| 2.03 pm: BSP joins debate, asks govt to ensure rights of Tamils A shorter speech by BSP MP Chauhan who repeats the concerns of the speakers before him, and tells the government that it is the duty of the government to ensure that the rights of Lankan Tamils are protected. 1.50 pm: DMK Elangovan T.K.S says India should ensure equality for Lankan Tamils Another slightly rambling speech by DMK MP Elangovan T.K.S on Sri Lanka who has been talking about Sri Lanka's foreign policy, its relationship with China and the inequality of Sri Lankan Tamils. He asks the Indian government to ensure that the rights of Lankan Tamils are ensured and they are treated on par with the Sinhalese majority. 1.37 pm: Mulayam Singh Yadav weighs in on Foreign policy Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav has taken a break from the accusations against his party minister Raja Bhaiya in Uttar Pradesh to add his voice to the debate, saying that India has consistently stood against the violation of human rights. He is also expounding the good relations between the two countries, reminding the house that in 1967 during the Indo-China war, only Sri Lanka had the courage to speak against China. A telling reminder perhaps of how much things have changed in the intervening years? "Indira Gandhi was the wisest when it came to dealing with issues pertaining to foreign affairs. India should play a larger role in Sri Lanka, and tell the world about the plight of the Lankan Tamils. What is the foreign minister or the PM doing in telling the world about the plight of the Tamils in Sri Lanka?" "We want that the matter should be resolved through discussions after all it is our neighbour. But if that is not happening India need to take strict action. Remember, Rajiv Gandhi was once attacked by a Lankan soldier", he says before ending. 1.32 pm: Thambidurai asks why India is not taking note of Sri Lanka's China connection Ending his speech, Thambidurai questions China's increased involvement in Sri Lanka and asks why India has not taken note of the relationship. What Thambiruai is highlighting could well in fact be the very reason that the centre is showing reluctance to take a stance against its island neighbour. China is heavily invested in several infrastructural projects in Sri Lanka and is attempting to build a military post in the south of the country, in what is being seen as a part of the country's 'ring of pearls' strategy on India. 1.28 pm: Why does India send army equipment to SL? asks AIADMK's Thambidurai AIDMK's M Thambidurai blames the government of sending army equipment to Sri Lanka. "Will we send such equipment to Pakistan? Sri Lanka is misusing them," he said. He also put forth AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa's demand that Sri Lankan army and air force personnel be not trained in India. "Sri Lanka is getting their army in our country only to go back and commit atrocities on Tamils," he said. 1:09 pm: Withdraw army from northern parts of Sri Lanka: Yashwant Sinha Yashwant Sinha says that the BJP demands that the India government ask Sri Lanka to withdraw the army from the northern parts of the country. "It has been four years since the war ended. Sri Lanka should have had normal law and order situation. Let the army go back to the barracks. They are still there committing the atrocities that Mr Baalu spoke about," Sinha said, to which the house responded with a lot of applause. Then he goes on to talk about former Sri Lankan Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayke's impeachment. He also suggests an impartial probe into atrocities committed by the Sri Lankan army and demands that the country commit to punish those found guilty. 12.58 pm: Nothing about human rights in India-Lanka joint statement: Yashwant Sinha BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, points out that despite India promising to push for peace in Sri Lanka, did not put anything in the joint statemnt signed by the two countries in 2010, when Rajapaksa had visited the country. "There was no mention of the atrocities inflicted upon Sri Lankans," he said. Sinha also said that the BJP truly feels for their brothers and sisters Sri Lanka. "But I do not know if others in share this sentiment in thoughts and in polcies," he said. 12.40 pm: Tragedy of Sri Lankan Tamils one of the greatest tragedies of our time, says Yashwant Sinha BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has called the tragedy of the Sri Lankan Tamils one of the greatest of our time, and said it was even more shocking that the tragedy was continuing today. Sinha added that while Sri Lanka had been one of India's 'easiest' neighbours, the news was disturbing and could not be ignored. But in what has been perhaps, one of the most honest and introspective comments on Sri Lanka, Sinha says that India's role in the whole LTTE issue cannot be ignored. "We first encouraged the LTTE when they emerged. Then we sent our army after them to destroy them, they could not be destroyed. 2900 Indian soldiers died – no monument exists for them", he said. The BJP leader is also detailing the involvement of India in the end stages of the war. "There was a concerted coordinated effort between the two countries during the end of the war. New Delhi not only accepted Sri Lanka's argument that a negotiation and cease in hostility would allow the LTTE to regroup, but also committed their navy to help break the back of the LTTE sea tigers, which was instrumental in the army Sri Lanka winning the war. 12.29 pm: Baalu asks why 'War criminal' Rajapaksa is being allowed into Tirupathi temple "Why is India allowing the war criminal to come to our holy places? Why was he allowed to go the Tirupathi temple? asks Baalu. "He is coming here to wash the blood off his hands.Not just the blood of Tamil civilians but of the child, Balachandran Prabhakaran", he said. Baalu is referring to the latest Channel 4 documentary on Sri Lanka which showed two pictures of the 12-year-old son of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran taken hours apart. One showed him eating some biscuits in a bunker, and the other showed him lying dead with five bullet holes through his chest. 12.25 pm: Lankan Tamils subjected to cultural genocide even today, says Baalu Baalu says that apart from the 'genocide' carried out against Lankan Tamils in the name of the war, the army was also engaging in 'cultural genocide' against Lankan Tamils in an attempt to wipe out Hindu and Tamil culture from the island. "467 Hindu temples have been destroyed, 89 villages have been renamed in Sinhala", said Baalu. "I am reminded of Hitler who destroyed the books of Sigmund Freud", he said. 12.21 pm: Baalu details atrocities against Sri Lankan Tamils Baalu reads out a harrowing first person account by a female Tamil prisoner detailing how she was taken to the fourth floor of the CID office in Colombo, beaten with electrical wires, burned with cigarette butts, raped and forced to perform oral sex on her captors. "I apologise for this content, but this report was published in the media", said Baalu. Silence in the house as the details are read out. "Sri Lankan Tamils were subjected to various forms of genocide", says Baalu. 12.13: Baalu says that DMK will fight with Lankan Tamils for Eelam A slightly convoluted speech by Balu which he is addressing to speaker Meira Kumar and Sonia Gandhi in turn. He speaks on the fight for Tamil Eelam, says that the DMK supported it and demands to know what the government stance is. Sonia Gandhi looks a bit confused to be honest. Baalu steers to safer waters and starts quoting some numbers. And they are indeed horrifying. 19,000 women widowed. Over 2 Lakh Sri Lankan Tamils disappeared. 45,000 people killed in the last stages of the war. He also quotes from a recent Human Rights Watch report that detailed instances of sexual abuse and rape against Tamil prisoners. "Rapes were not just against our Tamil sisters, but regretfully our Tamil brothers as well" said Baalu as he slams his paper down on the table. 12.07 pm: Parliament begins debate on Sri Lankan Tamils The Lok Sabha is debating the issue of Sri Lankan Tamils with the DMK taking the floor first. Tamil Nadu parties across the board have been attempting to up the pressure on the centre to vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC vote. "What is the government stand on Sri Lanka? Can we please make it clear? I'm not sure what the stance on Sri Lanka is", said TR Baalu. The discussion is taking place under rule 193. Earlier this morning Congress spokesman and Minister of Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari said, "The government stand on Sri Lanka was made clear by PM yesterday. But these things have foreign policy implications and we must be careful". The Prime Minister said yesterday that while the government would continue to engage Sri Lanka, a final decision on the vote would be taken only after seeing the text. 10.56 am: Government stand on Sri Lanka is clear, says Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit Congress spokesman Sandeep Dikshit told media that the government stand on Sri Lanka was clear and that the rights of Tamils will not be compromised. The issue is scheduled to be debated in the Lok Sabha later today with the government likely to finally announce its stand on Sri Lanka. Although it is widely expected that India will back the resolution, both External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have been evasive on what stand India will take in Geneva. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters outside parliament that the government had asked his Lankan counterpart GL Peiris to work with the US and report progress if any made on the issue to arrive at a draft which is "acceptable to everybody". "It is a humanitarian issue. It is not an issue on which anybody should stand on ceremony or ego. If it is possible, speak to them directly and find a suitable and acceptable draft," he said. The Prime Minister said that they would take a call depending on the final text of the resolution.  Bodies of slain LTTE cadres in the aftermath of the war: Reuters 10.48 am: Will India back UNHRC resolution against SL? A US backed resolution against Sri Lanka will go up for voting in Geneva later this month, with India yet to announce how it will vote on the issue. However it is widely expected that it will vote against its island neighbour. The resolution will ask the Government of Sri Lanka to follow through on its own commitments to its people, including implementing the constructive recommendations from the report by Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, according to US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell. CNN-IBN said that India was likely to back the resolution for the following three reasons: * India is not happy with Sri Lanka's implementation of the recommendations made by its own Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), which suggested several steps to promote harmony and address Tamil concerns in the aftermath of the civil war. * India is happy with the language of the resolution, as it will not expect Sri Lanka to accept international monitoring. India is of the position that any solution has to be a Sri Lanka-led process * The government is mindful of regional sentiments and the sensitivity of the issue in Tamil Nadu. However the government is reportedly unhappy that it is being forced to take foreign policy decisions on the basis of regional sentiments. Sri Lankan ambassador to India Prasad Kariyawasam said on Wednesday that the government was expecting India to support them in the vote. "As a regional and world power it is important for India to show their support for us", he said in an interview with CNN-IBN.  via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFjHKfJF8Kc0WXiipYXbXpHlWoxNA&url=http://www.firstpost.com/world/parliament-live-lanka-one-of-the-great-tragedies-says-sinha-651502.html | |||
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