24-Mar-2012Human Rights organizations and Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora have valid reasons to be jubilant about the outcome of the 19th Session of Human Rights Council held in Geneva on March 22, 2012. There was intense lobbying by the Sri Lankan Government to defeat the US sponsored resolution to promote reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka. On the other hand, activists in the Tamil diaspora ceaselessly campaigned, supported by human rights groups, to hold the Sri Lankan Government accountable for the gross human rights violations and the killing of nearly 40,000 innocent civilians during the last stages of the Fourth Eelam War.
There was one common bond uniting those who were for and against Sri Lanka. Both sides were keen to get India’s support to their point of view. And in the end, it was the human rights groups which had reasons to be satisfied with the outcome. They were quite happy that New Delhi voted for the resolution, which marked a welcome change in India’s Sri Lanka policy. The highly respected, soft spoken Christian priest, Fr. SJ Emmanuel, President of the Global Tamil Forum, hailed the UN resolution as the “first step in seeking justice” for thousands of innocent Tamil civilians who “died in vain” during the war. He added that the Tamils were particularly “thankful” to the Government and people of India for supporting the cause of justice.
