Successful Resolution and Sabotage by Tamil Stooges!

Has the USA now proved that they can manage anything and everything in that region without the help of India, Pakistan and China?

(PARIS) - With so many discussions, obstacles, sabotages and hidden agendas, the resolution on Sri Lanka in the 25th session of the Human Rights Council – HRC has finally gone though. Two days before the vote, as I predicted in an interview to one of the media, the final result was for the resolution ‘Yes’ 23; against the resolution ‘No’ 12; neither ‘yes nor no’, abstentions - 12.

In general, during the run-up to the voting, the observations made were that the resolution would go through. In fact more countries would have voted in favour, but four stooges who travelled all the way from Jaffna sabotaged it. Their position amounted to being in favour of Rajapaksa’s government.

These stooges suffered humiliating defeat in the last parliamentary (April 2010) elections in Sri Lanka and are now determined to damage the lives of Tamils who never voted for them.

In Geneva – Many states, International organisations and solidarity organisations were disappointed with these stooges, who presently live with the motto: “We don’t mind losing our noses, as long as it is a bad Omen for those who never voted for us”. There is no difference between their position and President Rajapaksa’s who says that “the people in the North and East never voted for me and why should I be bothered about them”.

The stooges sabotaged the lobby, side events and interventions in the HRC. Many witnessed it.

1 –Those who cannot read and understand a resolution were feeding venom to the Tamils, especially among the diaspora. Other than blaming the Tamil National Alliance - TNA for everything let those four stooges advice the Tamils of an alternative way in place of supporting this resolution.

2 – One of the champions of the ‘right to self-determination’ at home; registered his name in the HRC to speak under the agenda item 5. According to the Annotation to the agenda – A/HRC/25/, under item five – Human rights bodies and mechanisms, ‘Forum on Minority issues’ is one of the subjects. If this had been done by anyone from the Tamil National Alliance - TNA, these stooges would have spread the news of it like wild-fire.

Before May 2009, none of us ever spoke under this agenda item. Presently we speak under it as an opportunity for advancing our cause from zero to something better in the future. But we never pretend to the people that we are the ‘Guardian of the right to self-determination’.

But those who claimed they left the TNA because it never had the right to self-determination in their program were preparing to speak under Minority issues. This is real hypocrisy.

3 – However, as this agenda item was postponed to 20th March, this stooge could not speak in the plenary forum because the date clashed with one of their so-called press conferences.

4 – During the HRC, on Friday 20th March, there was a briefing organised by a pro-Rajapaksa organisation, “International Buddhist Foundation - IBF”. Right from the beginning of the 25th session, many knew in advance about this meeting. However every participant of the HRC knew about it, at least 3 days before it took place.

IBF meeting and the press conference

But these stooges organised a so-called press conference outside the UN building, on the same day, same hour that the IBF held its meeting in the UN building! This move created a scene. Out of nearly 40 Tamils, only 3 were able to attend this meeting. If Tamils fail to attend the IBF meeting, and fail to counter the IBF lies and unrealistic facts about the Tamil struggle, the Tamils’ time is wasted in the HRC. Anyone who does not know the situation in Sri Lanka and the North East of the island would get a wrong picture about the Tamil struggle.

It was well know that only three Tamils including myself attended this meeting. In fact, a TNA M.P. wanted to attend it but as I knew the outcome of this briefing, I advised him to stay away from it.

However, we three managed to debate and argue with the organisers with facts and figures – challenging the speakers. There was a Tamil who is a member of a paramilitary group living in Switzerland, who also spoke on behalf of the IBF.

Sabotage

5 - Press conferences can be held outside the UN building at any time during the year. But the IBF or any NGO cannot hold briefing meetings as and when they want to, in the UN building. It is a very rare opportunity for Tamils to prove the genuineness of the Tamil political struggle, to people within the UN building, especially in a meeting organised by the likes of IBF.

(a) The quadruple stooges pre-planned their press conference very well, in order to ensure the IBF meeting went unchallenged.

(b) If the date and time was so important for this press conference, let us ask ourselves, how many foreign or Swiss media covered it?

(c) During their Press conference, a French pedagogue Mr Jean-Mari JULIA who received a “Chevalier” award from the French President raised many reasonable questions, about the stooges’ position and the future of the Tamils in the island of Sri Lanka. Immediately, the live telecasting of this press conference and all other local recording were switched off. From that time onwards, neither questions nor answers were shown to the public/ diaspora Tamils by any media.

(d) Also one of the panellists said in this conference that "US should be congratulated for bringing this resolution". This was also censured by these stooges.

One of the famous lawyers from US said in her interview to a media that, ‘it was not a press conference, it was a seminar’!

Division

With all these ups and downs, these stooges managed to show delegates in the UN that a section of the Tamils are against this resolution. This made a few countries presume that when there is an objection from the Tamils themselves and the Sri Lankan government; why they should support a resolution against Sri Lanka!

These states never knew the fact that these stooges represent only 5000 people and they have the support of only a handful of diaspora who can’t think and act freely.

These stooges must listen to the deliberations before and after the vote, of States like Pakistan, China, Cuba and others, to know the value of this resolution on Sri Lanka.

Some told us that their policy is very simple. Since these people were defeated by the TNA, they oppose anything and everything that is supported by the TNA.

In fact, they did nothing productive nor constructive for the Tamils, other than finding fault with the TNA. If anyone doubts this, they can refer to many Press conferences they held in the past.

In conclusion, I would like to say that out of nearly 40 to 50 Tamils who attended the 25th session of the HRC, a few work directly or indirectly for Rajapaksa's government. Some work with institutions which collect information about the Tamils. Everyone will realise these facts soon.

If this resolution had failed, would these stooges have been in a position to safeguard the Tamils from the impending danger of full-scale Sinhalisation in the North and East?

There is a proverb in Tamil, “as long as there are people to be fooled; people who fool them also remain”.

Sovereignty and integrity

In the resolution, which was indeed successfully passed, one of the preamble paragraphs refers to the sovereignty, independence and integrity of Sri Lanka. Whether this is mentioned or not, every UN resolution contains this policy as a matter of course.

After all, Russia walked into Ukraine with no concern for the sovereignty, independence and integrity of Ukraine. Sri Lanka supported the Russian position. Therefore this paragraph can be considered null and avoid.

The resolution was watered down, especially because of the activities of the stooges mentioned earlier. They gave extra leverage to the hands of those who wanted to protect Sri Lanka from this resolution.

Anyone who claims that they studied law or teaches law, should get some lessons from experts on how to read and understand UN resolutions.

If anyone is ready to discuss or debate on the successfully passed resolution in any media, there are many waiting to participate in such discussions.

Some predicted that, now the task of these stooges is to find fault with the implementation of this resolution.

Many were highly disappointed with the Indian position in the final voting and also their vote along with Pakistan, China, Russia, Cuba, Venezuela and OIC countries for suspending the discussion on this resolution and for the removal of operational paragraph 10.

Even without a positive Indian vote, the resolution has gone through. But the speech made by the Indian Ambassador, before the vote in the HRC was an exaggerated version, motivating other states to change their decision. Has the USA now proved that they can manage anything and everything in that region without the help of India, Pakistan and China? (End)