ISAS Insights

Of course, the Indians need to tread a delicate path as their government is well aware of the tremendous Sri Lankan sensitivities to any mention of the ‘R2P’ in this context. About two years ago, a foreign academic, Dr Rama Mani, who was the Executive Director of the International Centre for Ethnic Studies in Colombo, was sacked and her visa cancelled for espousing this idea. Also trenchantly criticised by the pro-government media in Colombo was Gareth Evans, former Australian Foreign Minister, who is the President of the International Crisis Group and a champion of the principle, for suggesting at a lecture hosted by Dr Mani As the Sri Lankan army presses on with its final assault on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) stronghold, with over 50,000 civilians feared entrapped in the fighting, Indian External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, made a public statement on the evolving situation. He said, “These killings must stop. The Sri Lankan government has a responsibility to protect its own citizens and the LTTE must stop its barbaric attempt to hold civilians hostage.” A key element in his remarks was the use of the phrase ‘responsibility to protect’. Was he referring to the recently-adopted United Nations (UN) principle which also goes by the acronym of ‘R2P’ and hinting at its relevance to the Sri Lankan context? It is most likely not the case, at least, in a military sense.