NEW DELHI — A dispute over a United Nations
resolution on the bloody end to Sri Lanka's civil war with ethnic Tamil rebels
is threatening the stability of India's already shaky coalition
government.
A
key ethnic Tamil party withdrew from the coalition Tuesday, accusing the
government of watering down a U.N. resolution criticizing Sri Lanka's war-time
conduct against its minority Tamil population. The party, Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam, has demanded the U.N. Human Rights Council resolution accuse Sri Lanka
of genocide and that it lead to the formation of an international inquiry into
possible war crimes. The party also demanded a similar resolution be passed by
India's Parliament.
The
DMK party, from the southern state of Tamil Nadu, has 18 members in Parliament,
five of them government ministers.
The
issue of Sri Lanka's actions in the final five months of its quarter-century
civil war in 2009 poses a conundrum for the Indian government. It is concerned
that too strong a resolution will anger its Indian Ocean island neighbor and
push it deeper into China's sphere of influence.
However,
the anger of ethnic Tamil parties in India – and the precarious nature of the
coalition – puts it under pressure to take a hard line toward Sri Lanka.
A
U.N. investigation into the final months of the war indicated the ethnic
Sinhalese-dominated government might have killed as many as 40,000 minority
Tamil civilians. The Tamil Tigers had been fighting for a breakaway Tamil state
in northern Sri Lanka.
Indian
Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the government was still considering its
position on the U.N. vote, adding that any resolution by Parliament would
require a consultation with its other government allies, a process the Congress
party had already begun. He insisted the DMK's withdrawal would not topple the
government, even though the coalition is already a minority government that
leans heavily on small regional parties and is routinely held hostage to their
pet interests.
National
elections are not expected until next year.
The
DMK accused the government of diluting a draft Sri Lanka resolution sponsored by
the United States and ignoring the Tamil party's concerns.
"It
will be a big harm to the Tamil race for the DMK to continue in government,"
said the party's leader, M. Karunanidhi.
Several
Tamil legislators, from the DMK and an opposition party, disrupted Parliament,
storming the well and chanting, "We want justice."
However,
Karunanidhi left open the possibility of rejoining the government, saying, `'We
are ready to change our opinion" if the demands are met.
The
U.N. draft resolution, posted on a U.N. website late Monday, calls on Sri Lanka
to implement the recommendations of its own war commission and take action to
ensure justice and reconciliation in the country.
It
also calls for the implementation of recommendations issued last month by the
U.N.'s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, who accused the government of
failing to investigate reports of widespread killings and other war-time
atrocities. Pillay's report said opposition leaders were being killed or
abducted in Sri Lanka. It also questioned the government's commitment to postwar
justice and urged Sri Lankan authorities to allow international experts to
investigate allegations of human rights violations.
Rights
group Amnesty International also blamed India for pushing for a weak U.N.
resolution.
"There
is a lot of evidence in this draft resolution to clearly show the imprint of
Indian influence. There is a significant downgrading of the international
community's concerns regarding human rights violations in Sri Lanka," G.
Ananthapadmanabhan, the head of Amnesty International in India, said in a
statement.
The
rights council passed a similar resolution last year that human rights
campaigners accuse Sri Lanka of largely ignoring.
Ananthapadmanabhan
said the new resolution is especially weak given new information about possible
war crimes that has come to light since last year.
Congress
President Sonia Gandhi declined to comment on the DMK's withdrawal, but earlier
Tuesday called for an "independent and credible" inquiry.
"We
are anguished by reports of unspeakable atrocities on innocent civilians and
children, especially during the last days of the conflict in 2009," she said,
according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
A
Sri Lanka spokesman denied that his government was involved in genocide.
"This
is far from the truth," Keheliya Rambukwella said.
He
also dismissed the events in neighboring India.
"We
don't get involved in provincial politics of another country," he said.
___
Associated
Press writer Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contributed to this
report.
