India introduced 'element of balance' in UN resolution: PM writes to Rajapaksa

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'No Coca-Cola, Pepsi': Sri Lankan protestors demand ban on American goods after UN resolution

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UN rights council begins debate on US resolution on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka

Geneva:  The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has begun the crucial debate on a US resolution urging Colombo to probe alleged excesses committed during its operation to eradicate LTTE.

The voting holds significance as Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh recently made a statement in Parliament that India is inclined to support the resolution which has been moved by Norway, the US and France.

The resolution comes in the background of another Channel 4 documentary allegedly showing LTTE commander Prabhakaran's son with five bullet wounds in his chest, following which Tamil parties pressured the Indian government to support the resolution.

The government has been under huge pressure from its ally, the DMK, which has warned that it could withdraw its ministers from the Cabinet if India either abstained or supported Sri Lanka during the vote.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister called External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and asked him to reconsider the decision.

Rights groups say up to 40,000 civilians died in the final months of Colombo's military campaign to crush the Tamil Tigers, who waged a bloody decades-long campaign for a separate homeland for minority Tamils.

The US resolution has been dismissed by Sri Lanka, while activists have accused Colombo-backed elements of "intimidation" against them in Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a non-government organisation activist told AFP that while attending the council's meetings, they were photographed by people who appeared to be with the Sri Lanka delegation.

"It was done in a very obvious manner and we felt uncomfortable," said the activist, adding that the team "contemplated leaving the session".

The group brought a complaint to the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council, and later decided to stay as a probe was launched into the matter.

A UN rights spokesman confirmed the complaints and investigation.

"There was a complaint by a number of NGOs that their photographs had been taken," said the spokesman, Rolando Gomez. "We have investigated these incidents, but I can't give more details."

The Sri Lanka mission was not immediately available for comment.

Its chief government whip in Parliament, Water Supply Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, had earlier called the US resolution "ill-timed, ill-conceived and borne out of ignorance".

The US resolution urges Sri Lanka to ensure "justice, equity, accountability and reconciliation" and says Colombo's own probe, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, did not adequately address concerns.

International rights activists said the US resolution was tabled because Sri Lanka has "done too little" to deal with claims of violations during the final months of its conflict with the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

"If adopted, the resolution sends a strong signal to Sri Lanka that it needs to move from cosmetic actions to real steps to hold those responsible for abuses on both sides to account," said Human Rights Watch Geneva director Julie De Rivero.

"By calling for Sri Lanka to urgently present a plan of concrete steps to address accountability, and asking the High Commissioner to assist and report on this process, the HRC will finally provide the many victims of Sri Lanka's long civil war hope of obtaining justice," she added.

The UN estimates some 100,000 people died during Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict between 1972 and 2009.

India, a traditional Sri Lanka ally, signalled on Monday that it was "inclined" to back the US resolution.

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India votes against Lanka, UN resolution on war crimes adopted

Geneva:  India is among 24 countries that voted against Sri Lanka today at a session of the United Nation Human Rights Council in Geneva. The UN's top human rights body has passed a resolution, sponsored by the US, that Sri Lanka must properly investigate alleged war crimes during its 26-year conflict with the rebel Tamil Tigers.

15 countries including China and Russia backed Sri Lanka, which had rejected the resolution, saying it unduly interfered in the country's domestic affairs and could hinder its reconciliation process. Eight countries abstained from today's vote.

Both the Sri Lanka government and the rebel Tamil Tigers have been accused of atrocities during their country's lengthy civil war. Sri Lanka has rejected the resolution and has said today that the criticism at the level of the United Nations is not justified.

Earlier this week, Dr Manmohan Singh said in Parliament that India "is inclined to vote in favour of the resolution." The Prime Minister had been warned that if India did not vote against Sri Lanka, his key ally, the DMK, would pull out of the government.

Sri Lanka has asked India to reconsider its position. Members of the Sri Lankan delegation to Geneva said today that they understand India's domestic compulsions, but as the super-power in this region, India must recognise that Sri Lanka needs time to investigate the allegations against its defence forces as well as the LTTE, before settling accountability.  

Human rights groups say nearly 40,000 civilians were killed in the final months of the war. The Sri Lankan government had created a committee, the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission Process, to study the allegations of war crimes.  The US delegation in Geneva today referred to the government's "lack of action to implement the recommendations" of that commission.  It described the resolution it has moved as one "that encourages Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of its own LLRC and to make concerted efforts at achieving the kind of meaningful accountability upon which lasting reconciliation efforts can be built."
China has thrown its weight behind Sri Lanka, saying it is against any country putting pressure on others in the name of rights violations. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Sri Lanka and its people were capable of dealing with their own affairs.
China, in recent years has made big investments in Sri Lanka besides assisting the island with major projects like building a modern port at Hambanthotta.  Earlier this month, Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa visited Beijing to seek its support to stave off the US-led move.

The US delegation's statement on the resolution on Sri Lanka:

"The United States is pleased to introduce draft resolution L.2, on Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka for consideration and approval by this Council.  This resolution enjoys the broad support of 40 co-sponsors.  A copy of the text, including slight revisions, is being circulated in the room today.

It is almost three years since the end of Sri Lanka's long and painful conflict.  For the past three years, my government has worked bilaterally, and with like-minded countries, to engage officials at the highest levels of the Sri Lankan government on the steps that are necessary to build a peaceful future for the Sri Lankan people.  For those three years Sri Lanka has had the time and space to develop its own roadmap for lasting national reconciliation and accountability.  Most recently, we have encouraged Sri Lanka to address actions taken on both sides of the conflict through its domestic Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission Process.  We looked forward to the Commission's report, and understood that Sri Lanka would develop its own action plan to implement the LLRC recommendations.

We have also worked bilaterally, and with like-minded countries, to encourage Sri Lanka to take advantage of the resources of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  And we have encouraged Sri Lanka to engage with the Council, and to benefit from the broad range of experiences of Member States that have dealt successfully with their own post-conflict situations.

Mme President and Distinguished delegates, an enduring peace will be unsustainable without meaningful steps to foster national reconciliation and accountability.

Given the lack of action to implement the recommendations of the Sri Lankan government's own LLRC, and the need for additional steps to address accountability issues not covered in the LLRC report, it is appropriate that the UNHRC consider and adopt this moderate and balanced resolution.  It is a resolution that encourages Sri Lanka to implement the recommendations of it own LLRC and to make concerted efforts at achieving the kind of meaningful accountability upon which lasting reconciliation efforts can be built.

In addition, this Resolution urges Sri Lanka to work with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and draw from helpful expertise the Office can offer.

These proposals are reasonable, constructive, and carefully tailored to the needs of the situation.  At our informal session on March 8, none of the many delegations present offered proposals for specific textual modifications.

To close, I wish to emphasize that this resolution is intended to help the people of Sri Lanka achieve a lasting and equitable peace that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect.

Thank you.

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Sri Lanka asks India to re-think vote on UN resolution on war crimes

Colombo/ New Delhi:  Sri Lanka has urged India to reconsider voting in favour of a resolution on Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Yesterday, the Prime Minister told Parliament that India is likely to vote in favour of  the resolution which has been moved by Norway, the US and France. Dr Manmohan Singh said that while the text of the resolution is not yet known to India, "We do not yet have the final text of the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka. However, I may assure the House that we are inclined to vote in favour of a resolution that we hope will advance our objective, namely the achievement of a future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect."

Sources say Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister called External Affairs Minister SM Krishna today and asked him to reconsider the decision.
The government has been under huge pressure from its ally, the DMK, which has warned that it could withdraw its ministers from the cabinet if India either abstained or supported Sri Lanka during the vote.
The resolution asks for an inquiry into the alleged war crimes and violation of human rights by the Sri Lankan government as it ended the island's civil war by defeating the LTTE.  
The reported crimes against Sri Lankan Tamils have provoked an angry response in Tamil Nadu.

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