Indians Get Tough With Sri Lanka
Sunday, July 08, 2012
- Menon Invites Basil To Visit India
- Indian Govt’s Decision On SLAF Personnel Not Conveyed To SL
The Indian government is now getting tough with the Mahinda Rajapaksa administration by showing that it could not take for granted the relations between India and Sri Lanka.India will play an important role come November when Sri Lanka would be taken up for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on human rights before the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) in Geneva.
India is a member of the troika along with Spain and Benin that were selected by the UNHRC to oversee Sri Lanka’s UPR.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President Mahinda Rajapaksa , Deputy External Affairs Minister Neomal Perera and Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon
In this backdrop, the statement made by Indian National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on their stance on Sri Lanka cannot be taken lightly.
The Indian media last week stated that Menon has made it clear to the Sri Lankan top brass that New Delhi’s stance at the UPR of Sri Lanka’s human rights record at the UNHRC in November would depend entirely on what Colombo does to improve its human rights image.
Menon’s comments highlighted in the media are following the response by the senior Sri Lankan government members during his recent visit to Sri Lanka.
When Menon had raised the issue of reconciliation and a political settlement to the ethnic issues, the government had responded saying it was committed to finding a political settlement, but that it needed to find one that suits Sri Lanka and had refrained from giving a time frame.
Hence, India realizing Sri Lanka’s vulnerability at the UNHRC in November during the UPR has fired an early warning to the Rajapaksa administration that Sri Lanka could have its way in every aspect – be it the political settlements for the ethnic issue or facing the scrutiny from the international community.
The Rajapaksa government is currently preparing for the UPR and is in the process of overseeing the progress made in the implementation of voluntary pledges given by Sri Lanka at the UPR in 2008.
Neighboring India, who has kept tabs on Sri Lankan affairs, has a clear picture of what Sri Lanka has managed to achieve in the last four years since the last UPR and what is currently being implemented on the human rights front.
Be that as it may, Menon’s comment highlighted in the Indian media that the issues of ethnic reconciliation and political settlement of the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka are matters to be settled by Sri Lankans is interpreted to mean that Lanka cannot count on blind backing from India at the UNHRC.
However, given the relations between India and Sri Lanka since 2005, it was only a matter of time before India decided to adopt a tough stance on the Sri Lankan government.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa since assuming office first in November 2005 has continuously, on various occasions, given assurances to the Indian government about a political solution to the ethnic issue.
After discussing about the 13th Amendment, Rajapaksa has on many occasions gone to the extent of saying the government was prepared to look at a solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment.
The first instance where confidence in the Rajapaksa government’s commitment to solving the ethnic issue was the inaction on the report submitted on the ethnic issue by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) on an initiative by the President.
President Rajapaksa has now lost credibility in the face of the Indian government.
The Rajapaksa government also in 2009 had promised to effectively implement the devolution package contained in the 13th Amendment, but failed to honor it.
The Indian media last week stated that Menon has made it clear to the Sri Lankan top brass that New Delhi’s stance at the UPR of Sri Lanka’s human rights record at the UNHRC in November would depend entirely on what Colombo does to improve its human rights image.
Menon’s comments highlighted in the media are following the response by the senior Sri Lankan government members during his recent visit to Sri Lanka.
When Menon had raised the issue of reconciliation and a political settlement to the ethnic issues, the government had responded saying it was committed to finding a political settlement, but that it needed to find one that suits Sri Lanka and had refrained from giving a time frame.
Hence, India realizing Sri Lanka’s vulnerability at the UNHRC in November during the UPR has fired an early warning to the Rajapaksa administration that Sri Lanka could have its way in every aspect – be it the political settlements for the ethnic issue or facing the scrutiny from the international community.
The Rajapaksa government is currently preparing for the UPR and is in the process of overseeing the progress made in the implementation of voluntary pledges given by Sri Lanka at the UPR in 2008.
Neighboring India, who has kept tabs on Sri Lankan affairs, has a clear picture of what Sri Lanka has managed to achieve in the last four years since the last UPR and what is currently being implemented on the human rights front.
Be that as it may, Menon’s comment highlighted in the Indian media that the issues of ethnic reconciliation and political settlement of the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka are matters to be settled by Sri Lankans is interpreted to mean that Lanka cannot count on blind backing from India at the UNHRC.
However, given the relations between India and Sri Lanka since 2005, it was only a matter of time before India decided to adopt a tough stance on the Sri Lankan government.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa since assuming office first in November 2005 has continuously, on various occasions, given assurances to the Indian government about a political solution to the ethnic issue.
After discussing about the 13th Amendment, Rajapaksa has on many occasions gone to the extent of saying the government was prepared to look at a solution that goes beyond the 13th Amendment.
The first instance where confidence in the Rajapaksa government’s commitment to solving the ethnic issue was the inaction on the report submitted on the ethnic issue by the All Party Representative Committee (APRC) on an initiative by the President.
President Rajapaksa has now lost credibility in the face of the Indian government.
The Rajapaksa government also in 2009 had promised to effectively implement the devolution package contained in the 13th Amendment, but failed to honor it.
