In a gesture of peace and friendship with its closest neighbor, India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today explaining India's decision to support the United States-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.
Replying to a letter addressed to him by the Sri Lankan President on March 19 over the resolution,
The Indian PM said he had instructed the Indian delegation to remain in close contact with its Sri Lanka counterparts in an attempt to find a positive way forward. Recalling that the government and the people of India have stood firmly by Sri Lanka in its struggle against terrorism, the PM said in his letter to Rajapaksa that India made every effort to ensure the resolution is balanced and was successful "in introducing an element of balance in the language of the resolution,". To the dismay of Sri Lanka, India, its closest ally in the region sided with the West and voted against Sri Lanka for the resolution. However, India forced the US to amend its resolution to safeguard Sri Lanka from the international intrusions by adding a clause that said the UNHCR can provide advice and technical assistance "in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, the Government of Sri Lanka" to implement the measures called upon in the resolution. The Sri Lankan government downplayed India's support to the resolution saying that India gave in to the pressures from the coalition partners and took the measure to protect the power of their own government from the coalition politics. The Indian Premier said he was happy to learn Sri Lanka's intention to continue the process of implementing the recommendations of the LLRC as called upon by the resolution. Prime Minister Singh noted that India is of the belief that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would lead towards a lasting political solution and reiterated India's continued commitment and assistance in achieving the objective.Full text of the Indian PM's letter to Sri Lankan President
The Indian PM said he had instructed the Indian delegation to remain in close contact with its Sri Lanka counterparts in an attempt to find a positive way forward. Recalling that the government and the people of India have stood firmly by Sri Lanka in its struggle against terrorism, the PM said in his letter to Rajapaksa that India made every effort to ensure the resolution is balanced and was successful "in introducing an element of balance in the language of the resolution,". To the dismay of Sri Lanka, India, its closest ally in the region sided with the West and voted against Sri Lanka for the resolution. However, India forced the US to amend its resolution to safeguard Sri Lanka from the international intrusions by adding a clause that said the UNHCR can provide advice and technical assistance "in consultation with, and with the concurrence of, the Government of Sri Lanka" to implement the measures called upon in the resolution. The Sri Lankan government downplayed India's support to the resolution saying that India gave in to the pressures from the coalition partners and took the measure to protect the power of their own government from the coalition politics. The Indian Premier said he was happy to learn Sri Lanka's intention to continue the process of implementing the recommendations of the LLRC as called upon by the resolution. Prime Minister Singh noted that India is of the belief that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would lead towards a lasting political solution and reiterated India's continued commitment and assistance in achieving the objective.Full text of the Indian PM's letter to Sri Lankan President





No comments:
Post a Comment