US-led UNHRC resolution on Lanka 'disappointing': Karunanidhi

Chennai: DMK on Wednesday described the US-sponsored resolution tabled at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva against Sri Lanka's alleged rights abuses as "disappointing" and pressed for India moving a separate resolution seeking an independent international probe.

"The draft placed before the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is overall disappointing," party chief M Karunanidhi said in a statement here. Many of the 'finer details' mentioned in the report by UNHRC's Navy Pillai such as Colombo's alleged hesitation to probe the past incidents, have not been included in the draft resolution, he said. Further, it had given Colombo one more year to show results on accountability and the "self-conscious international community will not accept that this is fair," he said. There was also no mention of "Tamil genocide", referring to killings of ethnic minorities, he said, adding Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaske had also "succeeded in watering down the 13th Amendment" to the Sri Lankan Constitution, regarding devolution of powers to provinces.

The previous resolutions had not paid any results and therefore this year's one will also make no impact, Karunanidhi said. "Therefore, as already demanded by (DMK backed) TESO, India should move a separate resolution seeking credible independent probe against human rights violations, and a UN-monitored referendum for Tamils' self-determination," he said.