US UNHRC inaction not inconsistent with saving Rajapakse in US Courts, says TAG

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 March 2013, 01:03 GMT]
The resolution tabled in the Geneva UNHCR sessions by the USA in concert with India, which sidesteps forcing an independent international investigation into the Mu’l’livaaykaal killings, and misleads the Eezham Tamils into a mirage that international community will seek accountability, appears entirely consistent with the intervention of the U.S. State Department in the legal actions pursued by Tamil plaintiffs against Sri Lanka’s President Rajapakse, legal sources in Washington said. U.S. is acting as a proxy to Rajapakses in filing legal briefs and replacing Patton Boggs as “the attorneys” for Rajapakse. 

“The U.S. State Department exercising the discretionary powers to intervene legally in the case against Rajapakse effectively blocks a pre-trial discovery process which would have uncovered facts related to the Sri Lanka killings. Therefore, this US intervention is not inconsistent with the resolution which does not call for an independent international investigation,” spokesperson for Tamils Against Genocide (TAG), a US-based activist organization that seeks legal redress to Tamil victims war, said.

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit has scheduled March 8th, 9:30 am for the oral argument in the appeal case against Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse for civil damages on war-crimes charges filed by three Tamil plaintiffs whose relatives were extra-judicially executed or unlawfully killed under the “command responsibility” of Rajapakse. 

United States Justice Department lawyers, under the direction from the State Department, will present the legal oral argument supporting immunity to Defendant-Appellee Rajapakse, legal sources in Washington said. Rajapakse appointed attorneys at Patton Boggs, a large law firm in Washington D.C. will concede their full allocagted time to the US Government to argue the case for Rajapakse, the procedural motions in the case docket indicated.

“The U.S. Government has affirmatively exercised its option, first in the trial court, and now in the appellate court, to intervene to save Rajapakse from legal action by legitimate victims of his allegedly murderous conduct. Ambassador Blake architected policy of appeasing Sri Lanka overlooking the killing more than 80,000 Tamil civilians in Mu’l’livaaykkaal, appears to have even trumped Sri Lanka’s continued dismissal of the chorus of disapproval from the West on autocracy-leaning governance matters in Colombo,” TAG spokesperson said in an earlier note to TamilNet.

BJP’s 2 yardsticks for conflicts: Army withdrawal desired in Sri Lanka, not Kashmir

Autonomy a dirty word here, welcome outside the country

KT NEWS SERVICENEW DELHI, March 8: Bhartiya Janta Party has exposed its dubious stand on militarized conflicts with party leader Yashwant Sinha spelling out a 7 point recipe to end Tamil crises in Sri Lanka, which is in striking contrast to the BJP stand on the issue of Kashmir.
Yashwant Sinha’s road map, spelt out during a debate in the Lok Sabha yesterday on the Sri Lankan crisis, however, almost resembles what Kashmir’s two mainstream parties NC and PDP demand for ending crises in Jammu and Kashmir. The same BJP opposes these proposals tooth and nail for Kashmir, while demanding them for Tamil dominated Northern Sri Lanka.
While the BJP opposes any demand for repeal of AFSPA or any attempt to reduce the footprint of the armed forces in Kashmir, Sinha has advocated complete withdrawal of Army from Northern Sri Lanka and handing over of law and order duties to the local police.
BJP calls for taking a stern stand on Kashmir without any concession to Kashmiris and has strongly voiced its opposition to the amnesty policy for surrendered militants. But Yashwant’s recipe for Sri Lanka includes suggestion for a Reconciliation Committee.
BJP has opposed tooth and nail any proposal for autonomy in the case of Kashmir and while in power at the centre even rejected the Farooq Abdullah government on autonomy for Jammu and Kashmir. The party has also voiced its reservations to any talk of restoration of pre-1952 status and instead calls for abrogation of Article 370 and complete integration of the state to the Union of India. However, the 7-point proposal for Sri Lanka springs a surprise with a suggestion for additional provisions in the existing laws to ensure full devolution of powers to Northern Sri Lanka.
Sinha has also advocated an independent and impartial enquiry comprising people from outside Sri Lanka to probe human rights abuses but the BJP is in complete denial of human rights abuse when it comes to Kashmir and opposes any talk of probing these cases as an “anti-national” act. In striking contrast, Sinha advocates a commitment from Sri Lankan government for punishing the guilty.
While BJP is one the strongest critics of any third party intervention in the Kashmir conflict, Sinha seeks a greater role for India in the Sri Lankan conflict resolution, calling for not just a vote at the UN Human Rights Council but also for a greater role in drafting the resolution itself. Interestingly, at the same time, he talks about warning other neighbourhood countries from interfering in the island country.
During his intervention in Lok Sabha, Yashwant Sinha’s seven-point road map included the following broad points:

1. Withdrawal of Army from Northern Sri Lanka and handing over law and order duties to local police.

2. Implementation of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee.

3. Implementation of not only 13th Amendment, but additional provisions to ensure full devolution of powers to Northern Sri Lanka
4. Institution of an independent and impartial enquiry comprising people from outside Sri Lanka to probe human rights abuses

5. Clear commitment that guilty shall be punished

6. India should not merely vote at the UN Human Rights Council, but take a lead in drafting resolution against Sri Lanka.

7. Let India convey other nations in neighbourhood not to interfere in affairs of Sri Lanka and Indo-Sri Lanka relations.