Karen Parker, an attorney, specializing in Human Rights and Humanitarian( armed conflict) Law attended the Tamil Mirror Nite on April 20 th, 2008.
She has been involved in defending the rights of the Tamil people for the past 26 years in the United Nations. The Tamil Mirror interviewed her for it’s readers. Following are her answers to some of the salient issues.
1. Thank you for attending the Tami Mirror Nite. Did you enjoy the evening and do you have any comments to make?
I really enjoyed the evening. It was wonderful to see so many people that I knew and it was a pleasure to meet so many new people. It was also a good chance to discuss the issues with the Canadian politicians of both the major parties. I very much enjoyed the cultural events. It is always nice when Tamils get together to organize some cultural events. The dancers and singers were wonderful. It was both festive, but it was sad because of the assassination of Fr. Karunairatnam.
2. Why do think that the Western world is silent on the suffering of the Tamils? Is it ignorance or plain politics?
I think it is little of both. With the general population, I think it is ignorance. But with the States, it is definitely politics. I think there is some concerted attempt by the Western world to keep the Tamil issue in the back burner. Even the media does not give coverage to Tamil issues unless it helps to highlight something to blame the LTTE. In the USA as well as in Canada, it is a subject which is seldom discussed in the media. The people on the whole are ignorant of what happens in Sri Lanka. Even if they hear or read anything, it would be something that is misleading. It is a major problem to educate the Canadian citizens about what happens in Sri Lanka and how the Tamils are suffering at the hands of the government’s security forces.
3. Do you agree that if India wishes the Tamil issue could be solved sooner than later?
I think India can definitely be a key player. China too is a key player. There are other key players as well, who are less on the screen so to say. The issues in Sri Lanka can be solved, if USA decides to embark on it. My personal feeling is that USA is behind the whole agenda. It has intentions to open bases in the Tamil areas, which are very important for them. Perhaps President Bush’s visit to India a while ago was to show that interest.
Rajiv Gandhi was very averse against the Trincomalee harbour going to USA for a base under the Reagan Administration. Right now India is in the background and is playing the US game.
4. What do you think of the recent development of Rajiv’s daughter visiting her father’s convicted killer Nalini in the jail cell. Is there any significance on that meeting?
There appears to be some significance in that meeting. There were confusions in the court proceedings. People made conclusions beyond court rulings that are probably unfounded. That was not a tribunal to determine who was behind the incident. It was a tribunal to determine who was actually guilty and to determine whether or not there were ties beyond that process.
I think that the visit was concerning that aspect. It may be a visit to personally see the alleged killer of her father as a kind of personal resolution. I do think there are several unanswered questions behind the visit and the whole proceedings.
5. Can you elaborate on the recent Human Right Council sitting in Geneva? Is it the politics, not the human rights, determine the decision at the council?
The new Human Rights Council replaces the forum of the commission of rights that was considered so political and so tainted making it nearly useless. So that was eliminated and a new Human Rights Council was being put in place. Unfortunately the same problems pertaining to the Forum of Human Rights, has crept into the new Human Rights Council. The reason being that all council members are representatives of the member states and these states have their own interests. Few states have affirmative interest in human rights.
What happens is that in a particular situation a group of states gang up to block an agenda to prevent action against one of their member states. This situation in which Sri Lanka is presently in is a classic example of how the Human Rights Council risks being put in the same basket as the Commission of Human Rights. Non governmental organizations are very dismayed and deeply depressed over the events that are taking place. There is still time to revive the general interest and genuine interest in the human rights as an issue and to formulate an important law. But now, politics seem to be the name of the game.
6. Tibet issues and Karen Peoples’s issues in Myanmar and the Darfur people’s issues were highly publisized and supported by the Western governments including U.S.A. Yet, the problems drags on. So, why do you think the Tamils should think that there is light at the end of the tunnel?
Yes, the other issues are on the front pages and I think primarily because in all of those situations there are solidarity groups working behind the groups in question. There are many solidarity groups behind Burma question, I have been involved in lot of those work. Likewise there are solidarity groups in Tibet question. There are celebrities and very high profile people involved. Having said that I actually believe as the Tamil work continues the way it has been in the last few years, the Tamils are actually closer to realizing their aspirations than the Tibetans.
I think China will be stubborn to the last person and I don’t see much of a resolution to that situation in spite of all the huge publicity and all solidarity. There is solidarity for Tibet all over the world, but no solidarity for the Tamils anywhere. Having said that I still think the Tamils are closer to realizing their aspirations earlier than the Tibetans, the Karen people and or the people of Darfur.
7. Fr. Karunaratnam (Chair person of the North East secretariat on Human Rights - NESHOR) was assassinated by the Sri Lankan Deep Penetrating Unit (DPU). What more evidence needed by the world body/ Human Rights Council to take affirmative action against Sri Lanka?
I think the International Community knows exactly what the situation is. The problem is politics. Again the U.S. interest is huge. They prevent any meaningful action. The U.S. was not able to keep the special representatives or mandate holders or investigators of the United Nations quiet.
Although Louise Arbour was more or less pushed into a corner the other mandate holders have been very outspoken. I think there is no question about the ground reality in any ones mind. All you have to do is to look through the documents submitted at the Universal Periodic Review of Sri Lanka.
In every single session of the Human Rights session there are statement after statement made about the abuses. So, they know. But the issue is politics.
So what can be done to break out of this cycle?
Well, there is going to be election in the United States. I think the Tamil Americans are working hard politically. I think there is a sea of change, not a huge one yet, but the attitude in some of the existing members of congress are even at risk at this point.
I think there is the movement in Canada as well. Tamil Canadians and the Tamils in the United Kingdom have made tremendous progress in the political spheres of their countries. I think it’s possible to break the U.S policy interests, which will really make it much more likely to forward the Tamil Agenda to halt what is nearing a genocide.
Published: May 23, 2008 21:57:55 GMT