India should support US resolution on Sri Lanka
In the wake of India’s incapacity today to nudge Sri Lanka in finding a fair, just and equitable solution to the root problem of Tamil alienation, India should estimate its crucial role in supporting the US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka. Riding a wave of Sinhalese chauvinism, Sri Lanka overnight turned its back on the assurances held out to India. Deepening militarization in the Northern Province has increased the insecurity and political marginalization of Tamils and undermined prospects for inter-ethnic reconciliation. With the Sri Lankan government’s growing authoritarianism, and continued repression of dissent, any devolution will be meaningless and the risks of renewed conflict will increase. As the Sri Lankan government continues to resist any investigation or accounting for mass atrocities in the final months of the war, democratic governance is under sustained assault throughout the island nation.
India shouldn’t repeatedly break its pledges to defend the rights of Tamils and protect their lives. India’s reluctance not to put serious pressure on the Sri Lankan government seems to be condoning the Sri Lankan army's war crimes which is antithetical to India’s multi-cultural, democratic fabric. India’s own democratic values and successes in accommodating ethnic diversity should also reflect in its stance on the US resolution issue, especially as it seeks recognition as a rising global power with hopes of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. India’s own restive Tamil population, to which the central government needs to respond, is pressing for stronger action. If India is serious about promoting a stable, all-inclusive and democratic Sri Lanka, India will have to press more consistently and in concert with the US, France, and Norway, should support an independent international investigation into allegations of war crimes even at the risk of sacrificing potentially profitable political deals. If India is genuine in its longstanding interest in a peaceful and politically stable Sri Lanka, it is best served by supporting the US backed resolution on Sri Lanka to end impunity and reverse the democratic decay that undermines the rights of Sri Lankan Tamils.
For anyone to die like this is terrible. Poor girl.
ReplyDeleteAs an Indian I sympathised with the Tamils of Sri Lanka. But the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the murders of Indian soldiers by the LTTE made the situation murky. The LTTE lost the support of Indians by their actions.