Indian Decision On Attending CHOGM Will Affect Its Moral
Jehan Perera
Doubts are being cast on Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s willingness to participate in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in November in Sri Lanka. Indian spokespersons have been very circumspect on the issue. Without committing themselves or giving an indication of whether the answer will be in the affirmative or negative, they merely say that the level of Indian representation has yet to be decided on. Indian politics is always full of issues that require the full time attention of its government leadership. Later this year, and coinciding with CHOGM there will be several important Indian states that will be going to the polls for state level elections. However, the most likely cause of the Indian Prime Minister’s indecision to visiting Sri Lanka is the opposition to Indian participation that has been emanating from the state of Tamil Nadu.
During the last phase of the war which ended in 2009, emotions in Tamil Nadu escalated to fever pitch over India’s support to Sri Lanka to militarily defeat the LTTE at a very high human cost. This led the Indian government to seek out and obtain pledges from its Sri Lankan counterparts that priority would be given to ensuring the safety of the civilian population trapped in the war zones. In addition, India sought and obtained pledges from the Sri Lankan government that it would implement a political solution after the war that would satisfy the aspirations of the Tamil people. Not only did the Sri Lankan government agree to implement a political solution, it also assured India that it would go beyond the existing framework of devolution of power to an undefined 13 Amendment Plus.
What makes the situation difficult for the Indian government in dealing with the demands emanating from Tamil Nadu is that the Sri Lankan government’s implementation of its promises has been like the proverbial Curate’s Egg, which was good and bad in parts. Sri Lanka continues to be condemned by the international human rights community and by some Western governments on its treatment of the civilian population during the war, and even after the war. The Canadian government’s decision to downgrade its representation at the Commonwealth Summit is on account of human rights issues, including the failure to investigate war crimes, and the larger failure to observe “Commonwealth Values”. These are also issues that continue to agitate activists in Tamil Nadu and human rights activists the world over.
