{"id":98917,"date":"2020-02-11T16:40:54","date_gmt":"2020-02-11T23:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=98917"},"modified":"2020-02-11T16:43:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-11T23:43:13","slug":"prime-ministers-triumphant-visit-to-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/02\/11\/prime-ministers-triumphant-visit-to-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Prime Minister\u2019s triumphant visit to India"},"content":{"rendered":"

By : A.A.M.NIZAM \u2013 MATARA<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

The Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajajapaksa\nhas returned to the country after ending a very successful exultant 4 days official\nvisit to India.  He has boldly and\ncandidly spoken on the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan relationship and ties with\nother countries, measures to be taken to rescue the Tamils in the North and\nEast from racist political oppressions, rejection of myopic agreements made by\nthe former Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, and on the firm policy of\nnon-bartering of Sri Lanka\u2019s National assets and natural resources. and about\nthe steps to be taken in respect of the Hambantota Harbour which has been\nleased to China by the Sirisrena\/Wickremasinghe government without any\nforesight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost all the Indian newspapers, the\npopular websites , weekly magazines and All India Radio gave extensive coverage\nto give publicity to all aspects of the Prime Minister\u2019s visit.  He has held one to one official talks with\nthe Indian Primne Minister Narendra Modi, President  Ram Nath Kovind, External Affairs Minister\nS.Jaishanker and several Indian Ministers. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister has given two very\nfruitful interviews to two prominent and internationally reputed Indian\njournalists Suhasini Haider (SH) of the Indian newspaper the Hindu and Ms.\nPadma Rao Sundarji (PRS) of Hindustan Times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa during\nan interview with The Hindu in New Delhi on February 8, 2020.   |<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SH says that in the\noutset Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) who  met\nwith Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi,told The Hindu about his hopes for\ndebt-restructuring, and also about projects now on the anvil, although his\ngovernment will not carry forward the projects agreed to by the previous\nSirisena\/Wickremasinghe  Sri Lankan\ngovernment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whem SH asked about non-announcement of any\nagreements after discussions at some\nlength with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, MR has said that they did speak about\nseveral projects, some of which India is interested and it was a\nfruitful and successful meet, for both side., Mr. Rajapaksa who is also the\nMinister of Housing in the new government has said he housing project is something that is a\npriority area for Sri Lanka, and he has  asked for more funding from India for that. MR\nhas explained about the new initiative taken by him to cover the whole country,\nevery village for building houses, and has stated that Sri Lanka like to get\nsome support for that. Apart from housing, he has said that there were several\nprojects they discussed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SH has pointed out that in April 2017, the previous Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe\nsigned a MoU on economic cooperation for infrastructure projects, including\nenergy and oil projects in Trincomalee that India has been keen on and has\nasked whether these matters were discussed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response MR has said that they didn\u2019t discuss\nthe Trinco projects, but did talk about the Eastern Terminal [in Colombo] which\nIndia and Japan are jointly investing in, and about the LNG terminal. Mr.\nRajapaksa has asserted that whatever was signed [in 2017] was not even pursued\nby the last government and President Sirisena actually rejected all the\nprojects PM Wickremesinghe had signed and hence the present government is not responsible\nfor those projects. He has said that the Mattala airport project is also out.\nMr. Rajapaksa has stated that his government has a firm policy on not allowing\nany national resources to be given to foreign control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When SH stated that an additional $50 million from the Indian Line of Credit India offered\nduring President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa\u2019s Indian visit  have been earmarked for security cooperation,\nespecially after the Easter Sunday bombings last year and asked what was\ndecided about that fund. MR has responded saying that we have decided\nthat we must have more intelligence sharing now, and increase the technical\nassistance from India, as well as training. On the Easter bombings, we have an\nongoing investigation into the conspiracy, and a commission is looking into it.\nWe hope that India will continue to help us on that. I n addition, we want to\ncontinue our earlier pre-2015 project for trilateral terror and security\ncooperation between Maldives-India- Sri Lanka. We might have the meeting for\nthat as soon as possible, possibly in the Maldives and discuss how to take the\ntrilateral idea forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stating that defence\nsecretary Mr. Kamal Gunaratne has also spoken of security and intelligence\nsharing with Pakistan, SH asked won\u2019t the balance prove difficult, given\nIndia\u2019s concerns about terror emanating from Pakistan, which has also held up\nthe SAARC process, MR has responded saying that we are a friendly country and we have friendly ties\nwith all countries in the region and we are friendly with China too. But the\nIndian relationship is much stronger and very important for us. I couldn\u2019t\ndiscuss the SAARC process with PM Modi, as I know that India is not very\ninterested in the summit, especially since the next meeting is due to be held\nin Pakistan. I do believe that we have already gone a considerable distance\nwith building SAARC and that should be continued. Now there is also the BIMSTEC\ngrouping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When SH said that both PM\nModi here and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, when he visited Colombo\nhave made a point of their concerns for the Tamil population in Sri Lanka, and\nthe expectations India has from your government and asked how do you respond ,MR\nhas said that wee have\nalways understood these concerns and explained soon after the war ended in 2009,\nwe had elections, and we allowed the North to select their own Chief Minister.\nWe held those elections despite knowing we would lose them. But nothing moved\nafter that. We are now expecting to hold our parliamentary elections this\nApril, and after that the provincial council elections. We will appoint a team\nto go to Jaffna to discuss the way forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When SH said that the way\nforward on devolution of powers, as was promised in the 13th amendment MR has\nresponded well, it\nall has to be discussed. We want to go forward, but we need to have someone to\ndiscuss, who can take responsibility for those areas. So the best thing is to\nhold elections, and then ask for their representatives to come and discuss the\nfuture with us. At the moment the TNA (Tamil National Alliance) is not interested\nin talks. They are asking for things, which the majority community in Sri Lanka\nwill not accept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Gotabaya has\nprioritized development over devolution as the way forward. Is there a\ndifference between your positions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, no. People need development. They have suffered\nfor 30 years without it. So first we have to develop the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When SH said that there\nhas been a controversy over the decision to drop the National Anthem in Tamil\nduring Sri Lanka\u2019s national day ceremony, and asked how you reassure Tamils if\nthis is the signal sent out MR has explained it saying if you look around the world,\nthe national anthem is sung primarily in one language. In India, you have so\nmany languages, yet on your national days, you sing it one language. Our\nstructure is the same. When I go to Jaffna, to a Tamil school, they sing the\nanthem in Tamil. We have no objection if people want to sing it in their way.\nHe has emphasized that some political figures are raising this issue; but the\ngeneral public is not interested in this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the economy.\nSH has said that your biggest challenge this year will be servicing the\ndomestic and foreign debt, which totals about $60 billion and has asked how do\nyou plan to deal with this issue, MR  has\nresponded that it is indeed a worry and that is something he discussed with the Indian government\nas well, and have asked if we could get a moratorium on all loan repayments for\nthree years, until we can revive the economy. He has said that if the Indian\ngovernment takes this step, then other governments might agree to do the same\nthing, including China. He has emphatically pointed out that the previous\ngovernment took so many loans, they beggared the economy, and it is a mess. It\nall depends on the stand India takes, he has added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year alone, you have\nto pay about $5 billion to service the debt, the highest in Sri Lankan history.\nWill you be able to do that SH has asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MR has responded that we have to do it, and we will\nmanage somehow. He has said that we don\u2019t want to default on our debt no matter\nwhat happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to a question\nasked by SH whether President Gotabaya when he goes to Beijing will raise the\nquestion of giving back Hambantota harbour to Sri Lanka,he has said that we are discussing it, but it is\ndifficult, as the previous government had already completed the handover of\ncontrol. He has said that he thinks China may agree to the request on some\nterms, and we will keep the negotiations going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As regards the statement made by the  Chinese\nForeign Minister Wang Yi during his visit to Colombo that China will ensure\nthat there is no outside interference in Sri Lank and the query made by SH  whether it was an indication to the US, or to\nIndia or some other country, MR has said that he doesn\u2019t know about it\nand she will have to ask him that (laughs). MR has stated that Sri Lanka didn\u2019t\ntake the statement too seriously, as no one has yet tried to interfere in our\nmatters\u2026 other than during the last elections 2015. Then, all the countries got\ninvolved in the elections but now we would like to have good relations and work\nwith all the countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to a question\nas to Sri Lanka will move forward on the 19th amendment, that shifts power from\nthe Presidency to the PM and parliament, MR has said that first of all, we have to get rid\nof the 19th amendment. Then we will think about how we will move forward and\nhas revealed that the former Law Minister G.L. Peiris is already studying it,\nand we will take opinions on what to do. At the moment, neither the President\nnor the Parliament has clear powers. So we do have to decide on the division of\npower and the majority of voters in Sri Lanka voted for President Gotabaya, and\nthat means people want him to have some control of the country\u2019s development\nand governance, and we must respect that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given that the President\nis also your brother, could the tussle over the 19th amendment cause problems\nbetween you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No, no, no. The way the present constitution is\nstructured and the confusion with the 19th amendment, only two brothers like\nGota and I can handle this (Laughs). Otherwise no President and PM will ever\nagree on this issue, he has pointed out,.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, SH has asked what\ndoes it feel like to be back here as Prime Minister, after five years, when you\nvisited, but were out of power?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, I am grateful to PM Modi for inviting me and\nreceiving me both when I was out of power and now. I never felt the difference,\nin that sense. Whenever he is ready to visit Sri Lanka now, we are ready to\nwelcome him Mr, Rajapaksa has said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his interview with Journalist and Author Ms.\nPadma Rao Sundarji for Hindustan Times, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has\nsaid that \u2018India a relation for us, while other nations are friends\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>he Prime\nMinister Mahinda Rajapaksa (MR) has spoken to Padma Rao Sundarji(PRS) about Sri\nLanka\u2019s relationship with Pakistan, which India accuses of being involved in\ncross-border terrorism; proposed changes to Tamil provincial councils instead\nof giving them greater autonomy under the constitution\u2019s 13th amendment; and\nthe island nation\u2019s strategic ties with China, which is its largest investor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suicide attacks by\nIslamist bombers who killed more than 200 people and injured hundreds in\nColombo last year. But you\u2019ve been discussing the same issue with Pakistan,\nwhich, for India, is the fountainhead of state-sponsored terror. Isn\u2019t that a\ncontradiction?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A:We are\nagainst terrorism, wherever it comes from. So we discuss the subject with both\nIndia and Pakistan, and will continue to do so. And by the way, both Pakistan\nand India helped us to end the 30-year-long war against another kind of\nterrorism: that of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Pakistan gave\nus weapons and planes. India too helped, but didn\u2019t want to publicise it at the\ntime. Why, without India\u2019s help, I don\u2019t think we would have won that war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: From western\ninvestigators to Indian intelligence, many have warned that Pakistan has for\nyears used its diplomatic presence in Colombo to radicalise Sri Lankan Muslims\nand to encircle India with hostile Islamist groups in neighbouring countries.\nGiven this backdrop, can India take discussions with Sri Lanka on\ncounterterrorism seriously?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A:We\ndon\u2019t know about those charges, since we didn\u2019t receive that information. But\nnow, of course, we can see what\u2019s going on and have to take action. Look, India\nand Pakistan — you have your own problems. But that is your internal matter.\nWhether Islamist terrorism or another kind, we must have some form of\ncooperation with India. We must exchange views and information. Prior to the\nEaster suicide bomb attacks in Colombo last April, India shared warnings and\nintelligence, even on the morning of the attacks itself. But our previous\ngovernment didn\u2019t take them seriously. That is why those heinous attacks\nhappened. We have appointed a commission now to look into that tragic lapse.\nThe inspector general of police and the defence secretary of the time were\ntaken into custody and released earlier this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: The Pakistan Navy\nchief was in Colombo this month, the Pakistan Air Force chief is currently on a\nvisit — there is a constant stream of military visitors from Pakistan to Sri\nLanka. Earlier this week, Sri Lankan media quoted its high commissioner as\nurging Sri Lanka to condemn India for lifting Article 370 in Jammu &\nKashmir. Isn\u2019t this an interference in your bilateral relationship with India?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Look,\nwhatever the view of any country, we will not get involved in the internal\nmatters of India. But remember this: I always say India is a relation. Others\nare friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: India wants Sri\nLanka to implement the 13th amendment to your constitution, which led to the\ncreation of Provincial Councils in the Tamil-dominated areas and urges maximum\nautonomy for them. But President Gotabaya Rajapaksa suggested recently that the\ncouncils may be redundant. Will they be abolished?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: No, on\nthe contrary, we are going to strengthen the system of provincial councils. But\nthen, those councils must use what we give them for the development of the\nNorth and East regions. Up to now, that didn\u2019t happen. We gave them money for\ndevelopment; instead of trying to help the people of those areas, they returned\nthe money and we did all the development. Even the Tamil National Alliance\n(TNA), which is well-represented in our parliament was never interested in development.\nAll they were talking about was devolution and creating a separate state for\nTamils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: A Free Trade\nAgreement with India is stuck because Sri Lankans fear an onslaught of Indian\ngoods on the small Sri Lankan markets. Did you discuss it with your\ncounterparts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: No.\nRight now, we\u2019re working on specific projects that will build up to, and give\neveryone the confidence to finally ink an FTA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: China is your\nlargest investor. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi says China is Sri Lanka\u2019s\nstrategic partner. Your brother, too, notes the strategic nature of your port\nof Hambantota, which was built by the Chinese and on which they have a\n99-year-lease and massive equity. Please define this \u2018strategic\u2019 relationship?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: China\nhelped us for the sake of development, that is all. Our war had shattered our\ncountry, we needed help to develop; they were ready, so why not? We took their\nmoney and developed that area. Hambantota is a valuable strategic asset because\nof its location, right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is sensitive\ngeographical space. Unfortunately, the previous government literally gave it to\nChina by swapping debt for equity and signing that lease. We would not have\ndone the same and are trying to find a way out along with the Chinese now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q:   But\nthe Chinese foreign minister also said that China will \u2018not allow outside\ninfluences to interfere\u2019 in Sri Lanka. That is open to interpretation. How will\nyou assuage India\u2019s apprehension on this front?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since\nIndia is not interfering in our domestic matters that statement is not meant\nfor India which has never interfered. In fact, even India has made similar\nstatements, that you will always protect us. And I am absolutely sure you will.\nLook, that is China\u2019s view; ultimately, we Sri Lankans have to decide on what\nis interference and what is not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: The United States\nis pushing you to sign and renew a Millennium Compact Account (MCA) and a\nStatus of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The reworked terms of the latter may enable\nthe US to put boots on the ground in your country. Are you going to sign them?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: We\nhave appointed a commission to look into both those agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Big power\nalliances are swarming all over the Indian Ocean. There\u2019s the Quad on the one\nhand, and big powers such as China and Russia on the other. Will Sri Lanka join\nthe Quad if asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: That\nhas not yet come up for discussion but we would have to talk it out among\nourselves first and if we want to do it, we would have to first go to our\ncabinet. Whatever we do, Sri Lanka will assert its own interests first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Sri Lanka is part\nof China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative. (BRI). But it is under fire from many\ncountries around the world for its \u2018debt-trap\u2019 development. Do you share those\nconcerns?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Sri\nLanka has received a lot of benefits from being part of BRI. By the way, let me\nremind you – our external debt towards China is only 12% of our overall\nexternal debt, and we have not defaulted. We used whatever money we took from\nthem to build infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indian weekly India Today\u201d said that After\nSri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa backed India’s decision bringing the\nCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by calling it an “internal” matter of\nIndia, the same was resonated by his minister Arumugan Thondaman Sri Lanka’s\nMinister of Community Empowerment and Estate Infrastructure Development. Mr. Thondaman,\nis one of the two Tamil Ministers in the 15 member Sri Lanka cabinet, in an\nexclusive conversation with India Today TV said that the citizenship legislation\nis for minorities from “friendly” and “neighbourhood”\nnations but Sri Lankan Tamil refugees needn’t have been included in it since\n“they are a  family”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calling it an “internal” matter,\nArumugan Thondaman said, “It is your internal matter and I am convinced\nthat the relationship we have with India is different from others. It is like\nthe stepmother or your own kid. We are your own kid. They are friendly but we\nare family.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justifying Modi government’s decision and\nbacking it, he said, “India has to protect itself and we cannot comment on\nIndia’s policy formulation which is done for the best of India’s\ninterests.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I am confident that Sri Lankan\ngovernment will realise expectations of Tamil people for equality, justice,\npeace within united Sri Lanka I am confident the government will work towards\nreconciliation,” Modi had said during a joint press briefing in New Delhi\non Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, while the Sri Lankan\nminister assured speedy resettlement, he also blamed the past administration\nfor going slow on the process to “tarnish” the image of the country\ninternationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

India Today said that the fishermen issue\nwas also largely discussed by both the sides during bilateral talks on\nSaturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Indian government fishermen indulge\nin bottom trawling which Sri Lankan has objected to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To questions on the looming fear among\nTamil and Muslim population of Sri Lanka with the return of the Rajapaksa\ngovernment, minister Thondaman assured that nobody has anything to fear in his\ncountry and if you are a Sri Lankan, you don’t have to fear anything. I am a\nSri Lankan and a minority and I have no fear,” said the confident\nminister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, despite the fact that there were\nreports of the national anthem not being allowed to be sung in Tamil on the\noccasion of the 72nd Independence Day of Sri Lanka. He rubbished the reports\nand said, “There was no such decision. These are rumours. How it has been\nfor all these years it will continue to be so. Whatever has been happening from\nday one will continue.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also blamed critics for fanning\ncontroversy due to the lack of any credible criticism against Rajapaksa\ngovernment. He said, “Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country and we are\nco-living. There are many who sing in Tamil and nobody is asking them to stop\nit. Ask those who are creating a controversy because the Opposition has no\nother issue that they can criticise the current government on.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said, “Under Prime Minister\nMahinda Rajapaksa, things are falling in line.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two sides also spoke at length on the\nissue of counter-terrorism efforts. To a question on the dastardly attack on\nEaster Sunday in April last year, blaming the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe\nadministration of inaction, the minister said, “The unfortunate incident\nof Easter attack was negligence. The then government neglected the intelligence\ngiven by India. Security was in place but information was neglected, so we paid\nfor it. Now, things will change.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The members of Prime Minister\u2019s delegation\ncomprised Ministers Douglas Devananda, Arunmugam Thondaman, MP Prasanna\nRanaweera,  Secretary to the President\nDr. P.B.Jayasundera, Secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Gamini Senarath,\nSecretary to the Ministry of Finance Mr. S.R.Atygalle, Secretary to the\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ravinath Ariyasinghe and the former Minister\nPeof. G.L.Peiris,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prime Minister also visited several\nBuddhist and Hindu religious sites during this visit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By : A.A.M.NIZAM \u2013 MATARA The Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajajapaksa has returned to the country after ending a very successful exultant 4 days official visit to India.  He has boldly and candidly spoken on the envisaged Indo-Sri Lankan relationship and ties with other countries, measures to be taken to rescue the Tamils in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-98917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aamnizam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}