Thursday, 28th August 2014
Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
Avdhash Kaushal, director, Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra, Dehradun, who has been appointed as an adviser to the Presidential Commission — probing the excesses during the Eelam War in Sri Lanka — asked all stakeholders in the Sri Lankan Tamil issue not to push the Government of the island nation too far.
Speaking with The Pioneer over telephone from Dehradun, Kaushal said the Narendra Modi Government should listen to experts on the island nation other than career diplomats and politicians before arriving at any decision.
“India should not forget the fact that Sri Lanka is a sovereign country and we cannot dictate terms to it. This is applicable to all international organisations shouting from rooftops asking Sri Lanka what to do and what not to do. It is a country which just came out of a three-decade long civil war which claimed thousands and thousands of lives,” said Kaushal.
The Padmashree awardee, who has trained hundreds of people from the developing countries in Asia and Africa on human and civil rights, said the Union Government should constitute an expert body which include Chandan Mitra, chief editor, The Pioneer, Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and himself to advise it on the Sri Lankan issue. “We have studied in detail about the crisis and we will be able to come out with solution which is acceptable to all,” said Kaushal.
He bemoaned the action of certain political parties in Tamil Nadu and human rights organisation speaking in a rude manner about Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “He is a democratically elected president while some of these critics would never win even a panchayat election,” he said.
Kaushal said the campaign undertaken by human rights groups and certain NGOs is a matter of concern and disturbing. “Many of the international communities play their own role through NGOs. It is mainly the Western countries that do not want developing and least developed countries to progress. It is in their geopolitical interest as well. In India also recent IB report verifies that some foreign funded NGOs are opposing all the development work taking place including the hydel power and other projects. There are some NGOs that are trying to create a demand for freedom and secession from India,” said Kaushal.
