India on Monday asked its envoy in Geneva to return for consultations on the US resolution on Sri Lanka, the IANS reported.

 

Dilip Sinha, ambassador and permanent representative of India to the UN in Geneva, will be in New Delhi on Tuesday to brief the government on the resolution, external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

 

The issue has gained urgency with political parties and activists in Tamil Nadu urging the government to back the resolution — like last year — and even amend it to denounce Colombo for the "genocide" of Tamils.

 

The resolution is expected to come up for voting at the 47-member UNHRC session in Geneva March 21.

 

The foreign ministry spokesman said the resolution "in the final form will be available late this evening, Geneva time".

 

"We will have consultations on the matter, and he (Indian envoy to Geneva) will be able to brief senior officials on the ground level realities in Geneva and the latest position," he added.

 

Asked what position India was likely to take on the resolution, the spokesperson said a call would be taken after the final text was available and the arrival of the ambassador from Geneva.

 

Asked if New Delhi favoured the word "genocide", he said the government would "cross the bridge when we come to it".

 

With the DMK, which has 18 MPs, threatening to end its support to the United Progressive Alliance if India remained soft vis-a-vis Sri Lanka, the government sent three senior ministers to Chennai to meet Karunanidhi.

 

Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath said home minister P Chidambaram, defence minister AK Antony and health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met Karunanidhi in Chennai.

 

A decision on the Sri Lanka resolution will be taken after that, he said.

Karunanidhi wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday saying Colombo should be specifically blamed for the "genocide" of Tamils during the war against the Tamil Tigers.

 

http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/26840-indian-envoy-to-geneva-called-for-consultations-on-sl.html

India calls off defence talks with SL

 

Amid severe attack by Tamil parties over engagement with Sri Lanka, the Indian government has called off the annual defence dialogue with Sri Lanka scheduled to start from 23 March.

 

No reason was given for cancellation of the secretary-level talks which were to be held in New Delhi for three days. “The Annual Defence Dialogue with Sri Lanka has been called off,” a person with knowledge of the development said, adding new dates have not been decided yet.

During the talks, the two sides were to discuss ways to strengthen defence ties and finalize future military exercises. The decision has come at a time when Tamil Nadu parties are protesting India’s engagement with Sri Lanka.

 

Parties, including key United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has been criticizing the government for holding training for Sri Lankan forces, which has subsequently been shifted from South to North India.

However, India has also maintained that it will not cease military ties with Sri Lanka and continue to provide training to its personnel in Indian military academies and institutions. India had shifted the exercise between Special Forces of the two countries from Belgaum in Karnataka to Nahan in Himachal Pradesh.

 

Likewise, it had also instructed the Navy to hold war games with the Lankan Navy away from the waters of four South Indian states. Recently, DMK has accused the government of being soft on alleged atrocities by Sri Lankan forces against ethnic Tamils and even threatened to withdraw support if India does not support a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council. (PTI)

 

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