India votes against Sri Lanka over human rights abuse

Agencies

22 March 2012:  The UN rights body has approved a resolution pressing Sri Lanka to conduct credible war crime probes. India voted in favour of the US-sponsored resoltion, a decision which might affect ties with its island neighbour.

 

Sri Lankan ruling party MPs on Thursday rallied outside parliament as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva prepared to vote on a resolution calling for a new probe into the island’s civil war.

 

 

Lawmakers from President Mahinda Rajapakse’s party demonstrated in front of the national assembly as thousands of supporters staged rallies elsewhere in Sri Lanka to protest against the proposed US-backed resolution.

 

The protesters and the government say that any new investigation would damage post-war ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka between the majority Sinhalese and minority Tamil communities.