A statement from President Obama has come in now after over 6,000 lives have been lost. So I would definitely agree with the assessment that this is happening too late, Charu Lata Hogg, associate fellow of the Asia programme at Chatham House in London said in an interview to ABC Australia.
Presenter Sen Lam interviewed Charu Lata Hogg, associate fellow of the Asia programme at Chatham House in London for ABC, Australia.
SEN LAM: Is President Obama's statement was too late in coming.
CHARU LATA HOGG: It is too little, too late. But having said that, the US has made statements - throughout this last phase of the conflict, it has urged for a humanitarian evacuation of the civilians. It has also made many behind the scenes sort of moves to allow that to happen. But a statement from President Obama has come in now after over 6,000 lives have been lost. So I would definitely agree with the assessment that this is happening too late.
SEN LAM: Well, the Tamil Tigers have been proscribed a terrorist organisation by the United States, among some 32 other countries. But might President Obama's statement put extra pressure on Colombo to exercise more care in military shelling of rebel areas in Sri Lanka?
CHARU LATA HOGG: You know, if you look at the kind of statements and the kind of public - the public line of most international governments and most concerned governments has been to condemn what's going on, has been to urge for a humanitarian ceasefire, a negotiated surrender of LTTE country, but that hasn't happened. So if you look at the statement in isolation, does it have any leverage on the government of Sri Lanka? It does not. There are other leverages which exist and the fact is, the United States just speaking out could have some very, very limited impact. But this is: A, it's happening too late; B, it's not happening in a coordinated fashion. It should have happened - the US should have brought pressure on Japan, which is a bilateral donor to Sri Lanka, which is the largest single bilateral donor - 40 percent of Sri Lanka's aid comes from Japan, and the US should have brought pressure on India, which has a huge influence on Sri Lanka. So in that sense, there should have been more coordinated action. Just a statement alone does not amount to sufficient pressure.
SEN LAM: Charu Lata, you speak of a coordinated approach. Do you think it's helpful that the UN Security Council is holding its first session on the civilians' plights?
CHARU LATA HOGG: Well, again, this is a human rights organisation and humanitarian agencies have been urging for a special session on Sri Lanka by the Security Council for over three months now. In the month of January alone, when the civilian casualty crossed the 1,000 mark, there was a need for the Security Council to meet with urgency on Sri Lanka and to put pressure on the government. It did not happen. What is the outcome of this council meeting going to be? Even though it's happening in a formal plenary, I understand? Is it going to mean a strong enough indictment, a strong enough message is going to be sent out to the Sri Lankan Government? That is what's important. The outcome is more important than the fact that this meeting is being held itself.
