Ira de Silva London, Canada

Mr. Rahul Gandhi
Congress Party,
New Delhi, India.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Dear Sir:

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is with deep regret that I read your recent statement seeking “justice” for the Tamils in Sri Lanka and stating that you would take up the matter with “appropriate persons at the Centre” by which I assume you are going to take it up with the Government of India. In this regard, I would like to state some relevant facts for your consideration which I hope you will keep in mind when taking the matter up with the centre.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 1. The Tamils of Sri Lanka are citizens of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is a sovereign country. It remains a sovereign country in spite of Indian attempts to try to make it subordinate to India. If you are keen on justice for Tamils, I suggest that you deal with the over sixty million Tamils in Tamil Nadu, India, the homeland of all Tamils and claims of injustice they may have. If the Tamils are Sri Lankan Tamils they do not vote in India but in Sri Lanka. They have representation by their elected members of parliament in Sri Lanka and the same rights that all Sri Lankan citizens have. In fact they are a privileged minority. If you consider them India’s responsibility, what you could take up with the centre is the matter of repatriation of Tamils back to India so that the “centre” can deal with them as they will then be voting for candidates to the Indian parliament. What the Sri Lankan government does for it’s citizens whether they are Tamil or any other community in Sri Lanka is for the Sri Lankan government to decide. The Tamils can not have special status, I am sure you will agree that all citizens of a country must have equal rights. You claim that Sri Lanka is “not doing enough for the Tamils” – can you spell out what you mean by “enough”. Considering that the Tamils keep coming to Sri Lanka and do not go back to settle in India, it would appear to be that they feel they are better off in Sri Lanka rather than in India so “enough” seems not to be done for them in Tamil Nadu, India rather than in Sri Lanka.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 2. Indira Gandhi tried to interfere and subjugate Sri Lanka by promoting the Tamils of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Under her direction, India took them to Tamil Nadu, the Indian army trained them in terrorist warfare, the Indian government paid their bills and supplied them with arms, provided political backing and let them loose to terrorise Sri Lankans. If you are thinking along these same lines it would be prudent for you to take a lesson from history because although your party may have got a few Tamil votes at elections, India was unable to maintain control over the LTTE monster it created resulting in death and destruction to Sri Lankans which can not be justified by any means and particularly when India claims it is a friend and good neighbour.

3. Indira Gandhi having created a problem for Sri Lanka, your father Rajiv Gandhi attempted to find a “solution” which he forced on Sri Lanka by threat of invasion. It was called the “Indo-Lanka Agreement”. While Sri Lanka was forced to implement the conditions of the Agreement including the 13th Amendment, India did not fulfil it’s part of the agreement. Neither did the LTTE. It is inexplicable to Sri Lankans why India even today believes that the 13th Amendment is a “solution” just because it has a “made in India” label when clearly it is unacceptable to the majority of Sri Lankans. Any solution to any problem in Sri Lanka needs to be “made in Sri Lanka” not imposed by India to suit Indian political needs. Perhaps you could take up this matter with the “centre” too. It would bring justice not just to the Tamils but to all Sri Lankans.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 4. I would like to remind you that Indian policy towards Sri Lanka seems to be aimed at getting votes in Tamil Nadu at the expense of lives of all communities in Sri Lanka. It has cost 100,000 Sri Lankan lives. Rajiv Gandhi came to Sri Lanka to seal the Indo Lanka Agreement and returned to Tamil Nadu from Sri Lanka to make the claim to the voters of Tamil Nadu that he had got for the Tamils of Sri Lanka all that they wanted. Please recall that having sacrificed Sri Lankan lives for votes in Tamil Nadu, it was in Tamil Nadu that he lost his life at the hands of the Tamils he had given all they wanted.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ 5. In the process of giving the Tamils of Sri Lanka what they wanted, Rajiv Gandhi also cost India over a thousand lives of Indian soldiers sent to Sri Lanka to fight the monster India had created. These Indian soldiers who fought the LTTE and ravaged the civilian population of Sri Lanka did not bring justice to the Tamils of Sri Lanka. All Sri Lankans paid the price with lives lost and the country set back through destruction of it’s economy. All this was for your political party to get a few Tamil votes in Tamil Nadu, India.

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ It is ironic that you should make this statement at a time when news reports indicate that your current Prime Minister is under threat from the rump of the LTTE Tamils once again operating out of Tamil Nadu and that security has been increased because of the threat they pose to him. Given your family’s history should this news not give you cause to be wary of playing the Sri Lankan Tamil card in Indian politics? Further, India itself is under threat from various rebel and secessionist groups. Is it therefore logical for you to look at problems in other countries and attempt to create problems rather than concentrate on solving India’s own problems and working towards providing justice for your own nationals who after all are the people who will either vote or not vote for you?

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Yours truly,

ƒÆ’-¡ƒ”š‚ Ira de Silva
London, Canada