DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Monday said he was hopeful that the United Nations could effectively intervene in the Sri Lankan Tamil issue, notwithstanding an internal report that spoke of the UN’s failure to prevent mass civilian casualties during the civil war that ended in 2009.
Talking to reporters on behalf of the Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation (TESO), a forum floated by him, Mr. Karunanidhi said, “I believe these efforts will definitely bear fruit. We have submitted TESO resolutions on the way forward to both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN headquarters. We are sure they will consider the issue at an appropriate time and take suitable action.”
He was answering a question from reporters on what he could expect from the UN after its own internal report had disclosed its failure in Sri Lanka.
To another question on whether he expected a Congress-led government to support his demand for a referendum to determine the future of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Mr.Karunanidhi said, “We will continue to press the Centre to extend their cooperation to us.” Elaborating, he said it was because of the DMK’s insistence that India had voted against Sri Lanka on a resolution in the UN Human Rights Council earlier this year. The DMK has also given ntice for a motion in Parliament on Sri Lanka, he added.
Earlier, at a meeting of TESO held at the DMK headquarters, the organisation thanked top UN officials for receiving the resolutions adopted by TESO at a conference held here in August. By another resolution, it was decided that TESO would approach the emissaries to India from the 17 member-states of the UN Human Rights Council and request that they help raise the issue forcefully at the global human rights forum.
By another resolution, TESO condemned the Sri Lankan government and its president Mahinda Rajapaksa for hounding out UN officials and agencies from the battle zone in the last few months of the war. “The fact that the UN, which ought to have protected the people against genocide, had left the conflict zone has now come to light through the internal report,” it said. It also hailed the British Tamil Forum for its recent resolution in London calling for an independent inquiry involving various countries under the UN auspices into charges of genocide of Tamils. EOM
