Highlighting What The Indian
Foreign Minister Seems To Have Missed In His Scramble To Please A Few
Blinkered Politicos In Tamil Nadu
In Retrospect By Sarath
Kumara for LankaWeb
October 17th 2008
Is India becoming an entity where its politicians seem to be so confused
about foreign policy that they end up contradicting eachother at times?
If there is any credibility to the report that Indian Foreign Secretary
Shivshankar Menon has summoned Sri Lankan envoy and requested that the
Administration in Colombo should end the Army Operations in the North
it seems to be quite different to the tone of what Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh had in deference to the almost ultimatum like approach
of Menon who should screen his approach to (at least in principle) align
with general Indian Foreign policy.
True enough the Indian Prime minister had suggested that Sri Lanka should
seek a negotiated settlement to the ongoing LTTE problem which he as
well as anyone with any savvy about the goings on in Sri Lanka know
in truth is not possible due to the mendacities and destructive nature
of the LTTE.
Furthermore The Indian authorities should know by now unless they have
been blinkered all along that many negotiation attempts by the Sri Lankan
Government have already taken place which were repudiated by the LTTE
and Sri Lanka has now decised to finish off the terrorist problem through
elimination and in doing so would also be doing India a favour relative
to Regional and National Security so if there are a few paranoid barks
from the Tamil Nadu Politicians who seem to have their wires crossed
and affiliations split about whom to support, whether it should be those
who murdered Rajiv Gandhi or a Sovereign Democratic Nation waging a
war to eradicate the very terrorists who were responsible not only for
Mr.Gandhi's demise but a vast number of other very prominent individuals
who were callously and brutally murdered by the LTTE in their attempt
to destroy a Sovereign Nation and all the related attrocities which
were inhuman, shameful and criminal albeit unsuccesful!
In this respect they should think twice before exposing their transparencies
towards the apathies related and perhaps learn to mind their own business
and stop meddling in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka where the Indian
authorities who started out by asserting that they were with Sri Lanka
in the war to eliminate the terrorists while respecting Sri Lankan Sovereignity
seem to be talking in riddles! They would be better off taking punitive
action aginst the despots in Tamil Nadu who constantly bicker about
India getting into a situation where they would support the LTTE terrorists
which would never augur well in India's favour as the world would view
it as an international interference involving a Sovereign Nation of
which there remain shades of a previous attempt of the exact same nature
which merely brought disrepute as well as chagrin to India in case they
have forgotten.
What India importantly also fails to realize is that in Tamil Nadu there
are some who are far removed from the politicians presently villifying
Sri Lanka's anti terrorist drive who bravely and justifiably continue
to lobby against the wrongs of the misguided Tamil Nadu Politicians.
Those agitating unrest and issuing threats of resignation from Parliament
which speaks much for the divisions of opinion in India about the Sri
Lankan terrorist issue where even their prominent Indian news paper
the Hindu had observed that the Tamil Nadu politicians in question were
wrong in their approach and demands for which some officials of the
Hindu had to face severe criticism from them as well as their supportives
while also taking physical abuse by way of thrown brickbats and missiles
at their headquarters which is truly India's shame!
It also needs to be pellucidated that the excuse being used by the renegade
Tamil Nadu politicians as motivation for their ultimatums to the Indian
Government is inaccurate and misrepresented, namely an anticipated genocide
of the Tamils in Sri Lanka where the truth of the matter is, it is the
LTTE who are capable of just this to suit their own ends where the Sri
Lankan Government is doing everything within its power to protect the
Tamil people of which there is tangible evidence and proof publicly
emphasized by Sri Lanka's President and his team of Administrators together
with the Armed Forces fully aware of the responsibilite involved and
contrary to the false portrayal by the Tamil Nadu politicians whose
only objective seems to be to disrupt the Army's offensive against their
LTTE buddies!
The political temperature rising in Tamil Nadu over the situation in
Sri Lanka is nothing new as history has proved.Tamil Nadu which once
primed and honed the LTTE terrorists towards their idealogies know that
they have failed and that the LTTE are about to be crushed which is
a bitter pill for them to swallow.Hence all the theatrics and crocodile
tears about the innocent Tamil people of Sri lanka when it is the entire
populace of Sri Lanka at risk if the LTTE terrorists are given any more
tolerance towards their existences and permitted attrocities!
When Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon recently summoned Sri Lankan
High Commissioner C.R. Jayasinghe and asked Colombo to "take steps"
to stop the violence that he alleged, has severely affected Tamil civilians
in the island nation it seems more an an act of intimidation than anything
else by India where India is more guilty of tolerating far more serious
issues of far greater proportions of people distress within India and
needing immediate addressing. These relate to ethnic, religious and
cultural differences which often result in extended attrocities between
various enclaves within the teeming masses of humanity that make up
India's very diverse ethnic divide.Has Mr Menon perchance decided to
either shove these under the veritable rug of concealment or as an alternative
decided to bury his head in the sand in the manner of the proverbial
ostrich?In whichever case the transparencies unfortunately seem to be
showing and perhaps time appropriate to set the record straight and
clean out one's own backyard!
While India is entitled to expressing 'grave concerns' over what is
perceived as 'ongoing violence' in Sri Lanka a mere matter of interpretation,
India is also obliged to ascertain the realities behind what really
goes on in Sri Lanka rather than dance to the Nagasalams of a few cockamanie
politicians in Tamil Nadu in an attempt to pay homage to them perhaps
in an connected act of constituent appeasing with a view towards their
vote in the next election which could be interpreted as a certain dependancy
the main political party has on Tamil Nadu and sometimes adopted by
countries like Canada towards similar objectives as an example which
is not only an embarrasment but also a duplicitous attitude involving
the extension of gratuities if this be the case!
Colombo! it needs to be emphasized! for everyone concerned including
Mr Menon's benefit indeed has a need to take very concrete steps to
advance rather than stop the military offensive in Sri Lanka as it involves
primarily a Sovereign Democratic Nation's war of intent against a mendacious
group of nation and region destructive terrorists whose mendacities
could easily become a global menace if permitted to continue as terrorists
without elimination.It also needs to be borne in mind to reiterate what
was said before that these are also the assassins of India's beloved
Rajiv Gandhi where it would be a descecration of his memory and everything
he stood for and perhaps the ultimate Faux Pas of these Tamil Nadu flybynights!
There is no danger to the civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka beyond the paranoias
or exaggerations of the Tamil Nadu politicians to serve whatever purposes
they are pursuing and more than likely puerile as well as nefarious
towards the needs of the LTTE and it needs to be emphasized that in
the areas where the Armed Forces are continuing their advances to eliminate
the LTTE terrorists there are indeed Tamil civilians as well as Muslim
and other ethnicities. ( not thought to be proportionately high as most
of them have sought cover in the safety of Government administered areas
where they have been given refuge) Those who remain are caught in a
crossfire despite the order being givennot long ago for civilians to
clear these areas and ironically it is the LTTE who are holding them
to ransom and in entrapment against their wishes to be used as human
shields against the advancing Armed Forces!
In this respect as well as some of the other pointers mentioned previously,Mr
Menon needs to take a deep breath, and ascertain his facts relative
to the realities of the situation in Sri Lanka while passing them on
to his colleagues in Tamil Nadu rather than imposing on the protocols
of diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka with his somewhat contentious bourgeoisie
attitude which does not seem to echo true Indian Sentiment nor Real
Indian Foreign Policy unless there has been some communicative mix up
which to all intents and purposes has indicated loyalties to the Sri
Lankan Government in the war against terrorism!!
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