The Sovereignty of Sri Lanka is inalienable
Posted on June 3rd, 2011
By Garvin Karunaratne
It is sad that anyone who argues for the sovereignty of Sri LankaƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ and points out that India is unduly interfering and pressurizing usƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ as they did when India imposed the 13 th Amendment on us by holding a gun at President Jayawardena, is called an India basher. Is it not a fact that President Jayawardena was held at ransom- sorties of fighter jets flown over Colombo, an Indian destroyer appearing off the port of Colombo and a drop of food over Jaffna- and President Jayawardena caved in meekly. They also argue that we should be happy playing second fiddle to India. Becoming a vassal of India may look good to some pseudo academics who are not at home in international relations.
Let me jog their memory on some important facts.
Perhaps they do not known the belligerence that India has been upto with its neighbours. Bhutan has been forcibly brought into IndiaƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s control. Bhutan was a sovereign country. Not any more. India is controlling Bhutan External Relations through the 1949 Treaty between the two countries. Article 2 of the Treaty requires Bhutan to be guided by the advice of India in the conduct of its external relations while Article 6 bars Bhutan from the import of arms, ammunition, machines, warlike material or stores without assistance and approval of India.
This means that today Bhutan cannot frame its own independent policies.
The 1949 Treaty with Bhutan smacks of the 13 th Amendment imposed on Sri Lanka by Indfia.
Sri Lanka really lost its sovereignty to India when President Jayawardena meekly introduced the 13 th Amendment into the Constitution.
Allowing the Indian Peace Keeping Army into Sri Lanka was also a sign that we had been subjugated by India.
President Jayawardena knew that Minister Lalith Athulathmudali had cornered the LTTE to a small segment of land at Vadamaratchi.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ When asked to stop military action, Minister Lalith showed his displeasure by resigning from his Ministerial position in protest.
Actually the manner in which President Jayawardena had caved into India and licked the boots of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi can easily be contrasted to the manner in which President Rajapaksa did not accede to the overtures, the coaxing and the threats hurled by the USA, Britain, France and many other Superpowers ordering him to stop the final attack on the LTTE. Every Sri Lankan should accept that President Rajapaksa was a man of steel and his decision was right not to allow the LTTE a breathing space.
What was the LTTE upto? Is a good guess. Malinda Seneviratne has in his columns documented the brutal killing of scores of unarmed Buddhist monks at Arantalawa twenty years ago.
We have to remember these incidents like the assassination of President Premadasa and the blowing up of the Central Bank, the Dalada Maligawa and the carnage shooting at Sri Mahabodhi in Anuradhapura, where over three hundred pilgrims were killed.
When I worked in Bangladesh every soul observed a minutes silence at an appointed time on the day when theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ forty odd intellectuals were murdered by the Pakistan Army. That was to see that Bangladesh had no intellectuals left.ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Every Bangladeshi remembers that day with sincere solemness. It is a sad day for them.
Many Sri Lankans know that the LTTE bombed Colombo, destroyed our Air Force at Katunayake as well as at Anuradhapura and went killing innocent civilians everywhere in the island.
What of murdering over 600 members of our police force in cold blood, a force that was ordered to surrender by President Premadasa, when the LTTE in peace talks vouched for their safety.
Was their plan to establish an Eelam in the North and the East?. Many tend to think that it was only the Northern and Eastern Province. But I know the Anuradhapura District very well having worked there for long.
At its heyday the LTTE did control a corridor from Medawachchiya through Kebitigollewa (twenty miles into the Anuradhapura District from its North East boundary) through Kahatagasdilliya and into Polonnariwa.
This proves that the LTTE Plan was to wrest a major chunk of landƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ far more than the North and the East.
It is my contention and I am certain that I am not wrong that the LTTE was trying to control entire Sri Lanka. One part of the Plan was to get tamils who never had that type of money to buy land in Colombo and today vast sections of Colombo- Mutuwal Wellawatta, Dehiwala which were a few decades ago totally populated by Sinhalese are all Tamil dominated. It did not stop there I have come to know thatƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ tamils have settled down in vast numbers in the South.
We have to be thankful to President Rajapaksa for liberating the country. It is now left for us to be united and to ensure that we guard our shores.
The Diaspora Battle to establish an Eelam within Sri Lanka is far from over and if we fail to stand togetherƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ we will fall. Now the Diaspora are trying their method of funding protests abroad and in addition trying to infiltrate and create problems. They have to be kept out of bounds if we are to survive.
It is also reported that plans are afoot to collect ID cards of tamils that have decamped and get tamils from Tamil nadu who will useƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ those ID cards and settle down in Sri Lanka. There is far more poverty in India than in Sri Lanka and people are ever willing to come in.
Trust India and we willƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ sink as an independent country. What happened to Bhutan will be our fate.
It is a well known saying that the price of peace is eternal vigilance.
Our sovereignty is inalienable and is not negotiable. We have to stand up or we will be lost for ever. This to my thinking is the last chance.
Garvin Karunaratne Former Government Agent, Matara District, June 3,
2011
June 4th, 2011 at 12:52 am
Gavin,
Although most people think JR willingly traded our sovereignty I do not believe so. JR cannot be compared to Ranil in any way.
He was forced to under that circumstances.
Remember we did not have a strong army,navy and air force and accessibility to weapons that easily those days. If India threatened to back LTTE as USA did in Libya we would have been easily push back even beyond Anuradhapura.
JR was a better man than Premadasa. He was a better SriLanakan than Chandrika or Ranil.
Nevertheless what you said is correct. We have to be ever vigilant.
Also, as someone pointed out it could be a better idea to plant seeds of separatism within India so that Tamils will fight to get the homeland they deserve within India and kill each other.
June 4th, 2011 at 5:49 am
I think, India has a plan of 20 years or what ever to make India with a country and states around it are as sattallites. So, India will not stop their influence. I think, west also wants it that way.
I think, indirectly we are going with that.
It is like, we won the war as a united team. Now we are devided and blame each other and destroy ourselves.
So, in order to save our selves from the enemy within we are screwing up things and are not building.
June 4th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
“It is also reported that plans are afoot to collect ID cards of tamils that have decamped and get tamils from Tamil nadu who will use those ID cards and settle down in Sri Lanka. There is far more poverty in India than in Sri Lanka and people are ever willing to come in.”
Tamil Nadu is the greatest threat to our Island Country, especially in its close proximity almost an eternal pain in the neck. Had this Tamil Homeland of Tamil Nadu is situated well clear of our Island, Heladiva (SL) today would have been already the star of Asia and more. Many of the human shield used by the terrorists, who were fed and maintained by our forces were Tamil Nadians. Eternal vigilance round the Island is our best defence indeed.
June 6th, 2011 at 1:47 am
yes ,indian threat is much worse than the ltte threat.During the war period Indians didnt dare to come and settle.now the situation is different.they are very greedy to grab the country.there are millions of hungry indians always searching for an opportunity to escape .In a way the war saved us from this indian indirect invasion.
Goverment along cannot meet indian threat.Civil society should come forward.
We should boycott every thing indian if they bully.
Though it may be ridiculous or crazy if i say that we as a society should be prepared for a worst case like a war with india.Remember how prabahkaran thrashed indians during ipkf days. (this is the only thing i admire of parabakaran.)
June 6th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
India’s population is growing fast and soon they will be short of resources and space. Indian threat and other threats should be taken seriously. We should have plans to deal with Indian threats and other threats. Being passive as promoted by some is dangerous.
June 8th, 2011 at 9:16 pm
India has a subtle agenda for Sri Lanka. They are not going to stop at nothing to resurrect, their dream of taking control of North and East, and creating dissension on various Humanitarin excuses. It is their fantasy. Jayalalitha is lifting her saree to knee level to thrust on us some sanctions she has hidden inside it. It is coming, and we Sri Lankans have to be ready to face it. We might probably need Chinese and Russian help along with Iran. We have to show Jayalalitha that we have very strong Bastions, and her sanctions can end up as her dreams.
As Garvin said, we have to watch out INDIA. They are very obtrusive, and we have to show strong resentment. We have to build a Great Wall of China, and create the Siberian desert for our protection.
June 9th, 2011 at 8:08 am
To anura seneviratne : We agree with all you have said. Eternal vigilance around the island is our best defence. Also, new ID card should be allocated to ex-IDPs with a special mark to identify these cards easily and the old cards shredded off by the Army.
To bandara : Do you know what Laws in Lanka govern this easy settling in Sri Lanka ? Please let us know.