India likely to back UN war crimes investigation of Sri Lanka

Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan president

Mon Feb 24, 2014 A leaked report from India states that the government will back the inq ir! into war crimes against "ri #anka when the case reaches the $nited %ations & man 'ights (ommission )$%&('* ne+t month, Sri Lanka was convicted of enocide !he "ermanent "eoples# !rib$nal % Session II &th % '(th )ecember *('+, in ,remen, ermany- !his was the straw that broke the camel.s back/!he !rib$nal fo$nd that genocide against the 0elam !amil gro$p has not yet achieved the total destr$ction of their identity- !he genocidal coordinated plan of actions reached its clima1 on May *((2, b$t it is clear that the Sri Lanka overnment project to erase the 0elam !amil identity, corroborated by the above mentioned cond$ct, shows that genocide is a process and that process is ongoing/Sri Lanka.s government was heralded for its *((2 defeat of the Liberation !igers of !amil 0elam 3L!!04, b$t years of reports of severe war crimes against the /!amil !igers/ are coming home to roost- 5ll of denials of responsibility Sri Lanka has become famo$s for, will mean little once the case reaches the United Nations 6$man Rights 7ommission 3UN67R4 ne1t month!he L!!0 was essentially a band of revol$tionaries and like the 5mericans in the Revol$tionary 8ar, they diversified from standard military tactics- !he !amil !igers, however imperfect, was formed to protect the !amil people from a government foc$sed on ethnic cleansing, and establishing an all ,$ddhist nation!he /!amil !igers/ were declared a terrorist organi9ation, by +* different co$ntries over timeSri Lanka declared that the L!!0 was a terrorist gro$p from :an$ary '22; to < September

*((*, when a cease fire was declared- 5s the government prepared an all o$t effort to defeat the L!!0 d$ring the final phase of the nearly three=decade long civil war, it again designated the L!!0 as a terrorist organi9ation on & :an$ary *((2- !his was the la$nch of the period of tort$ro$s enocide5t this point, India has not f$lly committed to the process against Sri Lanka> however, the government of Indian prime minister, )r Manmohan Singh, is $nder press$re from reat ,ritain and other co$ntries that have increased lobbying efforts- 5nalysts believe India will do what it takes to hold onto its !amil allies as the Spring general election nearsSingh did s$rprisingly choose to boycott last year.s 7ommonwealth 6eads of overnment s$mmit in 7olombo, s$cc$mbing to press$re from key allies, incl$ding the )ravida M$nnetra ?a9hagam 3)M?4, which is one of India.s two main parties in the state of !amil Nad$"ri #ankan -resident Ma.inda 'a.apakse $nder -ress reRajapakse will in the end, have an impossible task> that is e1plaining the co$ntless atrocities that were carried o$t against !amils in the final stages of Sri Lanka.s civil war)riving the matter forward, is UN 6$man Rights 7ommissioner Navi "illay- !he timing of the release of her *(=page s$bmission to both the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government, happened less than three weeks before a highly anticipated UN meeting in eneva where the U? and US are e1pected to propose a formal war crimes in@$iry!he United Nations# h$man rights chief has called for an international war crimes investigation into alleged atrocities carried o$t in the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war, according to reports!here are consistent findings that the L!!0 also committed h$man rights ab$ses and war crimes- 8hile the evidence of the acts of the Sri Lankan 5rmy are well doc$mented, far less evidence e1ists to demonstrate the L!!0.s wrongdoingsIn an interview with 5sian 6$man Rights 7ommission last year, Navi "illay, said Sri Lankan !amils feel completely threatened by the very heavy military presence there- 5s has been reported many times, the Sinhala9ation process by the ,$ddhist govt- of Sri Lanka is a contin$ing element of the ethnic cleansing process that has been $nderway in Sri Lanka for decades"illay said, /I met abo$t &(( people in I)" camps, all of them has been fishing folk or planted rice on paddy fields and their lands have been confiscated witho$t compensation, some of them said that the military have b$ilt their str$ct$res over that-/ !he UN 6$man rights 7ommissioner cited h$ge levels of insec$rity, fear, and s$rveillance- /I saw that for myself- "eople whom I.d interview s$ch as a :es$it priest, a 7hristian father were immediately visited by the military even while I was still in the co$ntry and I complained to the overnment abo$t this-/

Sri Lanka will long be known for its atrocio$s acts against !amil civilians who were directed to enter so=called /No Aire Bones/ and then r$thlessly attacked by artillery- Some of the ro$nds fell on and near a UN compo$nd in the Canni, perhaps this grinds at "illay.s heart, along with the fact that the UN.s decision to p$ll its observers from the gro$nd in Sri Lanka in *((2 basically facilitated the enocide of $p to 'D(,((( people##'(/ "ri #anka0s #ost 1pport nit!In the wake of the violence in Sri Lanka, the government directed the creation of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation 7ommission, which went to work and created a massive report detailing some of the ab$se, treading lightly tho$gh on Rajapakse.s military mission!he report assessed plenty of blame on the L!!0, referred to many of the dead as /h$man shields/- 6ad Sri Lanka followed the LLR7, it may have shown an ade@$ate degree of responsibility, b$t it did not- Instead the government has consistently scoffed at the idea of being acco$ntable for crimes it says never happenedIn fact the tho$sands of dead !amils, according to the govt- of Sri Lanka, were all victims of the !amil !igers, which is an impossible claim as the acts of Sri Lanka.s army were heavily witnessed, and former soldiers of this army have provided some of the most damning evidence against the government themselves!he allegations against Sri Lanka incl$de se1 crimes and m$tilation, responsibility for tho$sands of dead prisoners, tho$sands of !amils locked away in camps never to be seen again, and even darker things like tort$re and $sing rape as a weapon against both men and womenSri Lanka is famo$s for $sing white vans to abd$ct and m$rder jo$rnalists who write negatively abo$t the Rajapakse regime, and the m$rdered jo$rnalists are not all !amil"illay is only one world leader who tired of the Rajapakse regime.s flippant attit$de- !his all takes place with the United States in an interesting rebo$nd- !he US and U? are both considered to be complicit in the enocide itself, according to the r$ling of !he "ermanent "eoples# !rib$nal- Efficials in 8ashington )7 were aware of the sla$ghter of !amils in *((2 and it did not raise their voice- If India $ltimately joins this @$est to force Sri Lanka to acco$ntability, it will $ndo$btedly give confidence to a battered !amil pop$lation-