Economics behind UN resolution on human rights in Sri Lanka
Colombo (AsiaNews) - The international community is paying closer attention to the United Nations resolution on alleged abuses committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the final phase of that country's civil war. According to the draft resolution, the report by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapksa does not adequately address the issue of war crimes committed during Sri Lanka's conflict. Sri Lankan authorities are for their part critical of the UN resolution, claiming that the West is interfering in the domestic affairs of the country.
A documentary titled 'Sri Lanka's Killing Fields: War Crimes Unpunished' by Britain's Channel-4 Television has stirred a hornet's nest in the island nation. It purports to show images shot on 18 May 2009 of the body of the 12-year-old son of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabakaran with five bullet wounds to the chest. The broadcast of the first part of the programme is set for tomorrow.
The Sri Lanka military has challenged the veracity of the images, announcing its own video documentary of the final stages of the war.
Following the release of such images, members of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party in India's Rajya Sabha (House of States) had today's session stopped. They want the central government to clarify its position vis-à-vis war crimes allegations levelled at Sri Lanka.
For now, New Delhi has not responded despite foreign minister Krishna's statement in January that India is in favour of a political solution to Sinhalese-Tamil conflict.
For some analysts, India's caution is economically motivated. In October 2011, Cairn Lanka, a subsidiary of Cairn India Ltd, discovered natural gas in the Mannar Basin.
The discovery is very important for Sri Lanka, which has no domestic oil, and is totally dependent on foreign sources, especially India (19.4 per cent) and China (15.1 per cent).
It is also important for India, which does not want to alienate Sri Lanka and lose its ascendancy to the benefit of China.
However, other countries play a major role in Sri Lanka's economy. About US$ 10.8 billion of the country's US$ 59 billion GDP comes from textile, tea, spices and gemstones, much of which goes to the United States (19.6 per cent) and Great Britain (10.4 per cent).
Both Washington and London are behind the United Nations resolution and the documentary on alleged war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan armed forces and Tamil rebels.
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24/10/2019 17:56
12/04/2012
