India stressed its abiding commitment to aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka at UNHRC: MEA

In a written reply to Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that during the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), India laid emphasis on adhering to the commitment to the aspirations of Tamils of Sri Lanka. The MEA further said that India believes in delivering legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community is in the best interests of the island nation. 

The Ministry’s reply to Rajya Sabha came days after armed troops broke up Tamil memorials for Sri Lanka’s civil war dead and beat the journalists covering one ceremony in a former battle zone, residents said as per reports. Even the grieving relatives were forced to stay out of ceremonies over the last weekend while the people tried to light lamps at the graves of their loved ones who lost their lives in the island’s 37-year-old civil war which ended in 2009.

MEA to Rajya Sabha, “At 46th Session of UNHRC, India stressed its abiding commitment to the aspirations of Tamils of Sri Lanka. India believes that delivering on the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil community is in the best interests of Sri Lanka.”

Journalists assaulted at Sri Lanka's war memorial

The Ministry’s reply came after the Federation of Media Employees’ Trade unions said that Tamil journalists were assaulted by soldiers while covering a memorial in Mullaitivu, a northwestern fighting town where the final battle of the decades-old war was fought. The outfit said in a statement, “Soldiers used a palm stick wrapped with barbed wire to assault a photojournalist covering the events,” the media outfit said in a statement. 

It also added that reporters present in regions where the island’s minority Tamil community is concentrated, both in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, were subject to “constant harassment” by security authorities. As of now, the Sri Lankan police has said that they were investigating a complaint filed by journalists who were at the memorial. The civil war on the island began in 1972 when the Tamil Tigers waged a bloody campaign against the government troops. 

Meanwhile, in other replies to the Rajya sabha, the MEA said that the ministry has taken up with the foreign governments the need for easing the travel restrictions on Indian students especially those studying in foreign universities. It added that the travel restrictions have been eased for Indian students to travel to several nations including the United States, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Germany among others. 

(IMAGE: PTI)