13A Fails the Acid Test!
Posted on July 4th, 2009
Dilrook Kannangara
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The Thirteenth Amendment (13A) is the biggest risk facing the nation today after its security forces crushed the LTTE. On the face of it there is nothing to get alarmed although the 13A failed to resolve anything; definitely not the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ethnicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ problem. It only added an additional corruption burden on the people, nine more elections every 4-5 years, another layer of red-tape and loads of other complications. The implementation of the 13A justifies IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s meddling in Sri Lankan affairs and effectively takes away what is known on paper as ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”peoplesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ sovereigntyƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. B Nadesan the former LTTE political wing leader ridiculed sovereignty and said Sri Lanka is trying to preserve sovereignty like virginity! If it is akin to virginity, the 13A will make the nation an inmate of a brothel. If the 13A is not decisively rejected, it will not be the last Indian imposed law of this country. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Unfortunately the survival of politicians and diplomats has spoilt proper discussion on the subject. Both of them try to save their faces in the international arena to hell with the country. They promote the 13A as a viable solution to the problems facing post-war Sri Lanka. Dayan Jayathilake talks of International isolation of Sri Lanka if we donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t fully implement the 13A or scraps it altogether. He is obviously wrong. Apart from India, the mother who gave birth to the unlucky illegitimate 13A, no other country has specified that Sri Lanka implement the 13A fully! Who is Dayan trying to fool but himself in order to keep his posh position in Geneva? What the international community wants to see is a viable political solution, not 13A specifically. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The APRC sat for three years on the bowl as if suffering from constipation and finally, at last, dropped the matter! Unable to arrive at a solution, the government resorted back to the failed 13A. So it is not only the face they are trying to save, but also their incompetency in failing to find a solution. This comes within six weeks of promising an ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-indigenous solutionƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ to the problem. How funny! 13A is not at all an indigenous solution; it was an Indian imposition assuming the presence of an Indian-like race-divided landmass comprising various countries with unique histories of their own. President Rajapaksha has a funny definition of what is ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-indigenousƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Indigenous does not mean ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Indian-geniusƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ but ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-home-grown, originalƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The rubbish about security threats Those who want to live in Geneva-style extreme luxury at the expense of the people of a poor country bring various rubbish theories to save the illegitimate 13A. One such rubbish allegation is the supposed security risk non-implementation of the 13A brings. India did help us win the war and helped us a lot. But it was Sri Lankan troops that did the job with weapons mainly from China, Russia, Israel and Pakistan. India offered two-dimensional INDRA radar systems that failed to provide enough detection to LTTE planes only after Sri Lanka tried to purchase technologically advanced three-dimensional radar from China. Sri Lankans have not forgotten the arrogant Indian statements that Sri Lanka must come to India for all its weapons purchases, and India will decide what weapons Sri Lanka may need and when. If India had an iota of concern for Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s security, she would never have made such statements. Weapons denied to Sri Lanka by the Indian administration were offered with a loan facility by IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s arch rival Pakistan! ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Did India do anything to prevent LTTE smuggling weapons from Tamil Nadu and Kerala? No. Indian patrols only concentrated on preventing terror activities in India, not Sri Lanka. LTTE weapons flow through the Mannar coast stopped only when security forces of the 58 division fully captured the north-western coastline. Most people donƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t know that India boarders Sri Lanka from the east as well due to the presence of Andaman and Nicobar islands. This coast stretch was also used by the LTTE to smuggle in weapons and for human smuggling which happens to this date. What India did to prevent that? Nothing. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Then there is the issue of Indian fishermen selling things to the LTTE. The problem was never even looked at until there was a series of arrests and violence between the Indian fishermen and the Sri Lanka Navy. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka continues to invest US$1.5 billion on security. If such kind of money cannot ensure our security, there must be something seriously going wrong in the defence apparatus. Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s national security is Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s baby and as we can see no one was able to protect her but our own brothers in the security forces. There is no way LTTE or any other armed group can raise their heads if Sri Lanka operates a proper security plan. LTTE didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t come from Tamil Nadu, but was inculcated by India in Sri Lanka with training in Tamil Nadu at a time when we had a ceremonial army which could barely occupy one fiftieth of the number of camps we have today. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Besides, India is not the regional superpower. The regional superpower is China and Chinese military assistance doesnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t depend on Indian ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”approvalƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ If India threatens to disrupt Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s security, so be it. China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc. can more than fill the void. And that will be the end of IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s regional security as well. ThatƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s not all. Instability in Tamil parts of Sri Lanka is instability in South India. So whether India is pleased with the 13A or not it has to look after regional security interests. Thus collapses the rubbish argument about security and 13A. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The acid test The acid test of the 13A comes from the Tamil Elam lobby. The Tamil Elam lobby has made it very clear that it will never accept anything less than Tamil Elam. They may reluctantly accept or not vehemently reject something less than Tamil Elam if it can be used as a ladder to get to Tamil Elam. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ LTTE rejected the 13A because it was fully confident, until the last day, that it can win all their demands directly through war. Now that the LTTE is defeated, LTTE remnants will settle for something that can be used as a ladder to get to Tamil Elam. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The very highly active Tamil Elam/LTTE lobby is mysteriously silent about the 13A! If the 13A can resolve the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”ethnicƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ problem and prevent Tamil Elam from happening, will they ever keep silent? The silent approval by the Tamil Elam/LTTE lobby around the world indicates that the 13A is not only incapable of stopping the formation of Tamil Elam but also is in fact a stepping stone to Tamil Elam. It was just a few months ago LTTE had the following agitations against the war. When Sri Lanka is trying to implement the 13A fully, LTTE Diaspora events have vanished by magic. Where are the,
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Undeniably the 13A is not going to make Tamil Elam anymore difficult. In fact it will make it easier! It must be noted that when they carried out protests, etc. their host nations were not at all against Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s war on terror. Still the LTTE Diaspora which is a significant section of the total Tamil Diaspora protested. Similarly, apart from India, the other countries have not identified 13A as the only solution. So there is no reason why the LTTE Diaspora should not protest against the 13A which is supposed to prevent Tamil Elam from happening. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Of course these groups will merely complain against the 13A and make miniature protests against it just to make known their higher demands, but those will be nothing comparable to protests that we should expect if Tamil Elam is going to be made unachievable through 13A. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Patriotic Sri Lankans should always note the scale, ferocity and nature of LTTE protests, etc. around the world to assess how true the positive/negative claims about the 13A are. If the LTTE Diaspora is not vehemently protesting against the 13A, that means it is going to help them; at least not going to change anything in their Tamil Elam project. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Joke Those who say the 13A will not lead to Tamil Elam says that if any attempt to do so is made, the President and/or the parliament can easily reverse those actions and/or dissolve the Provincial Council. This is a stupid joke. From a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”TamilƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ point of view, if the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Sinhala majorityƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ parliament and the Sinhala only president can dissolve the system put in place to address Tamil grievances and aspirations caused by Sinhala ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”chauvinismƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢, where is the solution? ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Premadasa had to do it and then what happened to the North-East Provincial Council? According to those Tamils who allege discrimination, grievances, etc. caused by the Sinhala majority against them will not find any solace in a system that is still easily manipulated by the same Sinhala majority. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ On the other hand, the reluctance of governments to take any action against separatist acts is legendary. All governments turned the other side when it comes to the full implementation of anti-separatist legislation! If anti-separatist legislations are properly implemented, none of the vociferous Tamil Elamists will be around. Given that track record of reluctance and deliberate non-implementation of anti-separatist legislation, only a fool will expect that these will be implemented after the full implementation of the 13A. I will not be surprised if the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”beneficiariesƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ of the 13A demand the scrapping of anti-separatist legislation! That will be the icing on the Tamil Elam birthday cake. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Therefore either way (whether separatist moves are tolerated or not) it lands this country in trouble with the 13A. That is why the talk of dissolution, revision, restitution is pure nonsense. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The Tragedy The nasty effects of the 13A are already visible. In the East it has created a racist monster. Not only each political party separately trying to capture power in the East is racially motivated, but also within each party there are severe racially-motivated contests. The fallout of the Muslim aspirant of the Chief Ministership was dramatic. Every matter under the sun has become a process of racial barter in the east notwithstanding the powerful president and his connections. Even the president has to use one warlord against the other to keep them under control. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Situation in the north will be dramatic for want of a better word. It will be a breeding ground of more and more Tamil racist demands each racist political group will make from the government. In competition with each other! ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Finally the 13A will achieve what it was supposed to achieve by its creator, India. Sri Lanka will be like India where racial groups are regionalised and they fight each other diplomatically first, violently next, just like in India. This makes India more and more important for Sri Lanka to ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”helpƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ resolve problems. Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Tamil Nadu will be more vibrant than its Indian counterpart in championing separatism and Tamil Elam. ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The peaceful journey to Tamil Elam passes through few stages. First, the demarcation of Tamil controlled regions, then more and more power to Tamil controlled regions, thereafter more and more autonomy for Tamil controlled regions, then the demand for separation for mutual benefit and finally separation. Nipping it in the bud is not something our politicians understand. There is more money, power, a sense of importance, ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”meritƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ in not nipping problems in the bud. After all it is not politicians or Geneva based diplomats who pay for their errors, mistakes and crimes. |