That infamous parippu drop
President Ranil Wickremesinghe, then Minister of Education, recalls that shocking moment when the country’s sovereignty was violated -- as told to Iqbal Athas in 1997.
The news of the Indian food drop came from our High Commissioner in New Delhi, Bernard Tillekeratne. He had been summoned to the Indian External Affairs Ministry. It was State Minister Kanwar Natwar Singh who told him.
Within minutes, he telephoned President Jayewardene. That he was both shocked and surprised is to put it very mildly. That triggered a flurry of activity. It was a time when Operation Liberation was being conducted in the Jaffna peninsula. National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was focused on the operation to recapture parts of Vadamarachchi held by Tiger rebels.
Jayewardene summoned an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC). We met on an upper floor at the Janadipathi Mandiraya (President’s House) to study all the implications that unfriendly move would have. Nevertheless, we were conscious that any reaction from us, the Government, should not be provocative or offend India. We were also strong in our resolve that the ongoing operation should not be halted.
Taking part in that meeting were Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali and Mahaweli Minister Gamini Dissanayake, among others. Dissanayake, the great cricketing enthusiast, had by then developed backchannel contacts in New Delhi and they were to become very useful.
Initially, our attention was focused. One suggestion was to resist the food drop. That was almost a pipe dream. We simply did not have the troops nor the equipment for such a course of action. The other was to have two of our aircraft airborne and tell the pilots of the planes bringing in the food stocks to return. After exhaustive discussions where every available option was discussed, it was agreed to bear the brunt. Let them carry out the food drop. The world would be witness to how a small nation was not only helpless but also bullied into submission.
So stocks of rice, dhal, sugar, spices and other items were air dropped, some in the Vadamarachchi sector too.
Sri Lanka was world news. For the first time since independence, here was an instance where our sovereignty was being violated. If the hurt and pain was unbearable for Sri Lankans, it was touching that some in India also felt the same way. They believed might is not right.
This was the time I was scheduled to travel to China as Minister of Education. At a National Security Council meeting, when the news surfaced, Defence Secretary Sepala Attygalle suggested that I travel as a special envoy of President Jayewardene. He said I should carry a special message from him to Wang Yi, Director of the Central Foreign Affairs Committee of the People’s Republic of China. His advice to the Government was to stay calm. The leaders in Beijing stood firmly with us. China helped in no
small way in combatting violence. I was moved by the way they showed their solidarity.
En route to Colombo, I stopped over in Islamabad. I had a meeting with President Zia-ul-Haq. I had a message for him also from President Jayewardene. General Zia also advised us not to go for any confrontation or to surrender.
The empathy shown to us by our well-wishers was enormous. National Security Minister Lalith Athulathmudali was asked by President Jayewardene to continue with Operation Liberation. The military got a tight grip on Vadamarachchi and regained territory.
Today, ten years later, we have relegated the sordid events to our history books. Our relationship with India has improved by leaps and bounds. It should be so because we share a common heritage and common ideals. We are profiting from the lessons learnt.