TNA spokesperson says that we are expecting a lot from India at HRC this time

According to its spokesperson and Jaffna MLA MA Sumantiran, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) “has high expectations” that India will vote in Sri Lanka next week on a UN resolution to promote reconciliation, accountability and human rights.

Whether India votes for the resolution or abstains “is entirely a matter they will decide”, but TNA’s expectations are “clearly” that India should support and vote for the resolution, he says , speaking Hindu On the upcoming vote.

Despite its low presence in Parliament since the general elections of August 2020, TNA remains the largest group representing the Tamils ​​of North and East in Sri Lanka with 10 MPs in the 225-member House.

Says Mr. Sumantiran, “India’s statement in the interactive dialogue segment, along with recognizing India’s enduring integrity, equaled the political aspirations of the Tamil people, as our expectations are higher this time.” In Geneva on 25 February.

The Jaffna MP’s optimism about India’s possible vote has been expressed by the Rajapaksa administration, which wants the exact opposite result on the proposal that 47 members of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva have to vote next week. Colombo has sought India’s support at the highest levels to defeat the proposal, and Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Jayanath Katez has said that India has “assured” its support to Sri Lanka, although New Delhi has no official statement in this regard Have not given

However, citing India’s previous voting pattern, ignoring seven UN resolutions on Sri Lanka since 2009, Mr. Sumantiran states that India voted in favor of the resolutions thrice in 2009, 2012 and 2013 is. “Given this track record, we do not expect India to vote against the resolution.”

low expectations

Although a campaign is underway to resolve the adoption of TNA, most of the Sri Lankan Tamil leadership, including TNA, have already lowered their expectations of the council, especially on accountability. In a joint letter to member states in January, TNA leader R.K. Sampanthan, Tamil National People’s Front leader GG Ponnambalam, and Tamil Makkal Tessia diplomat leader and former Northern Province Chief Minister CV Vigneshwaran, along with some civil society organizations, demanded a question of accountability from the Council in Geneva to the UN General Assembly and the United Nations. Transfer to the Security Council, which can refer the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to Mr. Sumantiran, all the drafts accommodating some of the key issues highlighted in their joint letter are important. “The prosecution mechanism has been abandoned, this is what we asked for; Given the lack of accountability in the domestic system, it emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive accountability process. Therefore, although the proposal does not name ICC – which it cannot do anyway because it has no mandate – it very clearly indicates ICC when these are read together. ”

But some Tamil politicians and activists removed the resolution “underwater”, and criticized TNA for supporting a “weak resolution” that does not factor in all the demands of the Tamil people. “Weak or strong should be evaluated in terms of what a world body like the United Nations Human Rights Council can actually achieve. Given the powers of the council, and the structure of the council, I do not think it is a weak resolution, ”Mr. Sumantiran said in response, asking critics if they are siding with the government that wants to defeat the resolution .

Despite their conflicting views on the resolution, both TNA and its inhibitors are well aware that taking the case of Sri Lanka to the ICC, as they collectively sought, is not easy. The Sri Lankan government has categorically rejected the international system. Furthermore, United Nations bodies are not immune to the geopolitical realities that play out and influence them.

Mr. Sumanthiran agrees. “Yes, no one can go to the ICC without the support of Sri Lanka. Or for a referral by the Security Council, where permanent members have veto powers. For example, going for the ICC in the current situation seems almost impossible, but circumstances change, geopolitics also change, ”he notes, citing the example of India.

When the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed in 1987, he recalled India’s alignment in the Cold War “more than Russia with the US” for a long time. “India was a regional power then, but probably not considered a regional superpower. Compare with the current geopolitical reality, it is very, very different. China has entered the picture, challenging the only world power, US India is a regional superpower, and at the same time has aligned with the US as far as China is opposed. Therefore, the equations have changed considerably. ”

‘Government. Is desperate

While acknowledging the difficulty of predicting how countries may align or act in the future, Mr. Sumanthiran still sees value in collecting and preserving evidence – this resolution is included for use at a future date . Pinning hoped on possible changes in international law and geopolitical factors, he talks of a time when “it might be possible that the matter actually referred to the ICC, or any other mechanism available at the time” To go. ” And I say this because the ICC itself is under 20 years old.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government is “desperate to avoid any kind of crisis in Geneva”, he noted, referring to three moves recently – reversing the mandatory cremation policy for COVID-19 victims, the president disappeared. Wanted to meet the families, and the President asked the officials to prepare for the election of the Provincial Council.

“But there is a lack of all kinds of people to see the way they have dealt with all three cases,” he said. Announcements of missing families, and conflicting signs emerged from the government over provincial council elections. According to the government of the “couple”, he notes: “Even if they want to pull the wool over member countries’ eyes by making all these amendments, I don’t understand why they can’t do a little better job of it.” .

On TNA’s plans after the vote, Mr. Sumanthiran says the political course of the Alliance has not been disrupted by the sessions in Geneva. “That [session] The annual comes along where the concerns of the world are expressed and, naturally, it is a time when we can air our grievances, and some actions can be taken as a result. “TNA’s strategy will” still be to work towards a new constitutional system “, he claims, in which” a real power-sharing system is put in place to resolve the 70-year-old Tamil national question. ” The coalition has already submitted its proposals to the committee of experts working to prepare a new constitution.