Indian politicians and Diplomats seem to have lost their heads over India’s new status of a fast developing economy in Asia. They try to dictate terms to Sri Lanka as it is an Indian colony.
The Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, reminding us of a previous Diplomatic intruder Robert Blake, has made a strange statement as if India has solved all its petty problems, and is now clean and proper to advise Sri Lanka as to how it should manage its political affairs. Of all countries India is the last that could advice as to what we should do or should not do in managing our affairs..
Because despite a significant economic growth India has not solved its many problems such as their violation of human rights of the outcaste community- the Harijans , unsettled Kashmir problem, Naxal problem, problems with tribal groups in the North East, trouble brewing in Andrapradesh, and Tamil Nadu. It has still to come to terms with its relations with Pakistan. Even the border problems with China have not been settled.
And Nirupama Rao turns to Sri Lanka to talk big and tell us how we should govern. India has to put its own house in order before pontificating Sri Lank what it should do. India is the most unfriendly country in our neighbourhood. It works hand in hand with the International Community, trying to imitate them looking down upon the developing countries.
India created terrorism in Sri Lanka, and when the JR Jayawardhane’s government was almost winning the war against terrorists, India could not resist stopping Sri Lanka eliminating the terrorism, to rise above underdevelopment one day. India dared to trespass into our air space in “Operation Poolmalai” to come to the rescue of the terrorist Prabhakaran- its “ brain child”.
JR Jayawardhana who had condemned Communism and “curry favoured” with the Americans, hoped that if India were to attack Sri Lanka, America would come to its help. American administration cowered as it always seems to be, abandoned Sri Lanka at that time of its need in 1987, without wanting to antagonize India.
The result was the most despised 13 Amendment to the constitution. That was the treachery of India. And now it shamelessly keeps on demanding us to put into effect an Amendment that is not of our making. The 13 Amendment goes against the Communal Unity of Sri Lanka, far from it being an instrument of unity. It is only the short sighted anti Sri Lankan elements who find in it a solution to the so called ethnic problem.
Nirupama Rao had said, “ India's own experiment with democracy has taught us that effective devolution of powers, equal status before the constitution, equal access to opportunities and addressing of minority concerns ensure that fissiparous forces are contained and differences are addressed in an open and democratic fashion."
We know how India’s democracy is addressing the question of the minority Harijans, leave alone other matters. It is by itself a shameless affront to a democracy stepping into the modern age, and yet Nirupama Rao pontificates Sri Lanka, to address minority concerns to contain fissiparous forces.
The 13 Amendment is now our political problem created by India due to lopsided Foreign Policy adopted by JR Jayawardhana. The Indian Government need not through its “ sound boxes” continue to remind us of that the matter, creating and keeping alive separatist movements to draw the Sri Lankan Communities apart. In Sri Lanka there are three main Communities, not just Tamils, and the government of Sri Lanka has to find a suitable “home made” solution to the highly publicised “ethnic problem”, on its own without having Nirupama Rao and others like her on its back.
If one observes one would notice that every move of India today, specially after the elimination of terrorism is to create dissention in Sri Lanka. Their numerous aid programmes for the North and East are a means to create that division-to dra apart the Communities.
It does all that through fear of Tamil Nadu leaving the Union of Indian States. If Tamil Nadu were to leave the union, there are many other states that will follow suit and India is quite aware of it, and politically feeble on that point. Nirupama Rao should therefore find ways and means to keep the separatists at bay in India instead of talking to us about fissiparous forces in Sri Lanka.
The Tamils in Sri Lanka were the Cholan, Pandava thieving hordes that invaded into the Island, of who some of them settled down making it their home centuries ago, now they are a part and parcel of the population of Sri Lanka and they have nothing to do with the Tamils of Tamil Nadu.
Therefore, India should stop treating our Tamil Community as a part of it. It is only the language and religion that are common with the Tamils in Sri Lanka and the Tamils in Tamil Nadu. But culturally the Sri Lankan Tamils to-day are far apart from their original counterparts in India, both physically and socially.
Of course there are many Sri Lankans , such as Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu, Wickramabahu Karunaratne, Jehan Perera, Kumar David , Sampanthan and his TNA partners, motivated by different personal reasons contributing to India’s dubious political moves towards Sri Lanka .
Nirupama Rao also speaks of the settlement of IDP’s, as it is “something” that we have forgotten or not receiving the Sri Lanka President’s attention. One cannot understand the reason for India’s repeated reminder of it all the time, unless it is to make it a means to draw the Sri Lankan Tamils onto India’s side and keep the idea of being a separate Community alive.
Our President needs no counselling by Nirupama Rao about governance. It was not India that helped Sri Lanka government to eliminate terrorism. But on the other hand it was India during the thirty years of terrorism in Sri Lanka that drew barriers time and again against Sri Lanka’s military operations against terrorism, and made the war against terrorism more difficult by their political interference prompted by Karunanidhi and the rest of the “jokers” from Tamil Nadu.
Sri Lanka has not and will not forget the “dishonest “ role played by the Central Government of India during that period, and remember with gratitude the help and assistance provided to Sri Lanka by the Government of Pakistan through out the same period when ever a request was made.
India even refused to provide transport to 40,000 Soldiers under the command of the late Army Commander Janaka Perera, who were stranded in Jaffna, about to be attacked by the terrorists. It was thanks to the Government of Pakistan that provided arms and ammunitions to the stranded army that saved the Soldiers from an imminent massacre.
We cannot also forget that it was India that not only refused to sell us arms and armaments when our Government Forces were in dire need of them, but also warned us not to by armaments from Russia and China.
It is time that India provides, any aid and services it wishes to render without letting persons like Nirupama Rao open their mouths to poison the air we are trying to clear.
An Interfering Diplomat, and the Church in Sri Lanka.
When one set of interfering diplomats, who have no business to meddle with internal politics of the country where they are stationed have left, another namely the Indian High Commissioner Ashok K Kantha has stepped into pollute the political atmosphere in Sri Lanka, joining hands with no other than the Archbishop Ranjith.
High Commissioner Kantha had spoken of the plight of Sri Lanka and had stated that mutual trust between the two countries will result in greater collaboration. He had further spoken of the desire of the people of the North and East to return to the Villages, and that India is ready to support and aid Sri Lanka to help in the resettlement programme .
But in the same vein he had shown doubt of our President Mahinda Rajapakse’s political honesty in saying that “ he (Ashok.K.Kantha) trusts that the President Mahinda Rajapakse will carry out the programmes.” .
But Indian High Commissioner’s statement about the mutual trust between India and Sri Lanka” is all bunkum, there is no mutual trust between India and Sri Lanka it is only India that is trying to feather its own nest, jumping into help Sri Lanka’s development programme in the North and East.
Archbishop Ranjith spoke a lot when he said , “…relations between the two countries have become much closer and more solid than ever…” India is of course now jumping into the band wagon of North and East aid providers, trying to out do China which is helping ( and has helped) Sri Lanka in far greater ways than India ever had to Sri Lanka.
Archbishop Ranjith, had been in comfortable company stating pompously , “….But now the government must unite all parties and find a solution to the Tamil community. I hope that India will continue to support the efforts of Sri Lanka in this matter ".
It is the sheer hypocrisy of the Church. It is the Church who should make a move to unite the Communities without speaking always for the Tamils as if the other Communities are insignificant and non-existent.
India and the Churches of Sri Lanka speak for the Tamils in the North and the East as if the South and the Sinhala do not exist. But when the country is in peril it is neither the Church nor India that come to save it, but it is always the Sinhala Buddhists who step in, risking their lives without hesitation.
Both India and the Church had always tried to fish in the troubled waters in Sri Lanka keeping the Tamils and the Sinhala apart as it serves their purpose- both that of the Church and India. The High Commissioner Kantha and Archbishop Ranjith are said to have held their meeting in a climate of great cordiality with mutual expressions of appreciation for the social and political role played.
The birds of feather flock together !
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