By Suhasini Haidar, CNN-IBN –
Former Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga on Tuesday said that she was rather bewildered by India’s decision to vote against the country at a US-sponsored UN resolution seeking action against Lanka on the purported war crimes committed during its almost three-decade-long war against the LTTE.
Speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN’s Senior Editor Suhasini Haidar, Kumaratunga said something “serious must have happened” that India took a decision of not supporting Sri Lanka.
Here is a full transcript of the interview:
Suhasini Haidar: Your views on India’s vote against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council…
Chandrika Kumaratunga: It’s not good for Sri Lanka, and I personally am very sad that this came to this state of affairs, but I’m rather bewildered why we should have allowed it to come to this, because India, for example, two years ago I believe it was two years or one year,
Suhasini Haidar: That’s right 2009.
Chandrika Kumaratunga: Was it 2009 when the last resolution came up?
Suhasini Haidar: That’s right straight after…
Chandrika Kumaratunga: And I noted, India supported us fully and even canvassed on our behalf so that we won… the resolution was defeated… so something must have happened in between for India to have voted against us, and I don’t think India would have taken a decision lightly.
Suhasini Haidar: In fact, do you think the government has done enough when it comes to not just convincing the world on human rights abuses, but actually working on the ground there?
Chandrika Kumaratunga: Much more can be done, for reconciliation, for physical reconstruction, its three years since the war ended…
Suhasini Haidar: One of the ministers today has in fact said that India’s vote dealt a killer blow to relations between India and Sri Lanka. Do you think that’s the case?
Chandrika Kumaratunga: Well you see, what you see in Sri Lankan press, we have a totally controlled press, if I may say so, may not be what the majority of the Sri Lankan people think. And India has not in the recent past tried in any way to obstruct Sri Lanka’s policies and programmes and government. And I know personally that, well this is a publically known thing that India has been asking for political settlement of the Tamil people’s problem. And I have always held this view that ending the war does not bring peace by itself. That’s obviously the necessary first step, especially to do away with terrorism, and you know all that kind of thing, but then thereafter there is a lot of rebuilding.
Suhasini Haidar: There are hundreds and thousands of Tamilians today who have suffered from the excesses of the Sri Lankan army, and certainly of the war against the LTTE. Many have talked about torture. Do you think it’s going to be possible for the people in the north and east of Sri Lanka to move on in this process of reconciliation?
Chandrika Kumaratunga: Of course it is, if the government takes the lead. See what happened in South Africa.
Suhasini Haidar: And India’s role should be?
Chandrika Kumaratunga: India’s role should be to help us, to encourage our government, to move forward in this way, and India is doing that very effectively, but well one has to listen.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swbtm1R3gzA
namal / April 10, 2012
Aunty,
You made the decision to get back media from unp. Now keep in mind that you made the fault. bcoz of that decision war was ended from the other hand.
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sjv chelvanayakam / April 10, 2012
A Indian Gutter Rag interviewing our Gutter Rag CBK… Wow this CBK she sounds so good and wonderful person to run a nation.. I wished someone like her was there from 94-05… where murder rate increased, corruption bankrupt our nation.. the PSD was turned into a gang of thugs who abducted many media personal and openly killed them, where the LTTE got a freehand in SL and Internationally… where was this CBK when we were terrorised by another Chaura Rajini during those dark years in SL
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GG Ponnambalam / April 11, 2012
Thisa woman is a liar. She did not do anything for the Tamil people then and so she should not be allowed to say such rubbish. She is after all given a chance to run down a government that is trying even in a small way to give us a better life. I am sorry we missed killing her at the Town Hall.
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James Chance / April 11, 2012
This is a very misleading headline – Chandrika doesn’t say the vote by India was bewildering – she says its bewildering “why we should have allowed it to come to this” – i.e, what’s bewildering are the actions of the Sri Lankan government that led India to shift its position. Please be more careful with your headlines.
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Gamini G B / April 12, 2012
Sri Lankans do not need to implement any thing which the UN or India says, support of the public and a referendum would confirm that. We are an independent nation.
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Kos Colombas / April 14, 2012
Fellows
This women must have been on few wishkeys at the time of interview.
I cannot understand why she cannot keep her faul mouth shut on issues. During her era, we all know we had horrible time. LTTE ran a muck and bombs were blasting every corner of our land.
Using the surname of the man with a great heart (Vijaya K) as her surname, she is insulting the great Vijaya.
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Ravana / April 14, 2012
She is the best looter, she tried to loot our ancestral land in Battaramulla for 2rs per acre to build a palace but she got back fired.
moreover she sold lanka gas to shell and made a monopoly.
[Edited out] not deserve to be a President.
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