Trincomalee port to the US came a cropper. At that time, Uncle Sam was flirting with Pakistan. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had taken several steps, including signing of pacts with Sri Lankan government, to secure the interests of the Tamils. 

                                                          (Published in  Forward Press,  May, 2013 Issue)