Coping with the Co-chairs’
bad advice
by Foxwatch The Island
Day after day we are assailed by increasingly peremptory "advice"
by the Co-Chairs. This Gang of Four (G4) — USA, EU, Japan and
Norway- were assembled in Tokyo in May 2003 by Akashi to serve as
lead promoters of the US $ 4.5 billion bribe to persuade the GOSL
to sell its soul and country to the Eelam-sponsoring axis of evil.
G4 moved into the arm-twisting game because some lethal conditions
undermining our sovereignty, territorial integrity and indeed our
survival were attached to the bribe.
Big Brother Sulks in his Tent
To these four purveyors of advice we need to add Big Brother India.
After its military and political misadventures in Sri Lanka in the 1980s
came to grief with the departure of the IPKF and the karmic thunderbolt
of the murder of Rajiv Gandhi by the LTTE, it retired to its tent in
a huff. It sat on its hands while the LTTE, the Frankenstein it had
created, terrorised, killed, built up an international criminal empire,
and made outrageous claims for control over adjacent sea and air space.
Big Brother Rides Again
G4 took advantage of the vacuum and moved rapidly into it, leading
to soul-searching by India. This has led to a noticeably larger Indian
presence, especially after the opening provided by British Bala’s
fake "regrets" for the Gandhi assassination and his appeal
to India to forgive and forget and join the party..
Purveyors of Advice
So we have, as self-appointed advisors to the GOSL, G4 aka the Co-Chairs,
and Big Brother India. For convenience we will term these G4 and BB
respectively when they act separately, and G4+1 when they act in concert.
Consider now the advice emanating from G4+1. The main components are
a number of propositions:
* There is no military solution to the ethnic conflict.
* Stop military action and negotiate with the LTTE.
* A negotiated solution is the only answer.
* The solution should include devolution and/or a new constitution
and/or federation.
* The CFA must continue and be strictly observed
* Norway must continue to be the facilitator.
Manmohan Singh’s Mouthful
Nearly all these ingredients of the G4+1 advice were encapsulated in
Indian PM Manmohan Singh’s remarks to President Rajapakse on the
sidelines of the Non-Aligned Summit at Havana, if we go by a Tamilnet
report of September 18, 2006 quoting the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS)
of the same day. The Tamilnet and IANS reports attribute the following
"advice" by the Indian PM.
* War is not an option.
* Whatever the immediate exigencies [meaning ongoing military successes],
Sri Lanka must aim for a negotiated settlement.
* India agrees the LTTE is a dangerous organisation, but believes the
GOSL should talk to the LTTE.
* The aspirations of the Tamil minority must be taken into consideration,
and the Sinhalese majority must be convinced to make political concessions.
* India strongly backs Norway. Norway, with international backing,
alone has the infinite patience and ability to bring the warring sides
to the negotiating table.
* India regards the CFA as a pre-requisite for a durable solution.
Not a word, note, on the crucial issue of the decommissioning arms
by the LTTE.
Brazen Interference
Now that is quite a mouthful from the leader of the country that recently
announced sanctimoniously that "It is not India’s policy to
interfere in the affairs of other nations." Note how brazen and
deep-rooted the interference is:
* The military option is ruled out at the very time it is producing
results... Apart from the military option being essential when dealing
with terrorists, there is the more general objection that in dealing
with any major problem, all options must be retained.
* The aspirations of the Tamils must be met. Presumably the Indian
PM knows that "aspirations of the Tamils" is an LTTE code-phrase
for Eelam.
* The "Sinhalese majority" must be "convinced"
(an obvious euphemism for "coerced") into making political
concessions.
* India and other countries stand behind Norway as facilitator. Norway,
with its infinite patience, etc., is the greatest!
* Continuance of the CFA is a must. In other words, the de facto partition
of Sri Lanka, the emasculation of the forces, and the Norwegian facilitating
and monitoring apparatus is a pre-requisite for a solution.
In a Nutshell
To paraphrase in blunt language, the Indian PM’s advice amounts
to this: We do not want you to defeat the LTTE militarily; instead,
negotiate with them. Force the Sinhalese to make the concessions the
Tamils want. G4+1 solidly back Norway as the only facilitator on the
planet who can bring about negotiations. The continuance of the CFA
is the pre-requisite for a solution. In a nutshell, go back to the pre-April
2006 situation and take any punishment the LTTE dishes out to you. Discard
your new policies and do as we say.
Lethal Advice
It is obvious that this package of advice would be lethal if followed.
The LTTE and G4+1 would be riding high again, and all the bravery of
the forces would have been in vain. But while dismissing the advice
with the contempt it deserves, and consolidating the gains made in the
past few months, we have to reflect on the implications of the advice.
Two aspects are dealt with below.
Living with Behemoths
First, the countries showering us with bad advice are clearly not to
be trusted an inch, and should be kept at arm’s length. The problem
is their power. The USA is the world superpower, the largest market
for our garments, and the provider of limited but valuable military
training. The EU is also a large market for our garments, and includes
among its members our former colonial master, faithful guardian of British
Bala. Japan was a staunch friend until the advent of Akashi, and remains
the major aid donor to Sri Lanka. India is a powerful regional superpower
which casts covetous eyes on its neighbours. Despite getting a bloody
nose from the LTTE from 1987 to 1991, its current actions show that
it wants to keep the Sri Lankan pot boiling instead of quenching the
fire.
Obviously we have to live with such behemoths, but we can do so with
self-respect instead of the appalling servility of the post-CFA years.
For instance, we could inform them, as many countries do, that interference
and comment on our internal affairs, and hob-nobbing with the LTTE and
its agents, are unacceptable.. Nor should their assistance be sought
on matters which we as a sovereign country should resolve on our own.
Their covert wings, the NGOs, should be closely monitored and required
to disclose their sources of income, their utilisation of funds, and
the credentials of their personnel.
Norway
This leaves Norway, which has no apparent military or economic clout.
Contrary to the Indian PM’s astonishing accolade, the ham-handed
dim-witted Norwegians have no skill in conflict resolution. What they
do have is the power to award million-dollar Nobel Peace Prizes, and
their willingness to pimp for the big powers.
But despite the fanatical backing they have from the big powers, no
matter what (a phenomenon that calls for detailed journalistic investigation
and exposure, and a probe of previous USA-EU-Norway destabilising operations)
we cannot afford to let Norway continue to spread their poison in Sri
Lanka. Norway must go if we are to survive as a nation. And we should
brace ourselves to face the G4+1 dirty tricks that would follow.
Doing the Opposite
The second aspect is the interpretation of G4+1 advice. Politicians
and officials of an earlier era, less naive than their successors of
today, had a simple and cynical approach to the kind of "advice"
we are getting today. It was: What powerful foreigners say is invaluable.
Listen carefully, do what they urge you not to do, and don’t do
what they urge you to do.
If we apply this maxim today, we would carry on with the military option,
be in no hurry to talk with the LTTE unless they adhere to rigorous
conditions, ensure that any political concessions have the willing consent
of the south, retain our present constitution, expel Norway, and scrap
the CFA. It is a scenario worth assessing.
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