SPECIAL REPORT : Part 362
Published
2021/03/31
by Shamindra Ferdinando
Executive Director of the National Peace Council (NPC), Dr. Jehan Perera, last Wednesday (24) explained, in his opinion, why India abstained at a controversial vote at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council.The vote took place on March 23.
The NPC Chief asserted India based its decision on three reasons namely (i) Sri Lanka choosing China to execute USD 12 mn renewable energy projects in Delft, Analativu and Nainativu islands, off the Jaffna peninsula. The joint venture with MS/Sinosar-Etechwin received funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The islands have no access to the national grid (ii) Indian Central Government concerns for its own Tamil population and (iii) a section of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government demanding the abolition of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the failure, on the part of Sri Lanka to, fully implement the law.
Dr. Perera said so in response to TV 1 ‘Newsline’ anchor Faraz Shauketally’s query ‘why did India let us down?’ The NPC spokesperson described Sri Lanka’s relationship with China as nothing but a terrible mistake. Both China and India are nuclear powers, with the former also being a member of the UN Security Council.
The NGO activist compared Sri Lanka allowing China access to Jaffna islands with the Cuban missile crisis (16 October – 20 November 1962) between the then Superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union. The conflict is considered the closest the ‘Cold War’ came to escalating into a nuclear war. The unprecedented crisis erupted when the Soviet Union deployed ballistic missiles, in Cuba, in response to the US positioning missiles in NATO member states, Italy and Turkey. The missile crisis should be also examined against the backdrop of a failed US assault on Cuba (aka Bay of Pigs invasion), which ended in total embarrassment for Washington, no sooner it started.
Dr. Perera certainly owed the public an explanation how he arrived at the conclusion that raised many an eyebrow. Can there be anything as preposterous as such a comparison. Perhaps, the NPC Chief should explain his stand on the Access and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), with the US, finalized in early August 2017, now suspended Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and the Compact and Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The NPC position is vital as that of other like-minded organizations/persons as they frowned on the Sri Lanka-China relationship.
13 A continues to rattle Lanka
Sri Lanka’s wartime Permanent Representative in Geneva, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, too, faulted the incumbent government for India’s decision to skip the vote on the latest accountability resolution.
Appearing on Sirasa ‘Pathikada’, anchored by Asoka Dias, Jayatilleka, having referred to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s meeting with Indian leader Narendra Modi in late Nov 2019, claimed lucidly how the incumbent dispensation antagonized India by varying statements regarding the 13th Amendment and Provincial Council polls. Jayatilleka asserted that twice President Mahinda Rajapaksa would have responded to Premier Modi’s query on the 13th Amendment in a different manner. Jayatilleke maintained that public statements made by Public Security Minister Rear Admiral (retd.) Sarath Weerasekera, Defence Secretary Maj. Gen. (retd.) Kamal Gunaratne and Foreign Secretary Admiral (retd.) Jayanath Colombage influenced not only India but other members of the UNHRC as well against Colombo. Jayatilleka also faulted the government for not properly assessing the forthcoming Tamil Nadu elections.
The writer sought clarification regarding veteran political commentator Jayatilleka’s status, particularly whether he expressed those views as Senior Advisor on International Relations to Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa. Jayatilleke said that he was not interviewed in his capacity as Senior Advisor to the Opposition Leader, nor did he respond in that capacity. “I have no position in the SJB. I am not a member of, nor organizationally affiliated, to any political party,” Jayatilleke, who led Sri Lanka to victory at the 2009 Geneva vote, in the immediate aftermath of Sri Lanka’s triumph over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said. Sri Lanka lost four subsequent votes with last week’s one being the worst, slammed Jayatilleka, who also served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Moscow during the yahapalana administration (Sept 2018-January 2020), courtesy then President Maithripala Sirisena.
Tamara Kunanayakam had been our Permanent Representative, in Geneva when Sri Lanka lost in 2012, and Ravinatha Aryasinha when Colombo lost in 2013 and 2014— all under the same President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was in office when Jayatilleka fought a valiant fight in Geneva and won in 2009. C.A. Chandraprema, a former colleague of the writer, is the current PR in Geneva.
But certainly a defeat at the UNHRC cannot be squarely blamed on the PR as decisions are taken on the basis of policies adopted by respective governments. The 2015 Geneva betrayal is far worse than any defeat inflicted on war-winning Sri Lanka.
Reiterating commitment to the Geneva resolution, co-sponsored by the yahapalana administration in Oct 2015, Dr. Perera urged the government to ensure the implementation of that resolution though the incumbent administration withdrew from it in Feb 2020 for the obvious reason of not meekly surrendering to Western agenda against this country. Dr. Perera asserted that the government could reach consensus with what he called a responsible Opposition in that regard. Dr. Perera was obviously referring to not only the main Opposition party, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB), but all those who backed Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 presidential election.
It would be pertinent to mention the NPC, established in 1995 receives funding from the British (member of the UNHRC and leader of Sri Lanka Core Group), USAID (US spearheaded the campaign against Sri Lanka, although not being a member of the UNHRC), EU (EU members Austria, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland voted for the resolution), the Asia Foundation, UN Peace Building, Legal Action Worldwide et al. Dr. Perera established the NPC having had served Sarvodaya under Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne for seven years (1988-95). The NPC, one of the biggest recipients of foreign funding, particularly from Norway, played a crucial role in the disastrous Oslo-led peace process (2002-2003) and caused shock and dismay in Aug 2005 when it declared the LTTE’s assassination of the then Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar tragic but inevitable.
Can the NPC be faulted for pursuing the agenda of those who fund the organization? Dr. Perera’s participation at a meeting, called by UNP leader and the then PM Wickremesinghe, during the leadership struggle in the run up to the 2019 presidential poll, cannot be ignored as one examined the full picture.
India guided by two principle considerations
Let me reproduce the relevant section from the statement made by New Delhi’s PR in Geneva Mani Pandey, before the Geneva vote. It explained India’s decision to skip the vote having made an abortive bid to put off the vote. The relevant section verbatim: “India’s approach to the question of human rights in Sri Lanka is guided by two principal considerations. One is our support to the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, dignity and peace. The other is in ensuring the unity, stability and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. We have always believed that these two goals are mutually supportive and Sri Lanka’s progress is best assured by simultaneously addressing both objectives. India supports the call by the international community for the government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments on the devolution of political authority, including through the early holding of elections for Provincial Councils and to ensure that all Provincial Councils are able to operate effectively, in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.”
The UK headquartered Global Tamil Forum (GTF) further explained India’s role that had a bearing on many UNHRC members. GTF spokesperson Suren Surendiran stated: “GTF would like to express its appreciation and gratitude to all progressive forces that made this current outcome possible – the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, the core group of countries, all countries who voted for and/or co-sponsored the resolution, the countries that abstained without voting against the resolution, eminent persons and dedicated human rights organizations who championed the cause, and, more importantly, the victims of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka who despite the time lapse and the risks involved, continue to provide inspiration by bravely fighting for human rights and accountability.
“Tamils are grateful to the Government of India for supporting an escalation of the Tamil demand for equality, justice (accountability), dignity and peace at a multilateral international forum, like the UNHRC.
“By specifying India’s support to the international community, calling on the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments to devolve political power to the Tamils and to allow those devolved powers to be operationalized effectively, according to the 13th Amendment of the constitution, is very significant.
“By making a public statement before the vote and by abstaining, India has clearly shown its displeasure with the lack of progress on addressing the alleged violations of human rights and international laws and the non-implementation of Sri Lanka’s numerous public commitments of the past in addressing the grievances of the Tamil people.
“Tamils are grateful to the Tamil Nadu political parties, particularly the DMK President M.K. Stalin, for the recent statement calling on the Government of India not to support the Government of Sri Lanka by voting against the resolution.”
Why are all silent on Delhi’s role?
However, there hadn’t been any reference in ‘Newsline’ or ‘Pathikada’ interviews or in statements made by Surendiran and Pandey to India’s murderous role in Sri Lanka that resulted in the nearly three-decade long war. The bottom line is that if not for India there wouldn’t have been Nanthikadal where the victorious Sri Lanka Army (SLA) annihilated the LTTE leadership. Sri Lanka hopefully dealt with the LTTE for once and for all.
However, Sri Lanka lacked political will at least to set the record straight, in spite of being unmercifully harassed by Western powers and India. Those who had been pursuing a political agenda, since the successful conclusion of the war, at the UNHRC, conveniently refrained from making any reference to India’s despicable role here. Successive, Sri Lankan governments, too, remained silent, as regards Indian and other foreign involvement, and, thereby facilitated a relatively smooth anti-Sri Lanka project.
Before further discussing the deterioration of Sri Lanka due to India’s terrorist project here, let me remind you what one-time Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Shivshankar Menon (1997-2000) stated about Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning in relation to India and how Sri Lanka could threaten India. Against the backdrop of Menon’s assessment, Dr. Perera’s bid to compare Chinese on Jaffna islands with the Cuban missile crisis is rather alarming.
Sri Lanka never responded to Menon’s accusations in ‘Choices: Inside the making of India’s foreign policy,’ launched in Oct 2016. The veteran diplomat asserted India wanted a change of government in Sri Lanka due to then President Mahinda Rajapaksa going back on his pledge in respect of Sri Lanka-China relations. Menon accused Rajapaksa of breaking his solemn pledge, in May 2014, five years after the successful conclusion of the conflict. Menon’s assertion that Sri Lanka is an aircraft carrier, parked 14 miles off the Indian coast, clearly underscored New Delhi’s serious concerns regarding Sri Lanka being too close to China.
Menon, who had been India’s National Security Advisor, from January, 2011 to May, 2014, refrained from revealing a specific incident/or incidents which revealed Sri Lanka’s duplicity in May 2014. Incumbent Ajit Doval succeeded Menon. Doval is on record as having told Gotabaya Rajapaksa (during the first Rajapaksa administration) Sri Lanka being a small country does not need big infrastructure projects. Doval also had the audacity to urge Gotabaya Rajapaksa to do away with major Chinese funded projects, including flagship USD 1.4 bn Colombo Port City. Having commented on the conduct of former President Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Menon accused Sri Lanka of reneging on bilateral understanding with India. Menon directly alleged that the former President received Chinese funds for his political campaigns, and projects. The veteran diplomat didn’t indicate when the war-winning President first received Chinese funding.
Both Dr. Perera, who had represented the Sri Lanka delegation, to the 2016 Geneva session under the then Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, and Dr. Jayatilleka, warned the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government of dire consequences unless Sri Lanka acted swiftly and decisively to address international concerns. Both pressed the government to adhere with the consensus reached in respect of the 2015 resolution, whereas Dr. Jayatilleka emphasized the pivotal importance in acting on the recommendations made by the late Sir Desmond de Silva, QC, in the Paranagama report (second mandate). Jayatilleka explained how yahapalana Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe and FM Mangala Samaraweera squandered an opportunity to exploit those recommendations. Alleging Wickremesinghe and Samaraweera buried internationally accepted Sir Despond de Silva’s report on Sri Lanka’s execution of the war from an international legal angle, Dr. Jayatilleka asked why the incumbent government suppressed such valuable recommendations. Dr. Jayatilleka underscored the importance in the proper use of available reports, including the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) findings that dealt with the conflict. The writer, when he sought a clarification from PR Chandreprema, was told the six reports, including the Paranamaga second mandate report, were submitted to UN member states.
Lanka’s treacherous failure
Actually, the government conveniently failed to exploit a number of other credible reports available in the public domain such as wartime (January-May 2009) British High Commission dispatches (and sections yet to be released), US Defence Advisor Lt. Col. Lawrence Smith’s revelations in Colombo in 2011, UN report on Vanni war (August 2008-May 13, 2009), Wikileaks and UNSG Panel of Experts (PoE) denying examination of war crimes allegations till 2031 to present a far stronger case. ‘Newsline’ and ‘Pathikada’ programmes didn’t discuss Sri Lanka’s pathetic and treacherous failure to use credible evidence provided by those propagating lies to counter the Geneva project. The SJB and JVP, too, conveniently refrained from raising the issue. In fact, no one bothered to point out accountability accusations are nothing but a joke in the wake of the Tamil speaking electorate covering the northern and eastern electorates, including Jaffna, overwhelmingly voting for war-winning Army Commander at the 2010 presidential election after having accused him and his army of genocide and just a couple of months after the SLA permanently dispatched Prabhakaran.
The Western project receives the backing of a section of the parliament with some members openly blaming the military for genocide. They haven’t been taken to task. Irresponsible political leadership discarded what one-time UN bigwig Jayantha Dhanapala told the LLRC in August 2010. The first Rajapaksa administration never bothered to examine and exploit post-war developments. Their failure to utilize Lt. Col Smith’s declaration at the first Colombo Defence Seminar in May-June 2011 that there had never been an agreement between the SLA/Government and the LTTE as regards a formal surrender and battlefield executions didn’t take place, was never used. The government was silent on this at the recently concluded Geneva sessions, too.
Having sponsored terrorism in Sri Lanka and as a result lost a former PM and over 1,500 officers and men and 3,000 wounded during the Indian Army deployment here (July 1987-March 1990) , India had no qualms in preaching to Sri Lanka of accountability. Can India absolve itself of the responsibility for its murderous conduct in Sri Lanka and men, trained by them, raiding the Maldives, in early Nov 1988. They made an abortive bid to assassinate the then Maldivian President Gayoom. Perhaps Sri Lanka should at least now take note of Dhanapala’s declaration at the LLRC.
Commenting on the responsibility to protect concepts, Amb. Dhanapala said: “Now I think it is important for us to expand that concept to bring in the culpability of those members of the international community who have subscribed to the situation that has caused injury to the civilians of a nation. I talk about the way in which terrorist groups are given sanctuary; are harboured; are supplied with arms and training by some countries with regard to neighbours or with regard to other countries. We know that in our case this has happened, and I don’t want to name countries, but even countries who have allowed their financial procedures and systems to be abused in such a way that money can flow from their countries in order to buy the arms and ammunition that cause the deaths, the maiming and the destruction of property in Sri Lanka are to blame and there is therefore a responsibility to protect our civilians and the civilians of other nation states from that kind of behaviour on the part of members of the international community, and I think this is something that will echo with many countries in the Non-Aligned Movement where Sri Lanka has a very respected position and where I hope we will be able to raise this issue.”
Dr. Jayatilleka, who had been Minister of Planning and Youth Affairs of the short-lived EPRLF administration of the Northeast Provincial Council, between 1988 and 1989, reminded the government of the need to prepare proper defence as Geneva formed a Special Office to deal with Sri Lanka consequent to the passage of the resolution. Jayatilleka pointed out how the new Office, backed with UN funding to the tune of USD 2.8 mn, could gather information and evidence and use them to move courts in 22 countries (those who backed the resolution) unless Sri Lanka addressed accountability issues within the stipulated period.
Perhaps Sri Lanka should bring to the notice of the new Office what one-time India’s High Commissioner in Colombo, J. N. Dixit, revealed in his memoirs, ‘Makers of India’s Foreign Policy,’ launched in 2004. Dixit asserted that the decision to give active support to Sri Lankan Tamil militants could be considered one of the two major foreign policy blunders made by the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But he strongly defended the Prime Minister’s action, while asserting Gandhi couldn’t have afforded the emergence of Tamil separatism in India by refusing to support the aspirations of Sri Lankan Tamils [Chapter 6:An Indo-centric Practitioner of Realpolitik-Makers of India’s Foreign Policy]. Dixit failed to explain how the Prime Minister hoped to achieve her twin objectives by recruiting, training, arming and deploying thousands of Sri Lankan Tamil youth. India also helped Sri Lankan terrorists establish contact with international terrorist groups.
Adele’s hand in Gandhi assassination
Did India actually cause terrorism here in the 80s to create an environment conducive for the deployment of its Army in Sri Lanka? How many Tamils perished in the hands of the Indian Army? Those demanding action against perpetrators of violence should explain how they expect to deal with those ex-Tamil terrorists living in India, Europe, Canada, Norway, the US at al. Infamous of them all is Adele Balasingham, wife of LTTE theoretician, the late Anton Balasingham, a one-time British High Commission, Colombo, employee. Adele in spite of her role in building up LTTE women’s cadre, lives under British protection. Can British assure the world Adele didn’t have a hand in choosing the suicide bomber who blew up Rajiv Gandhi in South India May 1991. The members of that LTTE squad tasked to assassinate Gandhi were killed in subsequent Indian operations. Those killed in the Indian hands are probably among the list of missing persons along with the suicide bomber!
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS
In the final analysis despite what all the pseudo-experts say coloured by their own hiden agendas, such as even singing for their supper, it is quite obvious that Sri Lanka had no chance in hell in Geneva as the UNHRC is more or less a tool of the West and it did not matter what evidence, even if they were gilt-edged, we had in our defense, the West, particularly the US and the UK, was all-out to turn a Nelsonian Eye to whatever our pleadings. They had in fact convicted us long before all these charades there to hoodwink the gullible.
Premier Mody and, more importantly, the South Block in New Delhi, should realise if they have not done so already, the Americans only want to drag China and India into an internecine conflict or a much bigger quagmire by encouraging their rivalry – a typical tried and tested British tactic that helped it to plunder much of the world. This way they must be watching with glee the possible killing of two birds with one stone!
Lastly, remember how the Americans, in particular, used Pakistan for so long into the 90s to project their global agendas, which included their dream of breaking up India and then dropped that country like a hot brick.
