India’s retired diplomat Hardeep Puri flays Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa brothers
Posted on April 12th, 2013
Asoka Weerasinghe Kings Grove Crescent . Gloucester . Ontario . K1J 6G1. Canada
11 April 2013
(Editor of The Hindu.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sir,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ kindly forward this letter to Mr. Hardeep S. Puri.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ AW)
OPEN LETTER
Mr. Hardeep S. PuriƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Recently Retired Senior Indian Diplomat, Class ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 1974ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚
Senior Diplomat at IndianƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ High Commission in Sri Lanka, December 1984 ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢¢”š¬…” March 1988,
New Delhi, India
Dear Hardeep Puri:
Strange it may sound; there seem to be no ending of the smart Alec Indian diplomats coming out of the wood work, flaying their arms at Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The present President of India Shri Pranab Mukerjee was the last one that I wrote to on 6th April pointing this out.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I thought that would be the end he being the Head-Honcho of Indian diplomacy chalking his anti-Sri Lanka mark.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And I thought it would stop there.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ But, Oh, No.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I didnƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t realize that there was a HardeepƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ S. Puri waiting in the wings to come out flaying at Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ These past and present Indian diplomats seem to come in relays handing the truncheon to the one behind. Wow! Man, this is something!ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This is provocative bully-murder-theatre at its best.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ItƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s the Sri Lankan-Tamils that seem to be your problem who are thousand times better looked after in every sector of their lives by the Sri Lankan Government than your Dalits of India.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I know and you know that you cannot challenge me on that statement. You know, Hardeep, I can bet my last sweat covered paisa that everyone of your Dalit population would move heaven and earth to exchange places with the Tamils that you are belly aching for.
Hardeep, these Dalits are your untouchables.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Lowest in your caste system, lowest in the rung of Mother Theresa-CulcuttaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s humanity who are looked down upon nor would they be able to sit at the same table with Hardeep S. Puri, to eat a luncheon plate of rice and curry, even in a remote hidden away boutique so that no one would notice yourƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ humanitarian valour.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is a reality check for you Hardeep.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Will I, a Sri Lankan-Canadian Sinhalese, sit at the same table in a restaurant with a low caste Tamil or one of your Dalits.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You bet, I will and I will also offer to pay his bill.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is the difference between Hardeep S. Puri the retired Indian diplomat, and Asoka Weerasinghe, a Sinhalese-Canadian retired public servant.
In 2001 they made 16.2 per cent of your Indian population.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Do your arithmetic and you will find it to be a shocking number, and you seem to be worried about the Sri Lankan-Tamils, a dwindlingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ population of Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How come Hardeep?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ DonƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢t you think that the Dalits need your attention which is your home grown problem rather than worrying about the Tamils in Sri Lanka?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Where is your vision for your Dalits, Hardeep?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Your brazen interference in your neighbourƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s internal affairs and not worrying about your Dalits is moronic and despicable. Not saneƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦not good!
The news item in The Island of Wednesday April 10, 2013, headlined ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”¹…”Indian Diplomat flays Rajapaksa brothersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ which has been critiqued as a ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-brilliant articleƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚: in The Hindu says: ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-the brothersƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢ running Sri Lanka appear to have no intention to move on political reconciliation and devolution.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Then, Hardeep, what the heck do you think they are doing?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sucking their thumbs standing in a corner of their air-conditioned offices?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Coming out of a 27 year old war which you Indians have to be responsible for training the Tamil Tiger warmongers, giving them AK47 killing assault rifles and showing them how to shoot them at innocent Sinhalese and Muslim peoples, is a good reason for you Indians to be hauled in front of an International War Crimes Court for aiding and abetting human rights violations by the Tamil Tigers, Indira GandhiƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-boysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I am afraid Hardeep, you too will be in that mix of Indian War Criminals as you were aiding and abetting Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s Eelam War killings and human rights violations..
But, Hey Hardeep,ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the two Rajapaksa brothers have every right to act responsibly to satisfyƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ their people thus have little inclination to satisfy a former Indian High Commission senior diplomatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ who happened to be stationed in Colombo during the ugly Indian bully months ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ December 1984 to March 1988, just after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the God Mother of Tamil Tiger terrorismƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in October 3, 1984 andƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ later working with her son Rajiv’s administration.
Hardeep if your memory will not betray you, you will recall that it were the months in late 1983 until the most part of 1985, that you Indians trained the Tamil guerillas in military camps inƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dehra Dun, Madras and in the districts ofƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Chengalpattu, Tiruchi, Pudukottai, South Arcot, Salem, Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Coimbatorai and Anna, and graduatedƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ them into beingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the most ruthless terrorists in the world and sent them back to Sri Lanka to kill and destabilize that island nation. Remember, Hardeep?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You were right in the thick of it, as a diplomatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Indian High Commission monitoring the performance and the progress of these Made in India serial Tamil Tiger killers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ How they performed to the satisfaction of the two Gandhi’s, your prime Ministers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ This qualifies you to be one of the Indians to be hauled in front of an International War Crimes court.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is indeed the luck of the draw.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The world right now seems hard on human rights violations, whether you killed or whether you aided and abetted such killings. HmmmmƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚¦ Hardeep, you must be wondering how come you got tainted with such a horrible International War Crimes truth.
Hardeep, if you wereƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ aƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Senior diplomatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ in the IndianƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Mission in Colombo until March 1988, then you were part of Indian Government Bully Team when you all gave Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s High Commissioner in New Delhi less than an hourƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s notice that you all would be sending Mirage war planes sonic-boom screaming over the northern skies of Jaffna to drop 25 ton of lentils to feed 800,000 Tamils.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ You were in Colombo when you all parked two war ships outside the waters of Colombo to intimidate Sri Lanka.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And you were in Colombo as part of the Indian Bully Team to force Sri LankaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s President J.R. Jayewardena to sign the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord, and Rajiv Gandhi tellingƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ the Tamil Tiger Leader Prabhakaran that , ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-I have got you almost all what you wanted.ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Remember, Hardeep?ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ That is how despicable you Indian Bully bunch were.
Hardeep, you were not a babe in the woods, as you knew all along what was going on when your India was intimidating Sri Lanka. When IPKF committed human rights violations which are reason enough to haul you all in front of a War Crimes Court. When the IPKF committed certain excesses such as the use of T-72 tanks to rescue some of your paracommandos who were encircled by the LTTE.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The fighting between your IPKF and the Indira Gandhi’sƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ LTTE ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-boysƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ at Urumbiarai, the gateway to Jaffna, when Tamil civilians were killed and T-72 tanks ran over them.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The shelling of the Jaffna General Hospital by the IPKF when rumours were spread that the LTTE had taken refuge and the death of Doctors, patients and Ambulance drivers, angered the people.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ And how your Indian helicopter gunships strafed the Chavacachcheri market building killing 65 civilians.
With all these happenings Hardeep S. Puri, you have absolutely no moral right to point your fingerƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and lecture at the Rajapaksa brothers.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ I doubt they will take orders from you, as they know and I know, that you are a convincing candidate to be hauled in front of an International War Crimes Court for your involvement in the war crimes that took place in Sri Lanka during your tenure asƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ a senior diplomat at theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Indian High Commission in Colombo from December 1984 to March 1988.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Like the massacre of 32 novice Buddhist monks at Aranthalawa on the morning of 2 June 1987 which was executed by your Indira Gandhi’s “boys”, the Made in India, Tamil Tiger terrorists.
With that conclusion, I say Amen!.
Sincerely,
Asoka Weerasinghe
April 12th, 2013 at 4:21 pm
It is very clear now, India is the problem. We need to act wisely and try and get US and western friends on our side. I saw our CBG has hired an US company to improve our relationship with US Government, which is perhaps to good start. We can try offering them Trinco Harbour or KKS.
April 12th, 2013 at 4:51 pm
If US comes to Trinco it is as good as Eelam given. Don’t ever think of this unholy act! US helped the Terrorists to get Trinco among other things.
April 12th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
@PRIYAN WIJEYERATNE, why do we have to appease the US by offering Trinco if they are ‘our Western friends’? Surely if the US Administration is a friend of Sri Lanka, it will help Sri Lanka stand on its feet and not bark at Sri Lanka at every opportunity? We tried to appease Portugese then the Dutch then the British and look where we have got after 500 years….please think carefully.
April 12th, 2013 at 7:29 pm
There are no western friends. history has proved this .From 1500 they have been our enemies. we have to know the history if we want to survive and we have to know the reason why they dont like theravada buddhism.
who is our western friend who went against tigers.
April 12th, 2013 at 7:39 pm
“gdesilva Says:
April 12th, 2013 at 5:24 pm
@PRIYAN WIJEYERATNE, why do we have to appease the US by offering Trinco if they are ‘our Western friends’? Surely if the US Administration is a friend of Sri Lanka, it will help Sri Lanka stand on its feet and not bark at Sri Lanka at every opportunity?”
gdesilva, the West is barking at Sri Lanka because the LTTE diaspora has spent billions in lobbying them and feeding them misinformation and making all kinds of promises to them, while our politicians slept. The west is not a natural ally of the Tamils, but India IS. India is our natural enemy. Because China is not – yet – strong enough to contain India’s bullying in our region, who else could we turn to but the West? One very good reason to engage the west more rigorously is because they CREATED the Indian Union. There was no such country as India before the British unified it. They still pull India’s strings. To control India, the sad fact is only the West can do it. The West wont do it for nothing. We have to offer them concessions – but the unitary state might survive. And there is potential to use the west against India and vice versa. When India sees the west engaging Sri Lanka, Indians will get jealous, like they are lovers of the west! We have to manage the whole process carefully. After 2030, China can come into the equation to control India as well, but for now they arent strong enough. This is an issue with all small countries. If the Dutch werent brought in, the Portuguese would have destroyed SL. There was no one else strong enough, not even the Arabs – and we all know where we would be had we used the Arabs to evict the Portuguese!. That was the reality of those times. There was no choice. Its like the Kandyan nobility using the British to overthrow the Hindu Indian royalty. These things have to be carefully managed.
April 12th, 2013 at 10:14 pm
What will be will be. SriLanka is too small to manipulate relationships between other nations like the USA and India, but instead must focus on doing the right thing by its citizens and hope the many friendly nations SriLanka has would help to protect SriLanka’s interests.
I think it is high time SriLanka insisted from India to investigate those in their country that assisted in the creation and training of Tamil Tiger terrorists which caused all this misery and distruction for three decades. Without such an investigation, SriLanka may never be able to trust the Indian Govt again and nor could there be any genuine reconciliation between SriLanka and India.
April 13th, 2013 at 1:05 am
Great article Asoka. We need our sons of Motherlanka who has a backbone to stand up to these ugly creatures. You are one of them. Thse Indians do not have shame.They too act like Americans.They both suck each other’s back these lousy shit Indians. They know and the whole world knows who created,funded and gave sanctuary to those cold blooded murderers to carry on terrorizing and killing our innocent babies for 30 long years. They will never be our friends except our enemies for ever. When ever our country try to go forward they somehow create something to stop it. We must be united to fight these two criminal nations India and America.
We can stand on our own feet with the assistance of our true friends around the world without these blood suckers. Russia,China and Pakistan will be always there to help us as they were all sincere in their support to Sri Lanka not like these bloody Kallathonis in India. Our great Rajapksa brothers will safeguard our Motherland with the help of our citizens who loves the country truly and sincerly. TNA,UNP,JVP traitors must be rejected in wholesale in every elections and give the Rajapksa’s to carry on the good work they were doing after the bloodiest war in history.
April 13th, 2013 at 3:04 am
Well done , Asoka, as always! – Most of our headaches originate from our gross incompetence mainly in dealing with foreign matters. Eg. We did NOT at the UNHRC and even yet not specifically demanded that there can be NO uni-lateral (OR one sided) accountability. Accountability has to apply EQUALLY to all participants in the conflict. It was ‘mandatory’ that we should have named INDIA, and the LTTE for funding terrorists then and there to be also accountable at the UNHRC. We should have formally included India as a guilty party for aiding and abetting terrorism in Sri Lanka. But did we do that when we were accused? Also did we use the word ‘collateral damage’ referring to war casualties like the US always does? NO, NO, NO! So there you have it, the crass ‘incompetency’ of our representatives and those who brief them! Our relations with INDIA in the future have to be confined to cultural matters. We have to recognise that India is politically no friend of Sri Lanka. We are fools to think otherwise at the present time – S de Silva – London
April 13th, 2013 at 4:09 am
{Wikileaks cable disclosure / 10th April 2013 – following appeared in an Indian newspaper.}
India paid LTTE after the 1987 Indo-Lanka pact according to a cable sent by American embassy which was released by Wikileaks. The cable is dated dated April 5, 1988 which quoted J N Dixit, then Indian envoy to Sri Lanka that a Kappan was agreed upon and paid to LTTE by the Indian government in view of the tax loss it suffered after IPKF arrival. The US cable said Rs 50 lakh was the compensation paid to the LTTE in July 1987 and only one payment was made before September that year when LTTE walked out of the deal over its participation in the interim council. THE LTTE spokesman in Chennai is quoted as saying this payment was part of a larger secret package of guarantees, which Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi offered LTTE killer Prabhakaran in July 1987 to get him to agree to the bilateral accord.
{Next guarantee was “Ammage democarcy” in good old Indian way.}
The package for the LTTE included an assurance of an offer of 7 out of 12 seats to enable it to form a majority in the interim provincial council in the north and east of Sri Lanka. India said it would route Rs 1 billion through the interim council to rehabilitate Jaffna besides $40million that was agreed upon by New Delhi at an earlier consortium meeting in Paris. The Indian government also promised to develop a police force after the formation of the interim council.
When the hell are we going to have a UN inquiry for this…to form a terrorist administration in a sovereign nation, surely against all civilized norms and international law.
April 13th, 2013 at 8:10 am
If Indian Diplomats are wise, then India must now give space to Lanka to grow, as much as India wants to grow, so do we. The Cold War is over. Russia is part of the NATO group along with UK, etc. There is no need now to stick with old rules dictated by the earlier Cold War.
However, we of the East have to be mindful of the new areas of competition in the world such as in the Money Market and Resources.
India’s headache is the HIndu Caste System. Tamil Nadu Separatist aspirations are also headache for India. The UN has been trying to corner and control India on the Caste issue and failed. The Indian Constitution has made Caste based Discrimination illegal. But most Indian people still continue to recognise caste as it is convenient way to have Social Stratification on an ongoing basis.
Various Indian diplomats are now afraid that the UNHRC exposures on Sri Lanka’s so called ‘Tamil Problem’ will also bring India’s Caste issue to focus, as Casrte is well and alive in Tamil Nadu. These diplomats are looking for a ‘quick fix’ to protect India. Hence the adverse comments on Sri Lanka. These comments on Sri Lanka by various Indian Diplomats are counter productive to protect India or protect Tamil Nadu. The media will expose the perfidious statements and replace them with the
truth of the matter. The motto on the Indian Flag reads “Sathyameva Jayate” or ‘Truth Wins’.
Re Tamil of Sri Lanka a few of the facts :
* It is the Tamil Caste system has kept the Upcountry Tamil Labor sector (generally known as INDIAN Tamil sector), in a strange kind of bondage to with insular life style in the tea plantations from British times. It was the British who brought in some ONE MILLION low caste Tamils to Lanka for the British tea plantations here. It is up to the Upcountry Tamils to voice their feelings to the public through the media. As far as we can see, ALL Tamils are offered the freedom that are enjoyed by others in Sri Lanka e.g. FREE Education & Health Care, the right to Vote, etc. It is up to the INDIAN Tamil community to partake of these freedoms. The CWC which governs the INDIAN Tamil sector must allow free access of media to interview the INDIAN Tamil community.
* The Sirima/Shasthri Pact was never fully honored. A large percentage of the INDIAN Tamils who opted to go back to India under the S/S Pact never did so. They are still in Lanka along with their children and grandchildren. This speaks volumes about how they will get treated in caste bound Tamil Nadu and therefore the reason for non-return to TN.
* The Tamil people again of low caste brought into Jaffna region from Tamil Nadu by the Dutch to work the Tobacco plantations acquired the abandoned tobacco land when the British chased out the Dutch from that area. They became the Vellala (land owner) leaders of the Tamil community.
* Tamil illegal migrants : Prabhakaran’s grandfather was an illegal migrant from TN area. Illegal migration via the Mannar route happened in large numbers during the time the ltte held the N&E. That is how the Human Shield of the ltte was a massive 300,00 plus.
April 13th, 2013 at 8:19 am
Disagreements with Endia should be ESCALATED. Then the whole world can see what a damn disgusting nation Endia is.
April 13th, 2013 at 11:45 am
Lorenzo, one of these decades India will challenge the West (their mentors) and try “Indian Mutiny No. 2” (with attacks, murder etc) Western nations are in for a rude reminder of the true nature of Indians. Then they will swing back to China/Pakistan etc in order to contain India. Hope its not too late for us by then.
April 13th, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Asoka W………Very happy to see your hardhitting reply to so called..Indian. It is time when many Srilankans of all stripes said like in the 70s, never to trust an Indian. When they haul old newspapers going door to door & collect empty facial powder & other tins, bottles, we felt sorry & gave even few more extra rupees for their efforts.
Now see what had become a major problem, which our successive leaders never wanted to address. It has become the habit of every political leader, to run to India for a slightest matter. How can India solve our problems? Yet every political leader does this.
Some called Indians are our brothers….what a load of ..rubbish that is. When Lanka lovers including ones in the west said we need not go as far as to accomodate every whims & fancies of Indian way of living or copy their governing system, ulltimately produced so much drain on our coffers & still the mess is there.
Our system we had as provinces, (without Governors) should be brought back. Anything that resembles even the slightese Indian way, should be discarded.
Perhaps this would open some eyes & our political leaders will speak up, and stand by our principles than giving into pressures brought by India & the west.
I wish more people including expats should get involved & put preessure on our leaders to act. Not tommorow, NOW so that these type of pandring to our neighbours will stop.
I am glad at least ASOKA had the guts to come out, write what he wrote. Our diplomacy & good manners should never be extended to India.
Thanks again.Asoka,…….Hope our Sri Lankans in Lanka, & abroad will read your article & do their part.
Another concerned expat from Canada…….May the Noble Triple Gems protect you all & HAPPY & PROPEROUS SINHALESE NEW YEAR TO ALL………~