India has no role to play
Posted on June 3rd, 2014
By Nalin de Silva Courtesy: Island
New Indian Prime Minister Modi is a cultural nationalist who has to depend on western economic models and political structures. It is unlikely that the Indian “intellectuals” would come out with indigenous economic models and political structures during the “reign” of Mr. Modi. They will not even formulate a philosophical framework based on Hinduism though the BJP government is Hindu as a cultural movement. As in the past they and the rest of the country would merely recite Bhagavad Gita and quote from Ramayana and Maha Bharatha. In this respect they are not different from their Sri Lankan counterparts who could quote the three Pitakas Sutra, Vinaya and Abhidhamma without creating anything new in a cultural context. When so called intellectuals who are supposed to have given a head to the nationalist movement follow western Christian objectivity and generalize their personal experiences in poems according to western Christian theories on narratives lectured by self proclaimed “gemiyas” (villagers) living in the west it is clear that we have a long way to go.
The path that would be followed by Mr. Modi was revealed at the ceremony held in connection with his taking of oaths as the Prime Minister of India. He had invited the leaders of the SAARC countries but one wonders whether it was to extend the hand of friendship to them or to remind them that India is the leader of the region. From what has been leaked to the press, India has already begun to raise its ugly head as the “big brother” of the region, under Mr. Modi even exceeding the “brotherly love” extended under the previous Congress governments. While we welcome the nationalist attitudes of Mr. Modi and the BJP the new Prime Minister has to be reminded that Sri Lanka is an independent sovereign state with a nationalism older than that of India and with a history only second to that of China. Three of the major states in India, namely West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu stay outside the orthodox Hindu nationalism of India and Mr. Modi should concentrate on those states without taking on the states of the SAARC countries. The SAARC countries have different cultural nationalism with Pakistan, Bangladesh and Maldives sticking to Muslim nationalism and Sri Lanka being a Sinhala Buddhist country.
Mr. Modi has apparently told the President of Sri Lanka to go beyond the thirteenth amendment. What right the Indian Prime Minister has to tell (it is not even a request but appears to be an order) the Sri Lankan President what the latter has to do in connection with internal politics? In this connection it has to be reminded that the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution is a result of the Indo Lanka Accord, which was imposed on a weak president of Sri Lanka by a strong prime minister of India with the aid of a self appointed viceroy in the name of Dixit.
The Indo Lanka accord on which India depends to exert pressure on Sri Lanka, for all purposes, is now defunct as India has failed to fulfill any of its obligations. For example 2.16 of the Accord says : “2.16 These proposals are also conditional to the Government of India taking the following actions if any militant groups operating in Sri Lanka do not accept this framework of proposals for a settlement, namely,
a) India will take all necessary steps to ensure that Indian territory is not used for activities prejudicial to the unity, integrity and security of Sri Lanka
b) The Indian navy/coast guard will cooperate with the Sri Lankan navy in preventing Tamil militant activities from affecting Sri Lanka.
c) In the event that the Government of Sri Lanka requests the Government of India to afford military assistance to implement these proposals the Government of India will co-operate by giving to the Government of Sri Lanka such military assistance as and when requested.
d) The Government of India will expedite repatriation from Sri Lanka of Indian citizens to India who are resident here, concurrently with the repatriation of Sri Lankan refugees from Tamil Nadu.”
India did not prevent the LTTE from operating on Indian soil, and ironically had to pay the price for not doing so with the life of one of the signatories to the Accord. The IPKF was a total failure and managed to keep “war” and not peace. If left to itself it could have made pieces of the country and kept them. The referendum that was supposed to be held under 2.3 of the Accord was never held and finally the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ordered that the Northern and Eastern Provinces would function as two different provinces. The two provinces cannot be united now and the Accord in effect has been declared null and void. It should be reminded that the whole purpose of the Accord was to make sure that the Northern and the Eastern provinces were “governed” as one unit.
The accord also made provisions for the following:
“2.8 Elections to Provincial Councils will be held within the next three months, in any event before 31st December 1987. Indian observers will be invited for elections to the Provincial Council of the north and east.
2.9 The emergency will be lifted in the Eastern and Nothern Provinces by Aug. 15, 1987. A cessation of hostilities will come into effect all over the island within 48 hours of signing of this agreement. All arms presently held by militant groups will be surrendered in accordance with an agreed procedure to authorities to be designated by the Government of Sri Lanka.
Consequent to the cessation of hostilities and the surrender of arms by militant groups, the army and other security personnel will be confined to barracks in camps as on 25 May 1987. The process of surrendering arms and the confining of security personnel moving back to barracks shall be completed within 72 hours of the cessation of hostilities coming into effect.”
No elections were held as envisaged by the Accord however the emergency was lifted and the army was confined to the barracks, though the terrorists did not surrender all the arms, and hostilities by them were not stopped. The Accord if at all was in effect against the government of Sri Lanka and its armed forces.
Though the Accord referred to provincial councils, no provincial councils were established in July 1987, and neither had they been defined. The provincial councils bill and the thirteenth amendment came later, and the Accord referred to undefined entities called provincial councils. Thus the Accord had no validity and it is clear that it was a rush job and like many such rush jobs it was doomed to fail.
In any event the people in the Northern and Eastern Provinces belong to Sri Lanka and not to India, and India has no role to play in the internal politics of Sri Lanka. It is clear that the Eastern Province has now overcome the prejudices of the leaders who were nurtured by the west and India, but the TNA leaders continue to rush to India at the drop of a hat. The government of Sri Lanka should consider the case of a political party going to a foreign country to have discussions with central or state governments on internal political matters of the country, and whether it is in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic. These discussions amount to a conspiracy against the state and if there are no provisions to prevent them conspiring against the state then new provisions have to be introduced without delay. The government should not be bullied either by big brothers closer to home or by big “cousins” in the west.
June 3rd, 2014 at 10:44 pm
MR doesn’t listen to reason.
UNP, SLFP, JVP will NEVER scrap 13 amendment.
We need REAL PATRIOTS to save SL from 13 amendment as they saved SL from the LTTE.
June 3rd, 2014 at 10:45 pm
Where is Ms. Fran?
June 3rd, 2014 at 10:52 pm
Hope Fran did not get killed by Charles’s email sender.
June 4th, 2014 at 12:08 am
Charles’s email sender is none other than the secretary to the MINISTER OF PUBLIC RELATIONS.
June 4th, 2014 at 2:11 am
“Mr Munde was on his way to the airport to take a flight to his home state of Maharashtra when his car was hit by another car in Delhi.”
– One of the typical methods of getting rid of unwanted people by CIA.
June 4th, 2014 at 7:47 am
India uses the “Tamil Nadu” card to justify her dictates to Colombo after she lost the proxy war waged against Colombo using the Tamil Tigers, the failure of the 13th amendment and her use of the UN to further push the demands already made by LTTE.
If so then there should be a “Quid Pro Quo” at this level. In order for India to get Colombo to reconsider the defunct 13th amendment she must also first accept the 3 million Tamils in Sri Lanka as a first act Then Colombo can decide if the provinces should get some level of the devolution of the land and police acts.
The illogic of India using Tamil Nadu to justify her interests in the Tamils in Sri Lanka can also be applied to Colombo in justifying her support of Muslim Kashmir and their aspirations for independence based on the issue that Muslims have been part of Sri Lanka since the 7th century. Right now the BJP is pushing Kashmir to come to the table about article 370 and the possibility of amending that article for greater integration with India while at the same time is demanding from Colombo to implement a dead amendment to devolve powers to the lands once held by the LTTE which would compromise Sri Lanka’s integrity. Time for some Quid Pro Quo.
June 4th, 2014 at 12:54 pm
GOOD, but NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Not only POLICE Powers, but LAND Powers should also be DENIED to Provincial Councils.
What we REALLY NEED is for the India-imposed 13th Amendment to be REPEALED and the Provincilas Councils to be uprooted from Sri Lanka. Instead of Provinces which are TOO LARGE relative to the country as a whole.
DISTRICTS administered by GOVERNMENT AGENTS, APPOINTED by the ELECTED National Government, should be adopted as the units of regional administration.
Let us END this interminable DEBATE. The GOSL take the steps needed to CAST OFF these ILLEGAL Indian Shackles, imposed by force under military occupation, that bind the hands and feet of our Motherland.
India should be CATEGORICALLY TOLD to BUTT OUT of Sri Lanka’s Internal Affairs. Sri Lanka won’t mess with India’s underwear, if India keep its nose out of Sri Lankas.
Quid Pro Quo!
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Sri Lanka again rejects devolving police powers to provincial councils
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
June 04, Colombo: Sri Lanka reiterating its stance on devolving police powers to provincial councils Wednesday said it is not the policy of the government to provide police powers to any provincial council in the country.
External Affairs Minister Professor G.L. Peiris speaking in parliament today said the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has clearly pointed out to India during his discussions with the Indian government that adverse effects will result in the country by devolving such powers.
“We made it crystal clear that devolution of police power is not acceptable,” Prof. Peiris told parliament.
Responding to a question raised by the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremasinghe in parliament today on the issues Sri Lankan President discussed with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their recent meeting in New Delhi, the Minister said the constitutional matters have not been discussed in depth with India and only issues that are of mutual interest have been discussed at length.
During the meeting between the two leaders held on 27 May, the Indian Prime Minister stressed on the early and full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond to expedite the process of national reconciliation in a manner that meets the aspirations of the Tamil community for a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity in a united Sri Lanka.
The government has consistently said that it would resort to a power devolution process or introduce constitutional changes only through a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) with an extensive political interaction with all political parties and other stakeholders to discuss all the issues related to power devolution, police and land powers to PCs and security issues of the provinces.
The Sri Lankan parliament in November 2011 approved the setting up of a parliamentary select committee to formulate a political solution to the country’s ethnic issue that is acceptable to all the communities in Sri Lanka.
However, the opposition parties, including the TNA and main opposition United National Party (UNP) have not made their representations in the committee.
June 4th, 2014 at 12:56 pm
In addition to asking why Foreign Governments want Police and Land Powers to be devolved to the Provincial Councils, let also ask: Why do Tamil Nadu Leaders continually demand unrestricted Fishing Rights in Sri Lankan waters for Indian Tamil fishermen?
The answer is the same as for Land and Police Powers: Because it makes their NEXT STEPS to PRY OUT and incorporate a large part of Sri Lanka into a Greater Tamil Nadu that much easier.
LOGISTIC SUPPLY ROUTE for a newly revived Eelamist Insurgency.
Let us recall that over the 30 year period of the Eelamist Insurgency in Sri Lanka, the PRIMARY MEANS of bringing logistical support (trained terrorist cadre, weapons, ammunition, other supplies) to Sri Lanka was by Fishing Boats from India. IN Sheer Volume, cumulative shipments by this route dwarfed the fewer LARGE shipments of heavy weaponry and ammunition by ocean going vessels.
In demanding a “Right” for Indian Fishermen to fish anywhere within Sri Lankan waters, they are not only trying to establish fishing rights for their MUCH LARGER FISHING FLEET at the expense of Sri Lanka, but also the RIGHT to mingle with Sri Lankan Tamil fishing boats and resurrect the old weapons logistics supply route to revive the Tamil Insurgency in Sri Lanka. To this end, the Tamil Nadu government is ACTIVELY PROMOTING and EXACERBATING this conflict.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION to change Sri Lanka’s Demographics
In addition, this Fishing Route could also become the means by which a STREAM of ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS could be INSERTED into Sri Lanka.
As I have repeatedly pointed out before, the insertion of over 1 million illegal immigrants into Sri Lanka over the last 35 years, has led to an INCREASE in the Tamil population of Sri Lanka despite the EMIGRATION of over 1.5 million Tamils from Sri Lanka to other countries. This is supported by the latest Census. We must therefore ask, did they form the Prabhakaran’s human shield and do they now comprise the TNA’s support base …. ALL Illegal Immigrants?
With POLICE Power in the hands of the Provincial Council dominated by the TNA, there would be NO government effort to prevent this ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.
With LAND Power in the hands of the Provincial Council dominated by the TNA, there would be no government effort to protect against ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS being settled on these lands.
With Land Power and Police Power, registration documents can easily be forged and fabricated to establish that the new illegal immigrants are “long time residents” of Sri Lanka who “owned” that land. If original documents are demanded, they can always claim that they were “destroyed” in the “Eelam Wars” of the preceding 30 years.
IT IS IMPERATIVE that the GOSL DOES NOT BACK DOWN on
1. Protecting Sri Lanka’s Offshore Waters and Maritime Resources
2. Denying POLICE and LAND powers to UNREPENTANT Separatists.
Provinces do not need these powers, for Sri Lanka is too small a country for SO MANY HIERARCHICAL LEVELS of sub-national government. They only create
MORE threats to the nation’s territorial and societal integrity,
MORE barriers to getting anything done by the long suffering people, and
MORE non-performing parasitic do-nothing politicians and officials to be supported at the tax-payer’s expense.
Just GET RID OF the 13th Amendment, and DISMANTLE the Provincial Council System, NOW!
June 4th, 2014 at 1:27 pm
Yes Indeed, HANG this Monumental CRIME on the neck of the TNA as a Genocide!
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Ex-Policemen to Missing Persons Commission: Revisit massacre of 600 policemen
DailyNews.lk
June 4, 2014
The Retired Senior Police Officers’ Association members have urged the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons to pursue the matter regarding the murder of 600 policemen in June 1990.
The Association led by its President C.R. Abeygunawardena held a meeting with Commission Chairman Retired Justice Maxwell Paranagama at the Commission office on Monday during which a memorandum was submitted by the representatives urging the Commission to pursue the matter regarding the murder of 600 Policemen in the Eastern Province in June 1990.
The Association representatives requested the Commission Chairman to ascertain from the Police Department whether the 600 Policemen who were killed by the LTTE in Ampara have been duly honoured by posthumous promotions, payments of salaries until the age of retirement, payment of widows and orphans pensions to the kith and kin and any other compensation to the dependents of the slain officers, a media release issued by the Commission stated.
Association members also urged the Commission Chairman to ascertain from the IGP the results of the investigation referred to in the file containing reports by the CID as per Inquiry No C403/92/CM & PA/IG/75/92 of March 5, 1992. Justice Paranagama assured Senior Police Officers’ Association representatives that the Commission will take up the matter with the Police Department and provide answers to the questions raised by the Association members.
June 5th, 2014 at 3:18 pm
Just Googled “Sri Lankan newspapers” and below it was a blaring headline from “The Guardian” stating “Why we should not antagonize Jayalalithaa”. I had to read it. It was a verbose pathetic excuse for a nation to bow to a radical state Minister of India. It even drew its own conclusion that Jayalalithaa is somehow the very God head of the Tamil Diaspora
Oh let us not offend them! please. and above all lets not offend a hysterical woman screaming about Eelam when she is as guilty as sin for supporting the Tamil Tigers and by that all the cruelty, the horror and the terror they launched on a nation. Please let us Sinhalese bow to this Tamil woman because she and the BJP have formed an alliance or so says The Guardian” in the editorial page (6/5/14)
Never mind that Colombo unlike Chennai commands a military. Never mind that Colombo unlike Chennai has alliances with both Russia and China, the new powers of the world and never mind the point that Chennai supported the war against Sri Lanka using the most savage methods, destroying the lives of thousands of children, families and communities in Sri Lanka. No. Jayalalithaa the spider of Tamil Nadu went to the BJP so we should all shake in our shoes.
If this even represents a small section of the Sri Lankan mindset, Sri Lanka is in trouble. IT IS INDIA AND NOT SRI LANKA THAT SHOULD COME TO COLOMBO WITH FOLDED HANDS, AN APOLOGY AND REPARATIONS FOR SUPPORTING THAT WAR. SRI LANKA OWES NOTHING TO INDIA REGARDING THIS WAR, LEAST OF ALL JAYALALITHAA.
June 5th, 2014 at 3:44 pm
BW,
Honestly, at the time of RuinNil came to power, a lot of people in Colombo were saying “give them Jaffna”.
MR, changed that pathetic negative thinking in the mindset of people.
However, MR wasted so much time not moving forward, wallowing in low comfort, telling Endia “we will give 13 plus”. Now people are being convinced that Endia is big, we cannot fight Endia and worse still , even Tamil Nadu has become a world super power ! Worse than RuiNil’s era.
June 5th, 2014 at 5:40 pm
As I mentioned earlier we have GIVEN Tamils too much already. It is time CLAWBACK, as there are not enough tamils in the country to justify that expensive grants such as EQUAL LANGUAGE RIGHTS, equality per se, & preferential treatment in jobs , housing & the lists gos on.
EVEN today the woman who is the chief minister of TN state ,is asking TAMIL be made an OFFICIAL language of India. WITH so much demands made & harassment of our small country, EVEN THEIR own state is still UNDER THE YORK of India. OUR politicians are just FOOLS to grant equal language status back in 1956 by SWRD.
WHY NOT ask this AMMA or somobody to mind her businss in tamil nadu, NOT fightinmg for RIGHTS OF TAMILS in Sri Lanka. It is an interfernce in INTERNAL AFFAIRS of a SOVEREIGN, INDEPENDENT STATE. It does not matter to Sri lankans who the leader of INDIA is..ALL we are concerned is our INDEPENDENCE to manage our affairs. These KNOW IT ALL from India think that they have an issue to KEEP SRI LANKA under obligation to allow any thing & everything India wants.
THAT TTIME is passed NOW, even the new leader has some baggae to carry, when he ruled GUJARAT & people are still complaining how he treated the MUSLIM COMMUNITY in that state.
SPEAK UP……..before its too late there are enough reasons NOT TO GRANT anymore favours to Tamil Community & any new DEMAND MUST BE REJECTED forthwith…………..J
June 5th, 2014 at 6:10 pm
Jayasiri,
“SPEAK UP” whom are you addressing ?
This Amma is good for Seman only. Not worth the honourable Sinhala word “Amma”.
June 6th, 2014 at 6:35 am
INDIA HAS A ROLE
TO MAKE SRI LANKA A BHADRAKALI COUNTRY
WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL
June 6th, 2014 at 9:00 am
THIS IS THE TIME TO SEND AN HIGH LEVEL PATROTIC TEAM TO HAVE A FACE TO FACE DISCUSSION WITH MODI AND OTHER OFFICIALS.
THE TEAM SHOULD INCLUDE PROF NALIN DE SILVA – S L GUNASEKARA AND VEN MEDAGAMA DHAMMANANDA–ASGIRIYA- CHAPTER AND OTHERS LIKE MAHINDAPALA ETC
NOT G L PEIRIS –DAYAN AND THE CLAN……… AVOID THEM
BUT I AM SURE THE GOVT WILL NOT SEND NALIN BECAUSE HE IS VERY STAIGHT FOWARD. MAHINDA CHINTHANAYA IS NOT JATHIKA CHINTHANAYA
ABOLISH 13 . TO DO THIS IT IS O K EVEN TO MORTGAGE THE COUNTRY TO CHINA FOR 10-15 YEARS RATHER THAN HAVING IT . WE CAN REGAIN LATER . WITH 13 SINHALA BUDDHIST WILL LOSE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE