SOUTH AFRICA'S POSITION ON SRI LANKA IS PUZZLING

South African President, Jacob Zuma, at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Sri Lanka last weekend announced that his Government would help the island country to achieve "national reconciliation". He made the statement after CHOGM was embroiled by allegations that Sri Lanka's top leaders should be subjected to an international inquiry into alleged serious human rights violations committed towards the last stages of the civil war in 2009. Journalist Subry Govender, who attended an international Tamil human rights conference in Mauritius early in November, writes that South Africa's position on Sri Lanka is a major disappointment..... .

WHY HAS SOUTH AFRICA NOT BEEN OUTSPOKEN ABOUT CLAIMS OF GENOCIDE IN SRI LANKA? Prior to the start and during the just-ended Commonwealth Heads of State and Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka, neither President Jacob Zuma nor his Foreign Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, or any other leaders made any statements about the alleged "war crimes" during the last days of the civil war on the island in 2009. The South African leaders and the Government adopted a somewhat and surprising "diplomatic silent" attitude despite vociferous calls by international human rights organisations, some governments and even leaders within the UN Human Rights Commission for an independent and international inquiry into the alleged massacre of Tamils - whose traditional homeland is in the North and East of Sri Lanka. Some of the human rights organisations had also called for the President of Sri Lanka, Mahindra Rajapakse, his brother, the defence secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and leaders of the military to be charged for "war crimes" at the International Court of Justice. CLAIMS OF GENOCIDE

These calls were made following allegations that between 40 000 to 70 000 Tamils were slaughtered by Sri Lankan soldiers during the final stages of the civil war in 2009. Britain's Channel 4 television network exposed the alleged "war crimes" in a series of documentary reports that has shocked and appalled most countries and leaders of the world.

NAVI PILLAY AND UN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION Even our own Navi Pillay, the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, made a damning discovery during her week-long, fact-finding mission to the Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka two months ago. She was reported as saying that she was shocked at the levels of trauma and emotional distress she encountered among the people she met in the North and East of the island.

UN Commissioner of Human Rights, Ms Navi Pillay In her initial report, she found, among other assaults on human rights, that the Sri Lankam Government maintained an "oppressive and intrusive" military presence in Tamil majority areas of the North and East; a "recent surge in incitement of hatred and violence against religious minorities, including attacks on churches and mosques", without effective action being taken against the perpetrators; and a continued failure to investigate allegations of "war crimes in a credible and independent manner". Pillay affirmed the findings of the International Crisis Group that the Sri Lanka Government had spurned suggestions for reforms as called for by the UN Human Rights Council last March and this year. Pillay also found that the Sri Lankan Government had even failed to implement the core recommendations of its own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

British Prime Minister, David Cameron BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Then during the summit itself (between Friday, November 15 and Sunday, November 17), British Prime Minister, Dave Cameron, after coming under intense pressure from Amnesty International and other human rights organisations, made a rushed visit to the North and East of the island. During his brief visit, Cameron saw for himself the devastation and destruction and came under pressure from the Tamil people for the international community to investigate the genocide and the continuing "structural genocide" that they allegedly face. On his return from the North to the CHOGM summit in Colombo, the British Prime Minister said he was concerned at what he had seen during his very brief visit. He announced that he would use his office to call for an international inquiry if the Sri Lankan Government does not conduct and conclude its own investigations within four months. Against the background of recriminations by Rajapakse and his government, Cameron said: "Let me be very clear. If an investigation is not completed by March, then I will use our position on the United Nations Human Rights Council to work with the UN Human Rights Commission and call for a full credible and independent international inquiry." He added: "Ultimately all of this is about reconciliation. It is about bringing justice and closure and healing to this country which now has a chance of a much brighter future. That will only happen by dealing with these issues and not ignoring them."

The findings of the International Crisis Group, Ms Pillay's UN Human Rights Council and Mr Cameron's own concerns were supported by delegates attending the Tamil Diaspora Solidarity conference held in the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius between November 8 and 10. TAMIL DIASPORA CLAIMS

Delegates at the Tamil Diaspora Conference in Mauritius The delegates included Sri Lankan Tamils living in exile; the Deputy Chief Minister of the Penang state in Malaysia, Professor Dr P Ramasamy; Mrs Kamachy Doray Rajoo, a member of the Pengang Provincial Assembly; Mr Kula Segaran, a member of the National Assembly in Malaysia; and several political leaders from the Tamil Nadu state in India. The President of the Tamil National People’s Front and General Secretary of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress in Sri Lanka, Mr G G Ponnambalam, told the conference that the Sri Lankan regime was carrying out various human rights violations to "annihilate and eliminate" Tamil Eelam. "These include the militarization of the North and East, the colonization of the North and East with Sinhala migrants from the south, land grabs of traditional Tamil land, continued murders and killings of our people, forced dispersal of our people from their homes and land, destruction of our economy, culture and education. "All this structural genocide is taking place following the massacre and genocide of 40 000 to 70 000 people during the last days of the war in 2009, the disappearance of some 147 000 people whose plight is not known, and the rapes and murders of thousands of women. "We are facing a serious problem as more than 80 000 women have been left widows following the killings of their menfolk," said Mr Ponnambalam. "All these actions and attacks are aimed at the systematic elimination of the Tamil people as a nation." MAURITIAN PRIME MINISTER

Mauritian PM, Navichandra Ramgoolam Two days after the conference the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navichandra Ramgoolam, announced that he would not attend the CHOGM summit in Sri Lanka because of his concerns over the human rights violations against the Tamils in Sri Lanka. He joined the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in boycotting CHOGM. The Indian Prime Minister was forced to miss the summit after the Tamil Nadu Assembly and its Chief Minister, Jayalalitha, in South India passed a unanimous resolution, calling on the Indian Government to demonstrate its stance against the alleged genocide and human rights violations against the Tamils in the North and East of Sri Lanka. SOUTH AFRICA'S "DIPLOMATIC SILENCE"

The 12-year-old son of Velupillai Prabhakaran who was executed by Sri Lankan soldiers Unfortunately, in our own case, despite the background from where we come in South Africa, President Jacob Zuma and his fellow leaders not only adopted "diplomatic silence" on Sri Lanka, but Zuma also attended CHOGM. He chose to attend the summit despite calls by human rights organisations, such as the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lanka(SGPJ), that South Africa should stay away to express its abhorrence at the violation of the human rights of the Tamil people. The stance of Zuma and the Government came as something of a surprise as the ruling ANC had at one time sympathised with the cause of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and also after our own freedom in 1994, the ANC collaborated with the Tamils in the struggles for peace and justice in Sri Lanka. One of our senior leaders, Ebrahim Ismail Ebrahim, the current Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, also at one time headed a special committee to promote the rights of Tamils and to bring about peace in Sri Lanka. The late former Cabinet Minister, Roy Padaychie, was also involved in promoting a just solution in Sri Lanka. He was responsible for setting up the Solidarity Group for Peace and Justice in Sri Lanka. HYPOCRITICAL ATTITUDE

President Jacob Zuma shaking hands of Rajapakse of Sri Lanka during the CHOGM summit Zuma's "diplomatic silence" on the war crimes, therefore, disappointed many in South Africa and other countries.

SA Foreign Minister, Maite Nkoane-Mashabane, in Sri Lanka prior to the CHOGM summit The Foreign Minister, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, who arrived in Colombo earlier to take part in pre-CHOGM talks, also failed to raise the issue of human rights violations in Sri Lanka publicly. Her stance was somewhat hypocritical when compared to her position on Israel and the Palestinian issue. Early in November she announced that South African Ministers did not visit Israel and would stay away until the situation in Israel had improved. She was quoted as saying: "We have agreed to slow down and curtail senior leadership contact with that regime until things begin to look better. The struggle of the people of Palestine is our struggle." Why couldn't Nkoana-Mashabane espouse the same values in the case of the Tamils in Sri Lanka? What's the difference? From all accounts the Palestinians and the Tamils in Sri Lanka suffer equally. They are being frustrated and suffocated in their struggles to nation-hood and freedom. INTERNAL INQUIRY NOT THE ANSWER

At the end of CHOGM last weekend, Zuma tried to make up for South Africa's "diplomatic silence" by saying in an interview that he had held discussions with Rajapaksa and the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance(TNA) about the "the role that could be played by South Africa in assisting the people of Sri Lanka to resolve their problems through engagement". He said South Africa would assist Sri Lanka by sharing its experience of "national reconciliation". But from all accounts, Zuma and the Government's stance on Sri Lanka is difficult to understand. What has led to South Africa adopting such a pathetic position? Are there other interests? What Zuma and his fellow leaders must understand that the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Tamils in the Diaspora, several governments and human rights organisations and leaders will will not accept an internal inquiry as they believe that the Sri Lankan Government and its leaders have a lot to hide? Only an independent and international inquiry under the banner of the United Nations will be acceptable. Like the Palestininians, the Tamils in Sri Lanka also claim their right to nation-hood as they were the original inhabitants of the island many centuries before the forefathers of the majority Singalese migrated from the north of India to the south of Sri Lanka. - ends (Subry Govender)