Diplomatic Hara Kiri: Ranil outfoxing India amidst a record-breaking anti-India May Day Rally in Sri Lanka
Posted on May 2nd, 2017
Shenali D Waduge
India took the centre stage of Sri Lanka’s May Day Rally. As the PM’s May Day speech centred around why he was giving India this and that while also dragging Japan into the picture, right in front of the Taj Hotel and adjacent to the Indian High Commission, in what was a record-breaking May Day Rally, anti-India rhetoric was blazing across the diplomatic enclave in Colombo. It will certainly waken the Indian establishment to relook at its Kautilya Mandala policy as against the Gujral Doctrine. It was a show of people force that undeniably sent a clear message to India that its incursions were unwelcome and will be objected to unlike in 1987. Obviously, the present government is hanging onto India for sheer survival by doling out the country which in turn has the Joint Opposition promising to nullify all MOUs that the present government is entering into. These are ground realities that India and even Japan cannot ignore and must take stock of. Do they continue to prop up a handful of people whom the people have openly rejected?
We do not need to remind of the Indian involvement in training and funding Tamil armed militancy that was used to force the then Sri Lankan Government to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord under emergency law, without media coverage and forcing Ministers to sign undated resignation letters. Eventually Indian troops were to land promising to disarm LTTE in 72 hours and the failure to commit the 5 key clauses that India was bound to do by the accord should have applied the principle of International Law ‘Pacta Sunt Servanda’ (agreements must be kept) both parties must execute their mutually agreed obligations in good faith and the Accord should have been nullified for India’s failure to do so. Instead, Sri Lanka has been carrying a white horse in the provincial council system through the 13th amendment that has proven a failure. The opposition to the Indo-Lanka Accord came in the form of the then PM Ranasinghe Premadasa boycotting the signing and Gamini Jayasuriya resigning from his portfolio. Thousands of youth died unnecessarily. This time round the people have clearly given their verdict to India & the Government.
This time round, the people have been wiser. They have now understood that rebel opposition outfits are merely individuals who are on foreign payroll and used to project themselves as an opposition force but in reality are used as Trojan horses for political maneuverings. The slogans of this force at their BRC May Day Rally places the gavel on their coffin as being irrelevant and a force that the people have once again rejected.
It is an open secret that India & the West pumped money and used local foot soldiers to run a well-funded campaign that brought this cocktail of political parties & individuals to power. CBK-Mangala conniving’s and scheming’s have lost their sheen and are outdated. What was obviously not planned for was how to remain in power and the policies that were needed to remain in power. Simply propping puppets into power was not enough for a nation of people who were over 90% literate and were quick to realize their folly and accept the fact that they were fooled.
India & West who have enough of on the ground teams to assuage the popularity of ‘their’ government must begin to acknowledge its growing unpopularity made worse by the manner that the government is virtually doling out the country to India making even the UNP birth certificate vote base shocked at the manner its leader is selling the country for political survival.
India knows too well that it is unpopular amongst its neighbors. The situation in Sri Lanka should make India realize that it has much to lose in particular if the whole country is carrying a wave of anti-India mentality.
India is also destroying the traditional friendship Sri Lanka has had with Japan. Japan should not forget Sri Lanka’s role in re-admitting Japan into the international scene at the San Francisco Conference where Sri Lanka spoke in defense of Japan. Japan has assisted Sri Lanka in many ways since cementing a bond that Japan should not jeopardize by falling prey to becoming scapegoats in geopolitics and have the Sri Lankan populace treat Japan with hostility like it does to India. Both India & Japan must realize that they belong to Asia and must be at fraternity with the Asian nations instead of working against Asia.
As for India, meddling and peddling in internal affairs of Sri Lanka has taken India to a worst case scenario wherein people are openly advocating even the boycotting of Indian goods and the situation is made worse by the fact that the present Government in particular the PM believes that doling out the country as a gift to India would ensure his political survival even the ascendancy to the role of Executive bypassing the current. The Indian PM can be invited for upteen events but it will not change the danger of India losing its strategic interest by increasing the people’s hatred for India. India and the international community which played on the minds of the youth in pulling off a campaign win for the present government would have noted the large numbers of youth who were present at the Joint Opposition rally. These are the new vote base waiting for an elusive election that the present government is shy to hold.
By using India as cover against a wave of nationalist sentiments, the present government is taking India along a path that would be detrimental to India’s diplomatic aspirations. India should note how China has decided to completely disassociate itself from the government having realized that its assurances and its actions are poles apart and have no genuine sincerity and in the East the people regard an assurance as words etched in stone.
The frantic visits by heads from both Sri Lanka & India to sign MOUs must surely come with the realization that these are not legally binding arrangements and can be easily nullified and stalled. Many of India’s incursions and interferences have been handled by former leaders with astuteness and must be commended. But it is shocking to see the manner the current government is handing over Sri Lanka’s strategic assets to India the profits should reap for the generations of Sri Lankans not foreigners (India). The public commitment made at the UNP May Day Rally to give Trinco port and oil tanks to India should make the citizens of Sri Lanka realize the dangers at stake.
When India is pumping millions into developing its own ports in particular Chennai, why should Sri Lanka offer India to develop the Colombo East Terminal when Colombo Port is a direct competitor to India’s Chennai Port? Colombo Port nor Trinco will never be developed. Moreover, in taking the most strategic natural harbor of Trincomalee plus the oil tank storage facility, India will only be using the area as a military base for the Indian Navy and this is going to anger our traditional friends both Russia and China. Given the unpredictability of world politics and the various games being played politically, Sri Lanka will be at the receiving end of any conflict or wars and our people will end up scapegoats and cannon fodder and our traditional friends would desert us simply because we have a set of individuals who are fooling even India simply to survive politically against the wishes of the people.
By continuing to prop up showing solidarity towards a rising unpopular government, India is self-alienating itself amongst its South Asian neighbors all of whom have lists of examples to give of India’s interference and incursions while Japan by foolishly getting involved as middle-man will also end up jeopardizing years of goodwill and friendship Japan and Sri Lankans have developed over the years.
Shenali D Waduge
May 2nd, 2017 at 5:24 am
Indian excuses to invade Trincomalee and Colombo is hilarious.
Oil tanks have very little potential despite trying to make them look very valuable.
Then the promised coal power plant in Trincomalee that never came.
Promised solar and gas plants in Trincomalee are similar deceptions. It makes no economic sense to do any of these things in the identified place.
Why would India develop ports in Sri Lanka that are direct competitors of Indian ports?
This is yet another Sirima-Shastri, Kachchativu, JR-Rajeev and FTA fraud. Indian aim is to spy on China, invade the island to facilitate Tamil Eelam and rob resources of Sri Lanka.
By bringing in India into the island, Sri Lanka is earning enemies from China to Pakistan.
May 2nd, 2017 at 5:27 am
Thank you Shenali for drawing attention to the ground realities for the sake of the Indians and Japanese who I am sure are following the developments in Sri Lanka closely.
May 2nd, 2017 at 1:52 pm
ENDIA keep OUT of SL. We never wanted you, we never want you.
We had ENOUGH with Endia sending ILLEGALS to SL, giving weapons to LTTE, robbing our fish, robbing our jobs, bringing heroin into SL, cheating, lying and BARBARIC ENDIAN customs.
OUT OF SL!
SL must join hands with all anti-Endian forces.
May 2nd, 2017 at 2:39 pm
Arjuna Ranatunga was invited and garlanded in Hydrabad recently, he may think foolishly because of his cricket, but all because he is the Port Minister, hope that idiot understand it. Part of schemes Indians adopt to get this Port project.
May 2nd, 2017 at 4:28 pm
MR, BR and NR are NOT the best to STOP Endia. They have a history of appeasing Endia.
GR is the man for the job.
GR was not afraid of Endia.
1. Endian NARAYANAN came to SL to BULLY during the war. He was put into a TRISHAW!! Poor fool realized the hard way he cannot mess with SL.
2. Endia threatened us NOT to buy weapons from China and Pakistan. Too bad. GR showed them the door.
3. GR is the ONLY SL leader to openly point finger at Endia for arming Tamil terrorists.
May 2nd, 2017 at 8:20 pm
Lorenzo, you are right on the target about GR… all others are stooges and lackeys even though Lankaweb editors not like what I say and have now started to remove my comments… Patriots will always look after the needy and poor and not hide behind a web site to suck up to the corrupt.
GR’s communications are open and we are now organising him to remove this corrupt clan .
Shenali, thank you for the beautifully written article which we will distribute globally .
May 2nd, 2017 at 8:54 pm
“When India is pumping millions into developing its own ports in particular Chennai, why should Sri Lanka offer India to develop the Colombo East Terminal when Colombo Port is a direct competitor to India’s Chennai Port?
Whether you develop in India or in an Indian Colony. it is the same.
May 2nd, 2017 at 9:18 pm
Thank you, Shenali. As always you write sense. You are doing a great service to Sri Lanka through your journalism.
May 3rd, 2017 at 12:53 am
I agree with Dilrook about Indian intentions.
The oil tanks, power plants etc are PRETEXTS for India to increase its foothold in Sri Lanka using the Tamil Community as it’s internal 5th Column, and the ETCA to flood the country with Indian, largely Indian Tamil, settlers.
What we are seeing is the Indian plan to COLONIZATION Sri Lanka checkmating and marginalizing the Sinhala people.
The British did it beginning 1827 with Governor Brownrigg’s importation of both British planters who were given nearly a million acres of Kandyan land, and Indian Tamils who were imported and settled to serve them.
We all know the result; read Sudath Gunasekara’s article to discover the fate of the Kandyan peasantry.
Thus, this struggle to OUST the Yamapalanaya has an EVEN GREATER SIGNIFICANCE: Halting the gradual and accelerating COLONIZATION of Sri Lanka by India!
We Sinhalese will IGNORE this COLONIZATION by India to our peril, and our disappearance as the majority native community of Sri Lanka.
May 3rd, 2017 at 2:05 am
As always great stuff Shenali. Your articles should go in to the hearts of the citizens to understand the truth nothing but the truth about the intentions of this evil government and the hidden motives of the evil Indian parasites. These Indian parasites did so much damage to our country for thirty long years by training, arming, financing a terrorist organisation which was created by them. They may have been our friends once a upon a time but not now. They are bullies like same as the American Satan. We should boycott Indian everything to show our dislike to them. If this Govt goes on like this we will have a Indian colony soon here. Our spineless leaders should be hanged for their crimes against our people’s and our lands. By seeing the Crowds at JO mayday rally these Indian and current rulers must understand how big the opposition for their actions in this country against them. Hands off my Motherland you Indian beggars. Your days are numbered Sira and Ran nil for your treacherous actions against our people’s. Leave and go to find a place to hide.
May 3rd, 2017 at 1:11 pm
Many thanks to Shenali for saying it like it is !
———
INDIA has lost the greatest asset, TRUST, in Sri Lanka.
After many years of harrassment of Sri Lanka leaders, training the LTTE in Tamil Nadu, imposing the 13-A illegally on the Lanka Constitution, and due to the LTTE terrorism : some 30 yrs of loss of lives of many thousands of youth (both Sinhala & Tamil), loss of funds, property, and goodwill abroad, INDIA is not trusted in Sri Lanka.
Besides all that, INDIA sold dud radar equipment to Lanka during the conflict with the LTTE.
Now, how can INDIA recover some TRUST & goodwill in Lanka ?
Suggestions :
* INDIA could now tell Yahap govt to remove the 13-A which INDIA imposed under Duress (therefore illegal) on the JRJ govt in 1987, during the Cold War times.
* Tell the present day Tamil Leaders to revoke the V’koddai Resoln (1967) – after all Tamil leaders of Lanka follow the diktats of INDIA and some other foreign countries, don’t they ?
* Take back all INDIAN illegal migrants who are in Lanka. Also, give INDIAN citizenship to so called Tamil refugees in the Tamil Nadu camps. Since INDIA broke with the Sirima/Shasthri Pact, it is only fair they do these things to compensate for those negative acts.
* Between Lanka & INDIA there must a MoU signed with the UN Security Council not to do acts to threaten each others sovereignty. Both countries are members of the UN, and such an MoU ought not to be a difficult task to achieve.
* As the SE Asian regions largest country INDIA should play a lead role for Peace & Prosperity for the entire region, and not a take over type, wily & divisive role, as in the past. INDIA should not imitate their colonial masters as this leads to a slippery slope downwards into distrust and disunity.
* INDIA must know that as long as they state CASTE in the birth certificates of the citizens of Tamil Nadu (which aera affects Sri Lanka most), and do the Census on a CASTE base too, the so called low caste folk in Tamil Nadu, will flee Tamil Nadu and try to enter Sri Lanka which does not have CASTE on the b’certs or do the census on Caste base. In fact, Lanka has free education & health care etc. Tamil Nadu has at present some 15 Million Tamil people categorised as Dalit.
The INDIAN flag motto states high moral words : Satya meva Jeyate (Truth wins).
More suggestions are welcome on how to resolve these INDO/LANKA problems peacefully.
May 3rd, 2017 at 2:10 pm
ANANDA !! I REMEMBER YOU SAYING SOMEWHERE, ***WIKUNANA SINGHE*** THAT IS VERY APT.
HOW CAN THIS AAPPA SIRAA SLEEP WITH THIS WIKUNANA SINGHE ? IT COULD BE EQUATED TO A BOORUWA SLEEPING WITH A NARIYA. STRANGE BED-FELLOWS EH ?
SHENALI !! THE SENTIMENTS YOU REFLECT SHOULD BE *THE* RED LIGHT TO THE ARZ OLE SHITTING SMELLING INDIANS.
I READ YOUR ARTICLES WITH GREAT INTEREST. YOU ARE THE “”BLACK PEARL “” {extremely rare} OF THE LANKA WEB. WE ARE VERY VERY VERY PROUD OF YOU.
May 3rd, 2017 at 2:23 pm
Rajiv Ghand – 21 MAY 1991
Modi – 21 MAY 2017
Why TAMILS hate MODI as they hated Rajiv Ghand?
1. Tamils think Modi is taking TAMIL ELAM land without TAMIL permission.
2. When MOdi was in Jaffna he spoke in HINDI. Thousands of Tamils have sacrificed their life against HINDI IMPOSITION. Tamils hate Hindi.
3. Modi LIED to Tamils. He promised this and that but he LIED.
4. Tamils REMEMBER how IPKF treated Tamils especially Tamil women.
5. Endia wants to create TAMIL ELAM but MODI does NOT. He knows IF TE is created, he BUDDIES Run-nil and Sira suffer at elections.
6. Tamils can get TE easily from Singhalese but if Endia is involved, they cannot.
7. Unlike Singhalese who are OK even if their land is sold to foreigners, Tamils DO NOT tolerate it. Give me one example of land or a government orgnization in north and east sold out. This is the GOOD SIDE of RACISM.
8. Modi imprisoned Tamils’ goddess mother Jayalalitha. This is how FOOLISH Tamils see her. AMMA. Funny but true.
9. Modi stopped JALLIKATTU in 2017. JALLIKATTU has been a Tamil traditional sport for 2,000 years. How dare Modi’s govt. stop it!
10. Modi’s govt. turned a blind eye to the plight of Tamil fishermen in BOTH Endia and SL.
11. Modi was REJECTED by Tamil Nadu state elections recently.
May 3rd, 2017 at 2:39 pm
We hear of “Tamils HATE … “.
What do Tamils LOVE ?
May 3rd, 2017 at 3:45 pm
FRAN !! TAMILS LOVE to defecate on the road, on railway lines and in each others gardens.
May 3rd, 2017 at 8:10 pm
Fran,
“What do Tamils LOVE ?”
1. DIPLOMATIC TALK (so that modayas can be further fooled).
2. DIVIDE those who LOVE SL by cunning means (taking sides between Singhala groups).
3. FEDERALISM in SL (so that SL will be like TN).
4. REMOVE STANDARDIZATION (so that even the most foolish Tamil can go to university and modayas cannot go to university making them Tamil-only like Jaffna university.)
5. Continue 13 amendment (peace, no?)
6. STOP ALL POSSIBLE WAR AGAIN but PUSH the envelope SLOWLY and get Colombo, Kandy, Galle, etc.
Have you seen how a toddler would go to sea when you tell him to KEEP OUT OF WATER? That’s how we push the envelope. Modayas have no clue!
7. Peacefully ACCEPT that Jaffna Tamils are intellectually ahead of others. It is nothing really. ONLY reason is Americans had schools there. Bad American missionaries! They should have been fair, no? Anyway, our ancestors had the EDGE over others. This EDGE continue. BAD! BAD! But well, facts are facts, no?
8. Don’t do SINGHALA COLONIZATION of Jaffna. Please. Jaffna is too dry. Even we find it tough. You cannot live there. Why leave your beautiful area and come to dry Jaffna. Only modayas do that, no?
9. Tamil suffered from war badly. So Tamils need MORE DEVELOPMENT. IF MORE development takes place in the north, which fool will go to war again? Otherwise some bad people in the north are again trying to start war. So please spend more money on the north and you will have peace for 5 more years. Good, no?
10. Every district has rivers. Jaffna has NO river. So why not you modayas put some money and build a river for Jaffna? We will be so happy we will NOT start another war for 5 years. We will NOT import Endians to work in our farms. They are not good, no? We will get some Singhala people to work in our paddyfields. They are good people. We can reward them by giving them our surnames and turning them Tamil speaking people. After 7 generations they can become VELLALA.
11. Mahintha. We want Mahintha and Kothapaya back. How good they are? Not like this government fools. Srichennan and Ranil know nothing. We will vote for Kothapaya to become president. They support Tamil aspirations very well because they are very intelligent. Some Singhala fools are trying to mislead them. But we Tamils know most Singhala people are VERY CLEVER and they support Tamil grievances.
What to do with some extremists! Every community has them, no?
We are 150% certain Mamanithar Vigneswaran, Sampanthan, Sumanthiran (all very very intelligent lawyers mind you) will support Kothapaya. So what other choice do we have!
12. We love world peace. How nice the world will be if Tamil grievances are addressed! All problem will disappear.
13. We love Fran, Ravi, etc. Nice people. Always support reasonable Tamil demands, no? Not like some extremist Singhalese.
May 3rd, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Can anyone spell out the Tamil grievances? Are they like – There are no coconuts on palmyra trees? Or are they any different from those of the Sinhalese elsewhere in the island? Are they just little now more later of the same grievances? Isn’t the reality that Tamils are not happy at anything? Want more, more and more!
Has anybody built a river into the Sahara? If there are no rivers in Jaffna then that is how it is. You have all the brains in the world to make fresh water out of sea water. Why should good water elsewhere be wasted in evaporation, soakage and in the end not even gratitude for the fools errand!
If Tamils suffered during the war, it is their own making. War started in the North and ended there.
What about Tamil and Muslim colonisation of the South? Why is that the North and the East are exclusive for the Tamils and Muslims and the rest of the country for everybody?
Tamils are not intellectually ahead in any sense. As known they had a head start. They have assistance from their professors and teachers at examinations. These have been proven time and again.
May 3rd, 2017 at 9:41 pm
India’s plan is simple. They want their Main Supply Route (MSR) from Tamil Nadu to Trincomalee – One straight road from India to Trinco. This is why they want the Monkey Bridge, the roads and the port of Trincomalee. Trinco to be their southernmost military outpost to dominate the Indian Ocean. This is the new plan to establish Eelam – the Indian Cat’s Paw in Sri Lanka.
Once Indian’s take a foot hold in Trinco, it will be worse than how the despicable Portuguese asked for a piece of land in Colombo to cover with the skin of a cow! That is how they got the Colombo. Indians will go on to make an incident in Trinco that will eventually bring the Indian Jawans once over, not having learnt a lesson the first time at the hands of the LTTE.
Great Power ambitions of a pauper nation who cannot even supply toilets to their people. They want to come and build Solar Power Plants, LNG Plants. Where in India is there a 1000 MW Solar Power Plant?
This is all hogwash and eyewash for Sri Lankan idiots. That is all till all Sri Lanka end up being another Indian shit colony!
May 4th, 2017 at 4:03 am
Susantha !!
Lankans must learn to make money off problems.
Lankans should make the best Port O’ Lets in the world ! Also make the best Public Toilets. Offer to sell such products to Tamil Nadu. Change a bad mind set into a good one.
Roll in money, not dust !
Make lemonaide out of lemons – the best policy for all.
May 4th, 2017 at 4:07 am
Lorenzo,
Sri Lanka went to war with the LTTE, not the Tamil people.
Sri Lanka went to war with Terrorism, taught by INDIA to Tamils of Sri Lanka. It was INDIA that trained the LTTE Tamil youth in Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil people are a part of Sri Lanka. Or are you suggesting that they are not ?
It is the Tamil leadership that have constantly misled the Tamil people.
The Colonial ‘divide & rule’ has been their theme – it doesn’t work.
Why don’t you suggest that the Tamil leaders officially revoke the V’koddai Resoln (1976) ?
That is real constructive criticism.