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US resolution not against people of Sri Lanka Suren Surendiran

By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan- February 2 2!"# $he %lobal $amil Forum &%$F' one of the leading $amil (iaspora organi)ations in the U* has taken up a ma+or initiati,e to lobby for a US resolution -hich is e.pected to be taken up by the U/ 0uman Rights 1ouncil &U/0R1' in %ene,a in March2

%$F Spokesperson Suren Surendiran says the US does not -ork on the $amil (isapora3s pressure and adds 4$he US resolutions are not against the people of Sri Lanka2 5hen calling for an international in,estigation of -hether -ar crimes and crimes against humanity took place it is directly targeting the regime24 6.cerpts7 87 0o- many countries according to you and other (iaspora groups -ill ,ote against Sri Lanka this time -ould it be more than last time9 :7 ; am not a magician2 ; am afraid to predict -hich countries -ill ,ote and -hether it -ill be more than the last time2 0o-e,er -hat ; kno- is countries are no- a-are that the situation on the ground is getting from bad to -orse2 $hey kno- that the %o,ernment of Sri Lanka is systematically destroying our claim to our land religion and culture to an e.tent of being e.tinct2 ;t3s no surprise that a former Supreme 1ourt <udge and present 1hief Minister of the ne-ly-elected /orthern =ro,incial 1ouncil &/=1' calls the current ground reality as 3e>ui,alent to genocide23

87 :re you lobbying against Sri Lanka and asking countries to ,ote in fa,our of the US resolution9 :7 ?es of course2 Father S2<2 6mmanuel %$F3s =resident is at present in :ustralia tra,elling and meeting se,eral enablers and decision-makers to con,ince that :ustralia must co-sponsor any such forthcoming resolution +ust as she did in the past t-o sessions2 Father 6mmanuel se,eral others and ; -ill be tra,elling to ,arious cities during the coming -eeks including %ene,a to create a-areness at the capitals of the ,oting countries -here such decisions are made2 87 :re all the $amil (iaspora groups under different organi)ations -orking together on lobbying in fa,our of the US resolution against Sri Lanka9 :7 Many (iaspora organi)ations and many organi)ations from Sri Lanka including the $amil /ational :lliance &$/:' and other $amil and non-$amil organi)ations are -orking independently and some collecti,ely in support of a potential US resolution2 87 5e hear that you are spending millions of dollars to get other countries to back the US resolution2 ;s that true and -hat is the budget9 :7 =aying millions for ,otes may be a Ra+apaksa regime trait but international politics doesn3t -ork that -ay2 6,en if it did don3t you think the %o,ernment of Sri Lanka -ould ha,e much more capability and capacity for such an approach9 87 $here is speculation that the US is taking a stance against Sri Lanka because of the $amil (iaspora2 0o- -ill you defend this statement9 :7 ;f the US Foreign =olicy could be influenced by the $amil (iaspora do you think -e -ould ha,e lobbied them for the te.ts of the past t-o resolutions to be -orded as they -ere9 $he US action against Sri Lanka is due to the ,alues upon -hich the US has been founded upon2 ;t is also because of the gro-ing frustration -ithin the international community about the authoritarian direction that =resident Ra+apaksa is dri,ing Sri Lanka to-ards and his regime3s ignorant belief that -ith time breaches of international la-s -ill be forgotten2 87 5hat do you e.pect in the US-backed resolution this time9 :7 5e e.pect that it calls for an international independent in>uiry -ithout any ambiguity against both sides to the conflict2 ;t e.presses mechanisms to arrest the current deteriorating human rights situation not +ust for $amils in Sri Lanka but also for all communities including follo-ers of minority religions2 5hen referring to sustainable reconciliation -e hope that the resolution -ill ensure e.pressing the importance and the rele,ance of a long-lasting e>uitable political solution that should satisfy distinct communities in Sri Lanka2

87 (o you think after the speculated resolution is passed on Sri Lanka -ill Sri Lanka heed to the pressure of the 5estern po-ers9 :7 Like ; ha,e said many times in the past the resolutions are not against the people of Sri Lanka2 ;t is the regime that interprets them as such and -ants the people to belie,e that these resolutions are against the people themsel,es2 5hen calling for an international in,estigation on -hether -ar crimes and crimes against humanity took place it is being directly targeting the regime that allo-ed and instructed the military to conduct these crimes and the military itself that physically carried out these orders in breach of international la-s and %ene,a 1on,entions and not the people of Sri Lanka2 87 ;f the Sri Lankan %o,ernment 3ignores3 the pressure of the 5est -hat -ould be the repercussions9 :7 ;nternational la-s are there to be implemented by many means if and -hen they are breached2 $here are se,eral -ays that the international community can enforce resolutions passed at ,arious international forums such as the U/0R12 87 5e also hear that ,arious $amil (iaspora organi)ations -ork on separate agendas and collect funds2 ;s that true9 :7 5ithout funds no actions can be taken or be effecti,e2 0o-e,er -hat the %o,ernment of Sri Lanka -ants e,eryone to belie,e is that someho- that it is illegal for $amils and others to collect money to create a-areness of its &go,ernment3s' authoritarian beha,iour and the state of human rights in the island2 87 :re the organi)ations united9 :7 5e are united in seeking +ustice and a long-term political solution for our people and -e -ill remain united until those aspirations are fulfilled2 87 :mbassador Stephen <2 Rapp said during a recent ,isit to the island that there -on3t be harsher resolutions because if the US resolution is too tough many countries -ill not ,ote against the resolution2 1an -e e.pect a soft resolution or a tough resolution9 :7 Like ; said in my ans-er to your first >uestion ; am neither a magician nor :mbassador Stephen Rapp to kno- the details of any forthcoming resolution2 0o-e,er all -hat -e belie,e is that the Sri Lankan regime and its military committed -ar crimes and crimes against humanity2 /e,ertheless -e as an organi)ation still call for any international in,estigation to be conducted against both sides to the conflict2 $he regime and the military are still carrying on -ith impunity committing further crimes against our people culture religion and land acts that are described as genocidal2 $he regime as a -hole is accused by international bodies as being authoritarian2 <ustice system is deteriorating to the e.tent of being a la-less country2

1orruption and family nepotism is at the peak in the history of Sri Lanka2 (isappearances se.ual ,iolence State-sponsored intimidation on freedom of speech religious intolerance are all on the rise to alarming le,els2 87 6,en the US and the U* are alleged to ha,e committed -ar crimes in :fghanistan and in ;ra>2 5hen they ha,e their home-gro-n atrocities ho- can they point the finger at Sri Lanka of -ar crimes9 ;sn3t it hypocrisy9 :7 $he %lobal $amil Forum has a clear set of defined deli,erables7 a' to create international a-areness to rights abuses against our people in the island of Sri Lanka to seek +ustice for our people for the assault on their human dignity and the alleged -ar crimes and crimes against humanity committed against our people@ b' to -ork -ith the ,arious political and non-political stakeholders in the island and outside and the international community particularly ;ndia to achie,e a sustainable and e>uitable political solution that recogni)es our people3s aspirations -hich ha,e been established through ,arious democratic mandates o,er the past years@ c' to empo-er our people particularly li,ing in the homeland of the /orth and 6ast of the island -ho are -ar-affected by pro,iding socio-economic assistance@ d' to achie,e all these abo,e mentioned actions to agree bet-een the se,eral $amil mo,ements a set of principles that -e can all -ork from generally referred to as the 1ommon Frame-ork :greement@ e' -hen -e ha,e such a terms of reference and a mountain to climb -ith these clear set of deli,erables -e cannot and -on3t pretend to be an organi)ation that has the remit for seeking general international +ustice or solutions2 87 5ill the U/ e,er probe -ar crime allegations against the US and the U* and -ill the $amil (iaspora ,oice in fa,our that too9 :7 5ith all due respect ; belie,e ; ha,e made the %lobal $amil Forum3s remit and terms of reference absolutely clear in the pre,ious ans-er2

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