DMK walkout to pressure India to vote against Sri Lanka in Geneva

New Delhi: The DMK, which is the ruling Congress' biggest ally in the UPA, today walked out of the Lok Sabha during External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid's reply to a debate on the Sri Lanka issue. During the discussion, it brought pressure again on the government to vote against Sri Lanka when the top human rights body of the UN meets next week in Geneva.

Mr Khurshid stuck to the government's stand that it would let Parliament know when it did decide on how to vote on a resolution that the United States plans to introduce in Geneva, focusing on alleged war crimes by Sri Lankan defence forces as they defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels after a lengthy civil war. "When we come to a decision we will let you know and the world will know. We can't take a final decision here. We will take a final decision taking into account your concerns," Mr Khurshid said.  

The BJP followed the DMK, walking out of the lower house while the minister was speaking. The DMK had walked out of the Rajya Sabha last week, unhappy with the government's reply on the issue.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said yesterday that India's position on the resolution against Sri Lanka would depend on its wording.

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In the Lok Sabha today, senior DMK leader TR Baalu said, "The government of India should come upright what it is thinking about exactly... There should be a resolution...to see that proper accountability is implemented by the government of Sri Lanka. The guilty should be punished before the International Court of Justice. I request, with a humanitarian approach, to see to it that solace is given to Sri Lankan Tamils. (sic)"

Last month, new photos released by UK's Channel 4 suggested that the 12-year-old son of V Prabhakaran, the head of the Tamil Tigers, had been executed in cold blood in 2009.  The Sri Lankan government has said the photos are morphed. They will feature in a documentary that will screen in Geneva during the session of the UN Human Rights Council.

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All political parties in Tamil Nadu reacted strongly to the photos. DMK chief M Karunanidhi said they confirm President Rajapaksa is a war criminal.

The DMK brought up the photographs in Parliament again today, also objecting strongly to President Rajapaksa's recent visit to India and the famous Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. Mr Baalu quoted several reports on what he called "horrible stories" or war crimes and also compared the Sri Lanka government to that of German dictator Hitler's regime, accusing it of "culture genocide."

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India voted against Sri Lanka at last year's session in Geneva after the DMK threatened to quit the Prime Minister's coalition. That resolution, also sponsored by the US, asked Sri Lanka to assign accountability for massive human rights violations in 2009 in the final months of the war, and implement the findings of an internal inquiry into the war.

The Sri Lankan forces have been accused of killing thousands of minority Tamils.

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