India dismayed ?
Posted on June 20th, 2013
Ranjith Soysa
According to the Times of India report the Indian Prime Minister in his discussions with pro-separatist TNA has indicated his dismay over the ” Sri Lankan government’s attempt to dilute the 13 Amendment imposed on Sri Lanka by force by India.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ The question remains why the Indian government was having discussions with the TNA and not with other political parties such as the JHU, the JNP and the MEP and the JVP who have expressed their intention in no uncertain terms as to the unsuitability of the 13 A. Why should India still attempting to derail democracy in Sri Lanka by entertaining racist TNA ONLY for discussion of a domestic Sri Lankan issue which has come up for criticism ever since 13 A was introduced in 1987.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Referring to the Sri Lankan government’s position with regard to 13 A, Mr Gotabhaya Rajapakse, Sri Lanka’s defense secretary has mentioned that Sri Lanka has in fact conveyed to India that the Police powers will not be devolved to the Provincial councils and Sr Lanka will come up with a hone grown solution to the issue of empowering people at the periphery in delivery of services.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ India may be dismayed -or may not be -as ‘reported’ by the Times of India over theƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ reexamination of Indian made 13AƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ by the majority of SrI Lankans in the post-LTTE war period as it should be. The threat of the gun totting LTTE is no more. Having liberated the Sri Lankan people from the yoke of the LTTE , the time is up for new thinking for a old problem.
ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Sri Lanka ‘s policy in relation to decentralizing should be a home made one as the Government has advised India and not automatic adoption of 13 A and 13 A plus as desired by the forces who are keen in ignoring the unrealistic and unscientific provinces created by the British to suit their ulterior motives.
June 20th, 2013 at 4:38 pm
I’m not repeating DJ (Don Juan aka Dayan Jeyatilakan).
But Endia will INVADE SL soon not like in 1987 may be in a different way.
2014 is an election year. Tamil Madu support is ESSENTIAL for Congress to RETAIN power and BJP to get power. For sometime Tamilians will be kingmakers (among others) until next year. To keep the barbarians happy Endia will invade SL to force 13 amendment.
We should be ready. We should get a Chinese nuke submarine always docked in our ports to DETER Endia.
This is what we didn’t do in 1987. We can’t afford the same mistake this time.
We should also have a plan to DISTRIBUTE millions of guns, claymore mines, grenades, landmines to willing patriots to “take care of” “existing Endian invaders” in SL. The army cannot do these things officially.
During the Vietnam war pro-US south Vietnamese were killed in millions by north Vietnamese more than the Americunts. This is the strategy to RID ALL Endian “invaders” from the country. Afterwards SL will get a bad name which we can overcome with time. But Endians in SL poses a CONTINUING economic, political, defence, cultural, etc. threat which is worse. That will automatically resolve the “ethnic problem” and all other REAL problems affecting MOST SLs!
Thereafter Endia will NEVER INVADE SL.
e.g. IF Ravanan got rid of Seetha Devi when the monkey army invaded SL, Endia would have wept and wept their mistake and never had invaded SL ever again! But he didn’t expect the monkey attack and that was his mistake.
This is a NASTY strategy but the other option is far WORSE. Sinhalese, pro-SL Tamils and pro-SL Muslims in SL must get into the SURVIVAL GEAR now. Anything is kosher in survival mode.
If anyone else has a better strategy I like to hear it.
June 20th, 2013 at 5:52 pm
My Comment on the Article below:
As a Patriotic Sri Lankan, I second garawi’s comment.
The average Sri Lankan enjoys a much higher standard of living and social equity than the average Indian citizen, despite a 30 year war against Tamil separatists, initiated, funded, and orchestrated by India. With similar cultures & economies at independence, one would have expected no difference today between the two countries; so why is there such a vast difference?
The answer is SIMPLE: The Buddhist mindset of the Majority Community of Sri Lanka has supported and enabled progress in every area leading to the higher economic and social equity. Caste and sex discrimination has vanished, people have attained 95% literacy comparable to advanced Western nations, and enjoy good universal healthcare. Despite what the Eelamist Tamil separatists egged on by Tamil Nadu racists would have you believe, ethnic and religious discrimination has also largely vanished.
An UNDYING DEDICATION to PRESERVING our Sovereignty remains undiminished!
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Garawi’s Comment:
While the India’s poor is starving the govenrment is meddling in Sri Lankan politics and trying to impose their power on her. It will be better to spent time and money to improve the condition at home before preaching to the others.
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Poorest of poor survive on Rs 17 a day in villages: NSSO
By PTI – NEW DELHI
20th June 2013 05:05 PM
Poorest of poor in the country survive on barely Rs 17 per day in villages and Rs 23 a day in cities, as per the latest data released by the National Sample Survey Office today.
According to the data, which relates to 2011-12 (July-June), five per cent population on the bottom rung had an average monthly per capita expenditure (MCPE) of Rs 521.44 in rural areas and Rs 700.50 in urban areas.
On the other end of the spectrum, top five per cent of the population had an MPCE of Rs 4,481 in rural areas and Rs 10,282 in urban areas.
The National Sample Survey Office’s (NSSO) 68th round of survey is based on samples consisting of 7,496 villages in rural India and 5,263 urban blocks except some remote areas, during July 2011June 2012, the release said.
On an average on the all-India basis, MPCE was around Rs 1,430 for rural India and about Rs 2,630 for urban India.
“Thus average urban MPCE was about 84 per cent higher than average rural MPCE for the country as a whole, though there were wide variations in this differential across states,” it said.
For the average rural Indian, food accounted for 52.9 per cent of the value of consumption during 2011-12. This included 10.8 per cent for cereals and cereal substitutes, 8 per cent for milk and milk products, 7.9 per cent on beverages, refreshments and processed food, and 6.6 per cent on vegetables, the release said.
Among non-food item categories, fuel and light for household purposes (excluding transportation) accounted for 8 per cent, clothing and footwear 7 per cent, medical expenses 6.7 per cent, education 3.5 per cent, conveyance 4.2 per cent, other consumer services (excluding conveyance) 4 per cent, and consumer durables 4.5 per cent.
June 20th, 2013 at 5:56 pm
This is the right time to show India that we are going to be ready for an attack by cutting down 20% of Indian goods
During a war. army has to kill all Indian supporters who are in Sri Lanka.
June 20th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
most conservative English appreciating gentlemen, especially colombons, in sri lanka must be wondering why we in this forum attack india , America, Britain etc. and antagonise them and that we should be subservient to them. so long we have people of this mentality, including our impotent leaders we will be bullied by other countries. why should we even have to explain what we do and play the diplomatic game with india or anyone. we have a clear conscience on what is best for the country and even people like gota need not explain things to india. deterrence at this crucial juncture in our history is essential. we have real friends like china and Russia who have backed up at every world forum and defended us. so why not ask them to defend us militarily? india will think twice before they do anything if we have some force behind us. who can take reigns from mahinda to lead us from this vulnerable situation? if mahinda fails, we all fail and the likes of dj, who has become a western appreciating lunatic, will succeed and that should never happen. bbs and jhu must rise to the occasion and mobilise the masses. we must also begin buying land in the north and east as mush as our adversaries have bought our lands in the south.
June 20th, 2013 at 6:25 pm
The statement by M.A.Sumanthiran of the TNA (Tiger Nominated Agents), to wit:
“ India should take “measures” to ensure that the Sri Lankan government does not succeed in robbing provincial councils of certain powers under the 13th amendment and that they, hope that India will take measures to arrest the trend and reverse the process and hold Sri Lanka to its word (of going beyond the 13th amendment)”
is a CLEAR CASE of HIGH TREASON by a Sri Lankan citizen, in that it INVITES INTERVENTION by a FOREIGN POWER in the INTERNAL AFFAIRS of Sri Lanka.
In the US, such a statement by a US Citizen would be rewarded by ARREST, CONVICTION and IMPRISONMENT on the charge of HIGH TREASON. Many US citizens, including the “American Taliban” have found out to their great dismay that TREASON does not pay. Consequently, the number of such cases are VERY FEW; that is what RIGOROUS ENFORCEMENT to the FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW yields: DETERRENCE of others from fllowing the path of TREASON against one’s own country.
That DETERRENCE OF TREASON is what is ABSENT in Sri Lanka today. This is NOT THE FIRST TIME that TNA leaders have committed TREASON. It started LONG AGO while their NOT-SO-ILLUSTRIOUS LEADER, the late unlamented self-styled SunGod, Velupillai Prabhakaran, who commanded their slavish obedience to TREACHERY, was waging terrorist WAR against their counttry.
The GOSL MUST enforce the TREASON Laws already on the books, and STRENGTHEN THESE LAWS as the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA) of Sri Lanka, under Dr. Nath Amerakone’s leadership, has DEMANDED.
The GOSL will RUE THE DAY when they FAILED TO ENFORCE the TREASON Laws, when Separatist Traitors connive, plot and orchestrate the disintegration of Sri Lanka with Foreign Powers, with IMPUNITY and FREE OF ANY FEAR OF PUNISHMENT!
Rise Up … O Patriots of Mother Lanka …. Rise Up to DEFEND and PROTECT your Nation and your People. REPEAL the 13th Amendment and DEMOLISH the Provincial Council System COMPLETELY without delay!
June 20th, 2013 at 7:50 pm
My Comment on the Following Article, albeit one year late:
Sinhala regime has committed genocides? When has protecting one’s own people against Separatist Tamil terrorism initiated, funded, praised and orchestrated by India, killing 150,000 innocent citizens over 30 years become genocide?
India is culpable for all the murder and mayhem their surrogates, the LTTE inflicted on our people. Our closest cousins became our worst enemies. Even today, we are still struggling against the Eelamist Diaspora, and the Poison Pill embedded in our Constitution at gunpoint by India (aka 13th Amendment) designed to Balkanize our Motherland into a Patchwork of Racist, Apartheid Bantustans.
India, mired in a multitude of separatist wars and Naxalite terrorism, should mind its own business; it has no valid advice, or moral authority, to offer us when it cannot keep its own house in order.
We will rebuild our country as ONE Indivisible Nation, of ONE Inseparable People, sharing One Indomitable destiny, free of ALL discrimination. India MUST BUTT OUT of Sri Lanka!
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China gains edge in Sri Lanka
By Jayadeva Ranade
NewIndianExpress.com
July 2, 2012
Traditionally close Indo-Sri Lankan ties forged by shared culture and ethnicity and reinforced by history and legend, are showing signs of coming under strain. Partially caused by New Delhi’s failure to provide more forthcoming policy responses to Colombo’s requests, India’s diplomatic influence is now getting eroded. China stepped in to occupy the space and has, of late, begun expanding its presence in Sri Lanka. It is acquiring a meaningful presence in the political, commercial and cultural sectors. It is already influential in Sri Lanka’s defence establishment.
The development assumes significance in the backdrop of China’s uncompromising efforts to secure global acceptance of its pre-eminence in the region, which coincides with India’s shrinking influence in its immediate neighbourhood. The latter could get accentuated following establishment of full diplomatic relations between China and Bhutan and imminent resolution of their boundary issue.
In keeping with the practice followed by it in many countries, Beijing has sought to first exploit the economic and trade route. China’s investments in Sri Lanka, which till 2004, were estimated at under $250 million, increased sharply in the aftermath of the tsunami when Beijing extended assistance of $300 million. There was a noticeable spurt in Chinese lending after the defeat of the LTTE in 2009, with almost $6.5 billion being invested primarily in infrastructural projects. Bilateral trade similarly registered an increase and in the first six months of 2011, totalled $1.28 billion, or an increase of nearly 40 per cent over the previous year.
Already burdened by domestic and external debt in excess of Sri Lankan Rupees 5.5 trillion, Sri Lanka is eager for loans for its projects. China’s loans to Sri Lanka, though, are neither at preferential rates and nor as grants-in-aid, but they do offer a grace period of 4-5 years for repayment. China is learnt to have been pressurising Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to increase government spending on infrastructure to at least 6.3 per cent of the GDP to enable Sri Lanka become a middle income nation. Sri Lanka recently announced that it would spend $21 billion in the period 2012-2015, or 6.5 per cent of the GDP each year. China is expected to contribute more than half this amount. Additionally, in 2011, the China Development Bank Corporation agreed to provide $1.5 billion over a three year period for roads, power plants and irrigation schemes.
Chinese companies have so far bagged at least 14 major infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka, making China a major player in Sri Lanka’s development efforts. Chinese companies seem to have an edge and often bypass the tender process emerging suddenly as single bidders. The procedural opacity allows for high cost over-runs.
For example, the project for construction of a 350-metre high transmission and communications tower, on seven and a half acres of prime property along the picturesque Beira waterfront in central Colombo, was awarded to a Chinese company without competition. Construction of the $108 million-tower is being funded by China’s Exim Bank. Apparently prompted by compulsions of ensuring occupancy of the tower and revenues for its owners, the Sri Lankan government has asked the three main telecommunications service providers — Airtel, Etilsat and Dialog — to move into the tower once it is completed. This will additionally facilitate security monitoring of all communications, including by the Chinese company. Interesting, albeit unrelated, is the scandal brewing in Pakistan of a Chinese telecommunications company also emerging suddenly as the sole candidate for supply of a telecommunications trunk system with integrated security-related software.
The Hambantota Port Development project which, according to reliable inputs, was awarded to China while India was still in talks with Sri Lanka, is a prime example including of cost over-runs in projects. China lent $400 million for the first phase of the new port in Hambantota and China’s Exim bank lent $77 million for an oil bunkering facility. The cost of the first phase, originally estimated at $360 million, escalated by $40 million. The total cost of the port’s development, including the oil bunkering facility, is estimated at $600-750 million. It is assessed, however, that the cost would finally exceed $2 billion. High costs have made Hambantota port commercially unviable. To salvage the situation, the Sri Lankan authorities have directed, for a start, that all automobiles be imported only through Hambantota port, resulting in the addition of SL Rupees 40,000 to the cost price of each vehicle.
Lanka IOC’s market share will be affected if China, which has strongly indicated a willingness to invest $2 billion in the Sapugaskanda Refinery Expansion and Modernisation (SOREM) project, is awarded the contract.
Of long term significance are the inroads being made by China’s ‘soft power’. As a first step, China Radio International recently obtained a licence to operate a 24-hour FM Radio channel in Sri Lanka. It is presently broadcasting an hour-long programme in Sinhala each day directly from China via Sri Lanka’s ‘Youth FM’. China Central Television (CCTV) has also decided to telecast Chinese soaps and programmes with subtitles in Sinhalese in addition to the popular Chinese programmes telecast for the past three months by Sri Lanka’s state-owned ITN. An unbearably high rate of tax was simultaneously imposed on Sirisa TV, which used to show popular Indian tele-serials. China’s official news agency Xinhua has plans to expand its operations in the island. Beijing has also increased the number of scholarships for Sri Lankan students and an agreement was signed in October 2011, to establish Confucius Centres across Sri Lanka. The China Institute for Contemporary International Relations, affiliated with China’s intelligence establishment, has proposed a long-term partnership with the Bandaranayake Centre of International Studies.
China’s extensive ties with the Sri Lankan armed forces are expanding. The Sri Lankan government recently signed an agreement with China for the purchase of six MA-60 aircraft at a cost of $105.4 million. China has also indicated interest in a $100 million project for construction of family accommodation for Sri Lanka’s military personnel in the north and east and separately announced a grant of $1.5 million for modernisation of the Defence Services College in Colombo.
India needs to evolve steps to ensure that its influence in the region does not shrink, its foreign policy objectives and national aspirations are not compromised, and its interests are protected. It must, among other measures, capitalise on its inherent advantages and increase its lead as the largest source of tourism, direct foreign investment and export market for Sri Lanka.
Jayadeva Ranade is a former additional secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India
June 21st, 2013 at 8:33 am
If the people have any back bone they should go to the streets and protest. hree things will eliminate the Sinhalese from Sri Lanka: 1 13 A 2. CKDu 3. Being silent and refusing to learn from the past. Very few people appeer to care!