CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

INDIA HAS NO RIGHT TO RESTRICT SRI LANKAN ARMS ACQUISITIONS

A.A.M.NIZAM MATARA.

It was due to the foreign interference and treacherous assistance being given by our own anti-national elements to the terrorist outfit in the Wanni jungles that we Sri Lankans were undergoing innumerable hardships for the last three decades. It is the constitutional obligation of the Sri Lankan government to go to any extent, to seek assistance from anyone, to deploy whatever the means possible and defeat its known and hidden enemies. Vulnerability of the Sri Lankan governments in the past to the dictates of each and every foreign syndicate, treachery and appeasement of the cowardly ruling classes not only failed to uphold this constitutional obligation but also saved the terrorists from the jaws of defeat several times and helped them strengthen militarily and emerge as the world’s ruthless and the most technically sophisticated terrorist outfit. It was to totally and mercilessly destroy this terrorist gang that all patriotic masses united as a single force and entrusted this responsibility with Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse by electing him as the President of this country. The latest Indian dictate over arms purchases is a challenge to our national integrity which should be opposed and vehemently condemned by all patriots.

After having consultations with Sri Lanka’s sworn enemy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi, India’s National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan, a South Indian has boasted that India is a big power in this region, and Sri Lanka should not approach Pakistan and China for weapon purchases. He has also said that Sri Lanka can approach them for this requirement but they will not equip Sri Lanka with “offensive capability” . A highly despicable statement by a responsible and high ranking personality of the Indian government which has embedded in it the whole Indian policy vis-à-vis Sri Lanka’s current problem. Anyone would agree that this is a highly offensive statement against the sovereign state Sri Lanka that belittles our national integrity and self respect.

The statement in its elaborated form gives the message that India does not want Sri Lanka to get advanced weapons capable of defeating the terrorist outfit, India does not want to allow a complete defeat of the terrorist outfit, India does not want Sri Lanka to have better relations with countries that are considered inimical to it, India wants Sri Lanka to remain as a country totally dependent on it, India is not against the activities of the terrorist outfit which keeps Sri Lanka economically backward, India wants the terrorist problem in Sri Lanka to prevail unabated, and India is a hegemonic country that will not respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any nation in the region and it will not allow any country in the region to rise and develop independently.

It is this despicable India that fathered the terrorist outfit by training and arming them. The bones of megalomaniac Prabhakaran and his inhuman gang would have perished without any trace of it, if it was not for India’s direct assistance at the beginning and indirect and clandestine backing after the murder of Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

When the terrorist outfit attempted to capture Jaffna in the year 2000, India turned down Sri Lankan President’s request for advanced weapons and instead offered assistance to evacuate our soldiers from the Jaffna peninsula, so that the terrorists could capture Jaffna without any deterrence. This rejection compelled Sri Lanka to seek assistance from Pakistan and if not for the multi-barrel and other weapons provided by Pakistan, India and the terrorist outfit would have succeeded in achieving their objective. India also protested about use of Pakistani airforce personnel for training our pilots and the appointment of Col. Bassir Wali Mohamed as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, claiming that he was from the Pakistani Intelligence Service (ISI). It is reasonably believed that India’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) masterminded the unsuccessful attempt on his life made by the terrorist outfit in Colombo.

When intelligence sources and the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission confirmed that the terrorist outfit has developed an air-wing and acquired air capability, and also possess some light aircrafts, the former President wanted to acquire a radar system from China, a nation that is truly and genuinely friendly with Sri Lanka. India as usual obstructed this move by offering a radar system and thereby preventing further consolidation of friendly ties between China and Sri Lanka. The reliability of the radar and other defensive equipment provided by India has been proved highly doubtful.

Also, India grooms our spineless treacherous individuals who would blindly and obligingly act on its dictates, if installed in power. These individuals frequently visit India under various pretexts and get brief by India on political maneuvers. Also several agents of Indian and Sri Lankan origin are regularly used by India to criticize Sri Lankan government, the gallant forces and make despicable attempts to sow dissension among Sri Lankans, by making use of terrorist, pro-terrorist and reactionary media. Despite all these inimical activities Sri Lanka as a good neighbour, and a civilized nation has always stood with India, respecting its neighbourliness and historical ties, in all international activities and consulted India whenever it deemed necessary. India should know and understand that it too would need the assistance of countries like Sri Lanka if it wants to get the permanent seat in the U.N.Security Council which it is aspiring for since a long time.

Our gallant forces marching from Mavil Aru have successfully liberated the Tamil masses of the East who were enslaved, tortured and denied human rights by the terrorist outfit. They are now being resettled in their own villages with all basic amenities they require, and these resettlement activities have been highly praised by a recent UN report (UNHCR report dated 29.05.07). The government has rightly carried out its responsibilities as regards these people and it is the duty and responsibility of the government to accord the same rights to the Tamil masses in the North, safeguard their human rights and totally defeat the terrorist menace. In this exercise no one has the right to dictate to the government what military equipment it should buy and from where and whom it should be bought, or acquired.

It is pertinent to conclude this article by drawing attention to what President Rajapakse told about foreign countries in his recent interview with the popular Al Jazeera TV. Sri Lanka is not a colony of England, America or any other country. Sri Lanka is a sovereign state. So when they get involved it is important that they do not interfere in the internal affairs of this country

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