CHENNAI: Several political parties in Tamil Nadu have urged the Centre to vote in favour of the resolution tabled against Sri Lanka in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Tuesday. The DMK and the MDMK from the opposition and BJP ally PMK called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure a vote against Sri Lanka and stand for human rights and peace in the island nation.
DMK president MK Stalin, in a statement on Sunday, said the government of India should not support Sri Lanka in UNHRC. India should also gather support ofother countries to take Sri Lanka to the International Court of Justice for war crimes and human rights violations during the 2009 ethnic war.
Pointing out that a Sri Lankan diplomat had claimed India would support Sri Lanka at the UNHRC, Stalin said the absence of any response from the Prime Minister had shocked Tamils across the globe. It is saddening that a Sri Lankan bureaucrat talked about the foreign policy of India, while the Prime Minister and his officials maintained a stoic silence, Stalin said.
Stalin said DMK MPs had sent a letter to the PM urging him to vote against Sri Lanka in UNHRC. “The plans to ignores the views of elected representatives and take a stand in favour of Sri Lanka are highly condemnable,’’ Stalin said.
“I request Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the issue immediately and vote in favour of the resolution against Sri Lanka with necessary amendments,’’ he said.
MDMK general secretary Vaiko too criticized the Centre for remaining silent after Sri Lankan foreign secretary Jayanath Kolambage said India would support Sri Lanka.
Vaiko said the proposed resolution was not a fullfledged one that would hold Sri Lanka accountable for war crimes. “But there are reports that India would not be supporting even this halfbaked resolution. The BJP government should not play with the sentiments of Tamil people. Tamils will never forgive BJP government if it supports Lanka,’’ he said.
Rajya Sabha MP Dr Anbumani Ramadoss of the PMK sent a letter to the Minister for External Affair Jaishankar on Sunday requesting that India vote for the resolution on promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka in the UNHRC. He pointed out that the Prime Minister had said at a public meeting in Chennai last month that India was committed to ensuring that the Tamils there lived with equity, equality, justice, peace and dignity. ``Hence, I request that India votes in favour of the UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka and stand for human rights and peace in Sri Lanka,’’ he said.