US resolution on Lanka helps India but hits DMK hard

The latest draft of the US resolution on Sri Lanka may be acceptable to most countries, including Sri Lanka, but in terms of state politics, it pushes DMK into a corner. Jayanth Jacob reports.

The latest draft of the US resolution on Sri Lanka may be acceptable to most countries, including Sri Lanka, but in terms of state politics, it pushes DMK into a corner.

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While a political call is yet to be made on the resolution by the UPA government, India’s permanent representative at UN in Geneva Dilip Sinha will be arriving here late Tuesday night for a final round of consultations.

The latest draft is much softer than the resolution United Nations Human Rights Council adopted last year on Lanka, but from a foreign policy point of view, it is in India’s interest.

The first two changes can address India’s concern over the resolution not infringing on sovereignty and there is no “intrusive provisions” of international investigations.

The resolution now calls for a “credible, and independent” investigation into the human rights violations, replacing Sri Lanka with “each state”.

The resolution also encourages “to cooperate with special procedures mandate holders and to respond formally to their outstanding requests, including by extending invitations and providing access”.

Consistent with Indian position, the emphasis on international observers getting unfettered access is gone.

The revised resolution also welcomes the decision to hold elections to the Provincial Council in the Northern Province in September 2013, rebuilding infrastructure in Northern Sri Lanka and how the internal LLRC report can be the basis of national reconciliation.