( March 21, 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) With less than 48 hours left before the vote on the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, it is India that appears to be in turmoil rather than Sri Lanka, which disconcertingly seems to be striking a different self-destructive course.
Already Tamil Nadu seems to be simmering, with both anti-Sri Lankan rhetoric and whipped up frenzy. The high jinx of the south was transformed into high drama in the Delhi Parliament, where the Sri Lankan Tamil issue lead to some serious chaos yesterday. Not to be outdone, the Indian Tamil film industry also pitched in with the threat to stop the export of Tamil movies to Sri Lanka if the UN doesn't charge Colombo with 'genocide of Tamils'.
However, the supreme gesture of histrionic came from M. Karunanidhi, the leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), who converted threat to action and got his party to quit the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition, protesting against the watered down resolution, seen as an appeasement endeavour by the US to garner India's vote.
Certainly, the toning down of the original draft, which called for 'external rapporteurs to investigate war crimes and human rights abuses in the post-conflict period,' has made the resolution easier for the Indian Government to support it. According to the Indian media, the 'watering down' takes care of most of New Delhi's concerns, making the resolution something India will be able to 'live with.'
The new resolution, which asks the Sri Lankan Government to take the necessary steps to investigate allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses during the last days of the conflict, rather than imposing outside investigators to carry out the probe, is being seen as a victory for Indian diplomacy and the actual degree of closeness between New Delhi and Washington.
It's doubtful whether Karunanidhi cares a stoat's toe nail damn about how close New Delhi and Washington are. But he does care about his image as the saviour of the Tamils and hence his demand for outside intervention into war crime probe and the term 'genocide' to describe the large-scale human rights violations against the Tamils.
The pullout may have caused quite a drama from a man used to making theatrical gestures and threats, but in the end it also may prove futile, given India's firm commitment to the idea of non-interference in the internal matters of sovereign nations. Indeed, India had passed a similar resolution only a week ago warning Pakistan against meddling with India's internal affairs.
It remains to be seen what theatrics Karunanidhi will resort to next, given the fact that having lost an assembly election rather badly, he doesn't wield the same degree of power he did before. But then again, he can always resort to mobilizing public opinion, an easy task given how Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa have been competing on the Sri Lankan issues, keeping the pot of blind hatred, constantly stirred and simmering.
Testimony to this is the events of the past several month, gaining intensity as the D-Day for the resolution gets closer. The past fast few weeks have seen several attacks on Sri Lankan tourists, students and Buddhist monks and Sri Lankan establishments. Where this is heading should be a matter of grave concern for New Delhi, and for Sri Lanka too, if the veiled threats of the fringe elements protesting against the attacks in Colombo these past few days are anything to go by.
But to get back to Karunanidhi and the DMK, will the protest and the walk out, and even a tough resolution, should that come to pass, push the Rajapaksa Government to be honest about the last days of the war and be more amenable to the reconciliatory process? Sadly, all that the protests, demonstrations and din in South India seves to do, is make it easier for the government to dismiss any outside effort, if it comes from the west, as a 'Tamil Diaspora' inspired act and if it comes from India, as being inspired by 'pro-LTTE factors'.
For their part, it is doubtful whether even Sri Lankan Tamils accept that the actions of the Tamil Nadu politicians are genuine and not a political gimmick, leading one to wonder, just what the pre-resolution histrionics in Tamil Nadu is all about. It also compels one to ask the important question, does Tamil Nadu really care about the Tamils in Sri Lanka?
- Ceylon Today Editorial
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