Vaiko, Thol Thirumavalavan ask Centre not to back SL in UNHRC session
Chennai: MDMK general secretary Vaiko and VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan on Monday appealed to the Centre not to support Sri Lanka during the ongoing United Nations Human Rights Council meeting, since the island government had not implemented the council's resolution in 2015 to set up a hybrid mechanism to probe the war crimes during the military offensive against the LTTE in 2009.
Vaiko, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution in 2015 paving the way for an independent impartial investigation by international jurists into the war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan army in 2009.
But, Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had declared that the island nation would not permit any jurist from any country into Lanka for the investigation into the happenings of 2009.
High Commissioner for United Nations Human Rights Council Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein made a statement criticising the slow progress in addressing wartime crimes. He requested the Union government to take necessary steps to change the Indian Government's position in the HRC in favor of an independent international investigation.
Announcing a protest on March 8 demanding that the war crimes issue be referred to the International Criminal Court through the UN General Assembly, Thirumavalavan said when North Korea failed to abide the UNHRC's resolution, the issue was sent to the ICC.
The Lankan government is refusing to accept the participation of international law experts in the war crimes probe, he said and opposed giving more time to the island to begin the enquiry. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zied Raad Al Hussein had submitted a report that there is no progress in Lanka on the commission's resolutions and supporting Lanka would mean supporting anti-Tamil activities, he said.
Thamizhaga Vazhvurimai Katchi leader T. Velmurugan said members of Tamil National Alliance representing Lankan Tamils had given a letter to UNHCR not to give more time for Lanka for inquiry and asked the Indian government to oppose efforts to bury justice by conducting a local enquiry.
