WHAT IS THE GAME?

India already has enough problems on their hands and I cannot understand why they seek to create another problem for themselves and destroy the goodwill we have for India

External Affairs Minister Kurshid wanted Sri Lanka to implement the 13th Amendment fully or even go beyond it, now Shankar Menon the powerful National Security Advisor, who was High Commissioner here some years ago is reported to have said “Sri Lanka would be responsible if changes are made to the 13th Amendment.”

Good God, if this is not a threat what is?

Let us examine the options that may be available to them, we can perhaps rule out a direct invasion as they threatened to do when they stopped the Vadamarachchi operation, but they may still be thinking in terms of creating a situation in the country using RAW with their local agents and the TNA and released LTTE cadres assisted by the CIA, no doubt to come in under the UN resolution ‘Right to Protect’ to effect a regime change.

What Menon said was no empty threat – he being an absolute professional wholly involved in policy making, would have discussed the options available to them if his threat is not taken seriously, so we must make contingency plans. They will come claiming that they have a duty to protect innocent civilians (they should first protect the unfortunate low caste people in Tamil Nadu and in the north who are being killed for ‘trespassing’ across caste lines. If these unfortunate speak out they are killed and they get no protection from the Police) and the so-called international community will urge them on as our stock is low.

India already has enough problems on their hands and I cannot understand why they seek to create another problem for themselves and destroy the goodwill we have for India..

What some of us cannot understand is why India is opposed to our removing Police Powers from ALL Provincial Councils. Surely the High Commission here would have reported on the calibre of our politicians, most of whom would put the politicians of Bihar into the shade. Just imagine the DIG of the Province being at the beck and call of a Chief Minister who would invariably be a thug and a man of low repute.

As for the land issue that too is not their business but as the law presently stands, it is not in the interest of our small country to give power over land to the Provincial Councils, but we can always work out a compromise --so there is no reason for India to seek to intervene and involve herself in purely domestic issues, which is no doubt to satisfy Tamil Nadu politicians. Do they not know that more Tamils are living outside the Northern Province than withing which has about a third or a little more of the Sri Lankan Tamils of our country. Any untoward actions by the NPC could of course create unrest in the rest of the country and this could be dangerous.

If the Congress government does create a situation here and intervenes to win over Tamil Nadu, with the forthcoming Indian elections in mind, she would be endangering the security not only of India but that of the entire region. Menon has claimed we are bound by the Indo Lanka Agreement and that 13A is a part of that Agreement. This so called Agreement was one forced on us and signed by President JR under duress, and that is a well known fact. In any case, is not the Agreement invalid in terms of the Vienna Convention, because India has not kept to its undertakings.; in terms of article 2.14 for instance, which read as follows: “The Government of India will undertake and Guarantee the resolution and co-operate in the implementation of these proposals” --- did they keep to their undertaking –NO. They could not and did not disarm the LTTE, which they helped to create; even when they were in occupation of the north and east and our Army was confined to barracks in terms of this Agreement, the IPKF was required under the Agreement to ensure that there was no violence, but the LTTE massacred Sinhalese in the Kent and Dollar farms and Muslims also in the East, (LTTE attacked the holiest of Buddhist Shrines at Anuradhapura and killed over a hundred pilgrims at prayer when the IPKF was in the country) but did the IPKF do anything to prevent the atrocities particularly in the East? –NO. When India did not discharge her obligations under the Accord how can it be now considered as being valid.

Yes India was in breach of Treaty obligations for she did not put a stop to Indian territory being used by the LTTE to pursue their war against this country as was required under t he Treaty; Furthermore this Treaty was entered into when the LTTE was a force and a threat, now the LTTE is no more. The circumstances have indeed changed so how can this Treaty now be considered valid., This is not an Agreement or Accord which was accepted by the people of this country either and as for the 13th Amendment, members of Parliament were kept like ‘prisoners’ in a Colombo hotel and taken virtually by force to vote for this Amendment. India has no moral or legal right to demand its implementation.

The government needs only to hold a Referendum to prove to the people of the world what the people of this country think of the Indo- Lanka Agreement and this 13th Amendment --- let us dump the present Constitution, restore real Democracy, enshrine the separation of powers and the Rule of law – let us give ourselves independent institutions such as the Elections Commission, the Public Service Commission the Judicial Service Commission, the Police Commission, an AntiCorruption Commission, give our people the Right to information, a Human Rights Council and above all change this Electoral system and introduce the German system and devolve power on the basis of subsidiarity to District Councils and also have divisional level Councils and ‘Panchyats’ or Village level Committees all statutorily empowered; and also, in the new constitution, prohibit ethnic or religious political parties and stipulate that once the elections are over a national all party Cabinet be formed in which all communities are represented. The Cabinet should of course be limited to thirty members and we should also have a Constitutional Council. We would then have true participatory democracy where all our people live in dignity, with self respect, as equal citizens where justice in every sense of that word will prevail then and we shall be an example to India to follow.

Our relationship with India is precious to us and needs to be protected from itinerant politicians pursuing their narrow political interests at the expense of our relations. In this regard I am more than surprised and dismayed (word used by PM Manmohan recently to refer to his feeling about our position) at this campaign to pillory Sri Lanka, for one of India’s greatest assets is her professional Public Service; I recall an instance when no less a person than Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi tendered an apology to the Foreign Secretary – AP(somebody whose family name I have now forgotten--- I was in Delhi in the late 80s and early 90s). That is how powerful their officials were and are because of their professionalism.

Our relations with India are special and precious – so let us open Consulates in ALL the States in South India—they are bigger than many countries of the world. Our relations with Kerala for instance go back to a thousand years, and also establish an India Studies Centre – a project conceived by the late Lakshman Kadirgamar who had Prof Muni of the JNU to prepare a detailed concept paper on the establishment of such an India Studies Centre. The project was killed off after LK was killed by the LTTE.

Let us put our relations on a level where itinerant politicians, here today and gone tomorrow, would not be able to tinker around and spoil our relations. Let us have a new Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Co-operation with India and drop the Indo Lanka Agreement which is now passé into the dustbin where it now belongs.

(kngodage@yohoo.com)