The Tamil National Alliance’s (TNA) spokesperson M.A Sumanthiran has expressed that “hopes are high” that India will vote for the resolution on Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, despite Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary, Jayanath Colombage stating that India has “assured” the government of its support against it, reports The Hindu.
Speaking to The Hindu, Sumanthiran expressed that the TNA’s “hopes are high” following India’s interactive dialogue statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last month, He states,
“Our hopes are high this time, since India’s statement at the Interactive Dialogue segment placed the political aspirations of the Tamil people on par with recognising the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka”
Sumanthiran also cited India’s past votes on resolutions as a signifier for their support, as they have voted in favour of resolutions thrice – in 2009,2012 and 2013 whilst abstaining in 2014. He notes “Given this track record, we do not expect India to vote against the resolution.”
Following a joint letter to member states in January, TNA leader R. Sampanthan, Tamil National People’s Front leader G.G. Ponnambalam, and Tamil Makkal Tesiya Kootani leader C.V. Wigneswaran, along with some civil society organisations, sought to shift the question of accountability from the Council in Geneva to New York, to the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, which can refer the matter to the International Criminal Court (ICC), despite this, the draft resolution proposed and its subsequent amendments have been viewed as weak by Tamil politicians and civil society organisations.
He adds,
“The prosecutorial mechanism has been left out, that is something we asked for; it stresses the importance of a comprehensive accountability process, while noting the lack of accountability in domestic mechanisms. So, although the resolution does not name the ICC — which anyway it cannot do since it has no mandate — it very clearly points to the ICC when these are read together.”
Commenting on the calls for Sri Lanka to be referred to the ICC and its difficulties and possibilities, he notes,
“… one cannot go to the ICC without the cooperation of Sri Lanka. Or to a referral by the Security Council, where permanent members have veto powers. It seems almost impossible to go to the ICC, for instance, in the prevailing situation, but conditions do change, geopolitics also changes” invoking India as an example and its alignment when the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed he notes,
“India was a regional power then, but perhaps not considered the regional superpower. Compare that with the current geopolitical reality, it is very, very different. China has entered the picture, as one that challenges the sole world power, the U.S. India is a regional superpower, and also aligned with the U.S. at least in so far as opposition to China is concerned. So, the equations have changed quite a bit.”
Read the full interview at The Hindu
