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THE
BOTTOM LINE EDITORIAL
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India,
terrorism and a united Sri Lanka
Speculation is rife about the recent high level Indian delegation
that visited the island in the guise of discussing the forthcoming
SAARC Summit. India’s highly respected Foreign Secretary,
Shivshankar Menon accompanied by Defence Secretary Vijay Singh
and National Security Advisor M.K. Narayan arrived by special
aircraft last Friday on what was later termed as a routine
bilateral consultation with their Sri Lankan counterparts.
Even though this was one of the most high level visits from
our giant neighbour, it might as well have not happened for
all the hype it created. If the media had not got wind of
the high profile visit, no one in Sri Lanka would have been
any wiser.
In the grand scheme of things, this visit may have little
significance but due to the checkered history between the
two nations it is but natural that many in Sri Lanka feel
uneasy whenever there is this type of intervention by our
neighbour. It is arguably true that India is most probably
the only country in the world which does not have the luxury
of considering the conflict in Sri Lanka as someone else’s
business. The domestic compulsions in South India will always
ensure that the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka will never be a
mere external affair for India. In that context India has
a right as well as a duty to show a keen interest in the developments
of her southern neighbour. However, such interventions need
to be done professionally with transparency and in good faith.
When events such as last week’s unfold, where a top delegation
arrived, virtually unknown even to the Sri Lankan Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, and holds talks with selected top Sri
Lankan officials and the contents of these discussions are
kept secret then it opens up the ugly wounds of yester years
where Indian intervention resulted in this country having
to battle a terrorist organisation for many a decade.
In 1987 when the Sri Lankan security forces were at the verge
of dealing a decisive military blow to the LTTE, the Indians
intervened with their now infamous “parippu drop”.
Though it is not in the interest of either country to see
history repeat itself, it would be wise to keep in mind the
circumstances that led to the disastrous miscalculation by
the Indians to give a lifeline to a weakened LTTE. The blatant
disregard of the human rights of the Tamil people in the north
and east was one of the main factors that galvanised South
Indian public opinion against our country which forced the
central government to take a stronger stance against Sri Lanka.
Further, a lack of a true political will by the J.R. Jayewardene
regime left India with little choice but to ensure that their
concerns are taken in to consideration.
Sri Lanka has see-sawed shamelessly on the matter of a bigger
Indian role in the Sri Lankan conflict. Governments have loved
and hated New Delhi depending on which way the political winds
blow. Oppositions generally go with the opposite of the attitudes
adopted by governments at a given point of time. The JVP however,
in both its revolutionary and political avatars have assumed
the position that New Delhi symbolized pure evil and their
hand in attempting to resolve Sri Lanka’s north east
issue was nothing more than an insidious effort to annex the
island. The bottom line however is that Sri Lanka probably
needs India more than we would like to own. But in order to
decide what her meaningful role could be in terms of Sri Lankan
peace processes and its war against LTTE terrorism, warring
political factions must first forge consensus on the matter.
Pulling in different directions will only encourage suspiciously
secretive meetings such as the last one and whistle stop tours
by Sri Lankan opposition members in New Delhi which cause
much rancour back home as Colombo and New Delhi grapple with
adjusting positions to try and get comfortable as possible
in the regional power-play.
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