JOIN USThe passage of a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolution calling on Colombo to implement recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission is an indication of the depth of despair the Sri Lankan government’s failure to ensure justice and accountability has evoked worldwide. This despair is evident not only from the passage of the resolution but also from the fact that several countries like India that supported the resolution now had in fact backed the government in 2009 when it was being censured internationally for its targeting of civilians in the final stages of the war.
While coalition compulsions did play a role in India deciding to support to US-sponsored resolution, Delhi’s growing impatience with the Lankan government’s stubborn refusal to fix accountability or find a political solution to the conflict appears to have pushed its hand. India has done well to end years of silence on the Tamil issue, even setting aside its huge economic and strategic interests in the island, to speak up on the need to do justice by the Tamil people. Colombo had tended to take Delhi for granted. Delhi’s new assertion should serve as a wake-up call to the Rajapaksa government.
Sri Lanka is at a crossroads. Its response to the UNHRC resolution will be crucial in determining its future. If the UN resolution prompts defiance and deepens Sinhala chauvinism, it could make the Rajapaksa government more intransigent on finding a solution to the ethnic conflict. However, should the resolution nudge the country to respond to global sentiment it could result in course correction. Early signs emerging from Colombo are not encouraging.
Dire warnings of economic boycotts and a Lankan tilt towards China have been raised by sections in Sri Lanka. These sections must realise that given India’s proximity to Sri Lanka and the many bonds between the two peoples, ignoring India or cozying up to the Chinese is not in the island’s best interests. Even if India did vote for the resolution, its efforts in the text being more mindful of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty must not be forgotten. Not only should Colombo recognise that the ethnic conflict needs a political solution, but also it should see India as an ally in finding a solution. After all, India is committed to Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity. India has ideas, influence and experience that Colombo could draw on to reach out to the Tamils.