India inclined to vote in favour of Sri Lanka resolution: Manmohan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced on Monday that India was “inclined to vote in favour” of a resolution on promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka at the ongoing 19{+t}{+h} session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. “That, we hope, will advance our objective, namely the achievement of the future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect,'' Dr. Singh told the Lok Sabha. The government, though, did not yet have the final text of the resolution initiated by the United States. Highly placed sources told The Hindu that India was still negotiating the final text with the U.S. and Sri Lanka and would vote for the resolution depending on what it eventually said. Dr. Singh's statement, during his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address to Parliament, was greeted by members of the AIADMK, the DMK and other parties, with the thumping of desks. Last week, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna's suo motu statement in both Houses of Parliament on the state of Tamils in Sri Lanka had failed to satisfy the AIADMK, the DMK, the CPI and the BJP. Responding to concerns raised by some members, Dr. Singh assured them that the government fully shared their sentiments regarding the welfare of Sri Lankan Tamils. The Prime Minister said that since the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka, the government's focus had been on the welfare and wellbeing of the Tamil citizens. “Their resettlement and rehabilitation has been of the highest and most immediate priority for our government.” As a result of India's constructive engagement with the Sri Lankan government and its assistance programme, “a modicum of normalcy is beginning to return to the Tamil areas in Sri Lanka, ” he said. India had emphasised to the Sri Lankan government that there should be a “genuine process” of reconciliation to address the grievances of the ethnic Tamils and implement the recommendations of a high-level committee, whose report was tabled in that nation's Parliament, he said. For lasting peace, India had asked the Sri Lankan government to stand by its commitment to broaden the dialogue with political parties, including the Tamil National Alliance, to achieve a forward looking and meaningful devolution of power and genuine national reconciliation, Dr. Singh said.