Lok Sabha Debates
Need To Boycott Chogm Conference To Be Held In Sri Lanka. on 5 September, 2013
> Title: Need to boycott CHOGM Conference to be held in Sri Lanka.
SHRI T.R. BAALU (SRIPERUMBUDUR): On behalf of DMK Party and my leader Dr. Kalaignar Karunanidhi who is also the President of TESO, I would like to bring to the kind notice of this august House, miseries experienced by the Sri Lankan Tamils. Madam, a civil war persisted between Sri Lankan administrators and their own citizens which lasted for 27 years. For the past four years our fellow Tamils have been trying to pick up the pieces of their lives shattered by the bloody and brutal war. … (Interruptions) अध्यक्ष महोदया : कृपया आप सभी बैठ जाइए। Now we moved on to Shri T.R. Baalu.
…( व्यवधान)
MADAM SPEAKER: Please go back to your seats. आप बैठ जाइए। You finish.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : The armed struggle existed for about 27 years and ended in 2009, but the miseries of the people are not ending. … (Interruptions) MADAM SPEAKER: Now, Shri T.R. Baalu is speaking. Please sit down.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : Madam, about 90,000 women lost their mangalsutra, lost their husbands. They have been widowed. More than 1,20,000 people fled out of the country out of fear of war. More than 2,00,000 men, women and children are not available in the habitations of Tamil people. We do not know where they have gone. They are all missing. … (Interruptions) MADAM SPEAKER: Please sit down.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : Madam, Tamil women have been kidnapped. … (Interruptions)
MADAM SPEAKER: Nothing else will go on record.
(Interruptions) …* MADAM SPEAKER: It is not going on record. There is no point in speaking.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : The women are being kidnapped, raped and butchered in the Sri Lankan forest. … (Interruptions) The facts and figures of the sad episodes have been picturised and videographed. Many NGOs like Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Channel 4 went there and reported the miseries. A Committee constituted by the UN Secretary-General also went to Sri Lanka and it came back with a long report. … (Interruptions) Finally, Ms. Navi Pillay, a Commissioner in UNHRC, went to Sri Lanka. She traveled the length and breadth of Sri Lanka to understand the problem in Sri Lanka and had done spot study. The media reports said :
“On Tuesday, Ms. Pillay who visited Mullai-vaaykkal in Mullaith-theevu sympathized with the victims struggling to resettle amidst the prevailing Sri Lankan military occupation and the ongoing structural genocide. Noticing fear in the people speaking out in the presence of the surrounding Sri Lankan military personnel clad in civil, she told them that they may whisper in her ear.” MADAM SPEAKER: Sit down. What is this going on? Sit down.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : This is the state of affairs in Sri Lanka. They could not even mention their problems before the UN Human Rights Commission. … (Interruptions) MADAM SPEAKER: Shri Aruna Kumar, please sit down. This is not the way to behave. Please sit down. … (Interruptions)
MADAM SPEAKER: This is not the way to behave. Take your seats.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : About the military presence there, Ms. Navi Pillay has said and I quote what she said at the conclusion of her visit to the island:
“the military presence in the North-East seemed “much greater than is needed for strictly military or reconstruction purposes”….. ” Moreover, regarding the attacks on religious minorities, she expressed her view on the final day of the visit and I quote:
“I expressed concern at the recent surge in incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities, including attacks on churches and mosques, and the lack of swift action against the perpetrators. I was surprised that the Government seemed to downplay this issue, and I hope it will send the strongest possible signal of zero tolerance for such acts and ensure that those responsible (who are easily identifiable on video footage) are punished.” This is what Ms. Navi Pillay told.
Madam, before I conclude, I will take one or two minutes more. The judiciary is also under attack. … (Interruptions) The judges of Supreme Court of Sri Lanka have been dismissed unceremoniously. For that reason, the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, the Commonwealth Legal Education Association, the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association have spoken heavily against it. … (Interruptions) They have adopted a resolution to suspend Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth. The Law Society of England and Wales had also supported the voice of suspension of Sri Lanka from the Commonwealth. … (Interruptions) Madam, Mr. Lucy Scott, the President of the Association said:
“We cannot sit back and watch as the independence of Sri Lankan Judiciary continues to be eroded.” … (Interruptions)
MADAM SPEAKER: Alright. Please conclude now.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : Madam, I will take one or two minutes more. I had given notice for a discussion under Rule 193. … (Interruptions)
MADAM SPEAKER: Alright. You speak, but please finish fast.
… (Interruptions)
SHRI T.R. BAALU : Madam, the Commonwealth had suspended Nigeria in 1995 for the act of dictatorship and rigged judicial process. Pakistan was suspended in November, 2007 for the act of General Musharraf, who had imposed emergency there. Zimbabwe was suspended for the crimes committed by Robert Mugabe, that is, electoral rigging. Fiji was suspended in 2006 for Commodore Bainimarama failed to hold the elections on time.
In this context, I will also claim that Sri Lanka should be suspended from the Commonwealth for which the Government of India has to prevail upon all the 54 countries to see that it is suspended. Moreover, our Prime Minister should not attend the Commonwealth Countries’ Conference. That is what our demand is. Thank you. … (Interruptions)
MADAM SPEAKER: Shri Aruna Kumar, please sit down. This is not the way to behave. Please sit down. Just take your seat, please.