Fence-sitting on Lankan war crimes
9 March 2013 12:29 AM GMT
Indian government has been showing a rather pusillanimous face to the world when it comes to dealing with the Sri Lankan war crimes committed in the name of curbing the protracted LTTE revolt in the country. The Tamil ethnic minority in the island country, and the denizens of Tamil Nadu in India, have, however, never shied away from voicing their disenchantment and utter disappointment with the respective governments, the former for its ruthless oppression of its own people under the pretext of waging war in its soil, and the latter, for not adequately addressing the humanitarian crisis that had engulfed Sri Lanka, despite India’s claim to fame as the world’s largest liberal democracy. The latest United Nations Human Rights Council resolution, that is scheduled to come up later this month, takes a firm stand on the inhuman brutalities perpetrated by Lankan militia, which included indiscriminate killing, kidnapping and maiming of almost 40,000 Tamilians in the run up to the full and final suppression of the LTTE rebellion. Yet, India keeps sidelining the issue and refuses to endorse the trial of Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse at the International Criminal Court, despite evidence, in graphic detail, to testify the direct involvement of the Lankan polity.
In the wake of the surfacing of more forensic proofs, such as photographs and video-grabs showing bullet wounds piercing the lifeless body of the twelve-year old Balachandra Parabhakaran, the son of the slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, it is shameful that India is still reluctant to take a bold stand on the issue. Nothing can justify the cruelties that had been perpetuated during the decades of Lankan civil war. Reprehensible policies were ritually followed to intimidate the Tamil ethnic minorities into complete political submission. It is the duty of the international community to take the criminals to task. Obviously, the sentimental attachment that Tamilians in India feel about this issue far exceeds the political divide that separates fierce rivals Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi. State-sponsored terror must be exposed, whether it was committed in Sri Lankan or Indian soils.
In the wake of the surfacing of more forensic proofs, such as photographs and video-grabs showing bullet wounds piercing the lifeless body of the twelve-year old Balachandra Parabhakaran, the son of the slain LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, it is shameful that India is still reluctant to take a bold stand on the issue. Nothing can justify the cruelties that had been perpetuated during the decades of Lankan civil war. Reprehensible policies were ritually followed to intimidate the Tamil ethnic minorities into complete political submission. It is the duty of the international community to take the criminals to task. Obviously, the sentimental attachment that Tamilians in India feel about this issue far exceeds the political divide that separates fierce rivals Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi. State-sponsored terror must be exposed, whether it was committed in Sri Lankan or Indian soils.
Next Story
