Opinion Overtures to Colombo
By abstaining from the UNHRC vote against Sri Lanka, India opens up room for diplomatic manoeuvre.
By abstaining from the UNHRC vote against Sri Lanka, India opens up room for diplomatic manoeuvre.
Signalling a reset with its southern neighbour, India abstained from voting on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution against Sri Lanka. The US-sponsored resolution, which seeks to set up an “independent international inquiry” on human rights abuses during the last years of the Sri Lankan civil war, was passed on Thursday. Nearly 30 years of the LTTE insurgency ended in 2009, leaving a country deeply fractured by ethnic strife. As Sri Lankan government forces advanced on Tamil rebels, allegations of war crimes piled up. Healing these wounds is one of the biggest challenges before the Sri Lankan government. India, which had voted against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC the last three times, has opted for a wise change of tack.
India’s previous stand had created a chill between Delhi and Colombo, narrowing room for diplomatic manoeuvre. It reduced India’s leverage with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, constricting its efforts to urge him towards addressing the allegations, building bridges with the Tamil population in the country and devolving more power to the provincial councils. A less oppositional stance now gives India greater flexibility, opening up more channels for dialogue and persuasion. India has also reiterated its traditional position against international intervention in the internal affairs of a country. Its stated reason for abstaining was that the international mechanism for the probe was an “intrusive approach” and impinged on the “national sovereignty” of Sri Lanka.
But the more important reason behind India’s new stance is a significant shift in its internal politics. Clamour from Tamil parties in India had dictated the UPA’s responses so far, and the DMK and AIADMK have long been locked in competitive posturing over the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils. In 2013, the UPA government had voted against Sri Lanka in an attempt to placate the DMK, then an ally. In spite of the DMK walking out of the UPA soon after, Delhi’s appeasement of Chennai did not stop: the PM stayed away from the Commonwealth meet in Colombo last year, even though it was a multilateral forum. The Centre now has fewer stakes in Chennai and Delhi finally has the good sense to not let one issue hold bilateral ties to ransom. The next government should build on this decision to revisit India’s Sri Lanka policy.
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