Commonwealth Summit in Sri Lanka Source: by G. Parthasarathy: The Tribune Tamils in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province have struggled for over five decades to secure the grassroots devolution of power. Sri Lankan Tamil leader Chelavanayakam was able to negotiate agreements with Prime Ministers Bandarnaike and Senanayake in 1957 and 1965. In the 1965 agreement, Sri Lankan Tamils agreed to the devolution of limited powers to the District Councils, with the use of Tamil permitted in the district courts. But even these expectations were not fulfilled. It was only after the direct Indian involvement and facilitation that meaningful powers were devolved to the Provincial Councils in Sri Lanka under the 13th Amendment of its Constitution. A persistent Indian diplomatic effort and growing trust and confidence between New Delhi and Colombo eventually led to Provincial elections being held in the Northern Province last month. The ostensibly separatist Tamil National Alliance was swept to power in these elections. Thereafter, on October 7 a highly respected Tamil jurist and former Supreme Court Judge, Justice C.V. Wigneswaran was sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Northern Province in the presence of President Rajapakse. It is, however, still imperative to replace triumphalism in the ethnic conflict by statesmanship and reconciliation. The elections in September were considered internationally as free and fair despite efforts by the Sri Lankan army to intimidate voters and candidates. Moreover, the TNA has shown statesmanship in the aftermath of the elections. TNA spokesman Sumanthiran rejected separatism and reaffirmed commitment to a united Sri Lanka, where Tamils can live in freedom and dignity. Justice Wigneswaran made it clear that he did not share objections of others about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attending the Commonwealth Summit. Interestingly, there are differences now between views in Jaffna and in Tamil Nadu not only on participation in the Commonwealth Summit, but also on the issue of fishermen from Tamil Nadu. There are still protests about the action taken by the Sri Lankan Navy against Tamil Nadu fishermen intruding into Sri Lankan territorial waters, adjacent to the Tamil dominated Northern Province. But, Chief Minister Wigneswaran blames Tamil Nadu fishermen for inflicting misery on Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen. He bluntly asserted that fishermen from Tamil Nadu, using big trawlers “came early into Sri Lankan waters, caught all the fish and left the (Sri Lankan Tamil) people high and dry.” He added that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister “has a crucial role in addressing the issue of Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters”. There now appear to be good prospects for dialogue between fishermen in Tamil Nadu and Jaffna to address mutual concerns. The Jaffna Tamils and the Sri Lanka Government are now making common cause to deal with what they believe are illegal intrusions by fishermen from Tamil Nadu. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid paid a brief visit to Jaffna recently after talks in Colombo. He exchanged views with Chief Minister Wigneswaran on the substantial Indian assistance being channelled to the Northern Province, primarily for relief, rehabilitation and infrastructure. India has extended credits totalling $960 million for upgrading rail communications and renovating and extending rail services from Colombo and across Sri Lankas Tamil-dominated Northern Province. As part of the rehabilitation effort in the war-torn Northern Province, India is renovating Palaly airport and the Kankesanthurai harbour. It is also financing the construction of 50,000 houses and has provided medical assistance, one million roofing sheets and agricultural implements, for displaced Tamils. While in Colombo, Mr. Khurshid finalised details for the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Sampur, through a joint venture between Indias National Thermal Power Corporation and the Ceylon Electricity Board. The primary interest of the regional leadership in Jaffna is to secure effective and enhanced Indian economic assistance and prepare for hard bargaining for the promised devolution of powers. Indias primary commitment to Sri Lankan Tamils is the implementation of the 1987 Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardene Accord, under which Provincial Councils were established and empowered under the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lanka Constitution. Sri Lanka has not fulfilled its commitments to India as it has not empowered to Provincial Government to administer key areas like law and order and lands. Moreover, the massive presence of the Sri Lankan army and its propensity to intimidate the population, as it did during the provincial elections, is matter of serious concern. Quite obviously, these are issues of serious concern and can be addressed only if India misses no opportunity to get Sri Lankas partner countries and more importantly, its neighbours, on occasions like the Commonwealth Summit on November 15-17 to persuade Colombo to move in the right direction. The 53-member Commonwealth of Nations is committed to discussing issues, including “democracy, human rights, good governance and the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and world peace.” The Colombo Summit is a forum where only one (Canada) out of 53 member governments will not be participating. The other Heads of Government will meet privately at a “retreat”, which will be a useful occasion to collectively persuade President Rajapakse to fulfil his commitments on the ethnic issue. New Delhi faces a peculiar dilemma in the Prime Minister attending the Commonwealth Summit. Not only is the Sri Lankan Government keen on Dr. Manmohan Singh attending the Summit, but Chief Minister Wigneswaran and his colleagues in Jaffna are keen that Dr. Manmohan Singh visits Jaffna, after the Summit, to discuss their concerns and developmental needs. A visit of Indias Prime Minister to Jaffna, symbolising Indias commitment to their welfare, will give a great boost to the morale of the people of the Northern Province. But, strong voices in Tamil Nadu, some influenced by well-endowed expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils, would like the Prime Minister to boycott the Commonwealth Summit. In Sri Lanka Indias commitment has consistently been to securing the devolution of powers to the Northern Province in accordance with the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Constitution, and to the security and welfare of displaced Tamils in Sri Lanka. Emotive and partisan electoral considerations, rather than rational reasoning about what really the Sri Lankan Tamil leadership in Jaffna wants from India, should not guide the conduct of Indias relations with Sri Lanka. More importantly, India’s policies in its neighbourhood must be guided by its larger national security interests and the prevailing regional and global realities. Sri Lanka is strategically located and India needs a policy of diplomatic and economic engagement and not self-inflicted estrangement with Colombo as China increases its influence and naval presence across the Indian Ocean region.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 10:09:17 +0000
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