Role played by New Delhi needs intensive discussion, says Rajapaksa's Secretary
The Indian intelligence agencies had a big hand in planning and executing terrorist strikes in Colombo in the mid-eighties, the President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said. Reading from a book, Gota's War, at its launch here, he said the role India played in Sri Lanka needed “intensive discussion.” He described the events described in the book as “home truths.”
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was under intense pressure from India, United Kingdom and France to stop the Eelam War IV in April of 2009.
But “he did not cave in to external pressure,” Mr. Weeratunga has revealed.
Mr. Weeratunga was privy to the meetings. The Indian team, led by its then National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan, had arrived here in April, just as the Lok Sabha elections were on in India, and just before Tamil Nadu went in to vote. For different reasons, Foreign Ministers of England and France were here too, with the same agenda.
‘Violated sovereignty'
The book launch function, meant to celebrate Defence Secretary and President's brother Gotabaya Rajapaksa's contribution to the war, turned out to be an India-bashing session: India aided and abetted terrorism, and repeatedly violated Sri Lanka's sovereignty. Its High Commissioner during the period dictated terms to Sri Lanka.
“…When the Vadamarachchi operation commenced, the Prime Minister of India at that time, Rajiv Gandhi, issued a strong statement against the operation…Sri Lanka could have been rid of terrorism [at that time, but for the] high-handed interference of the then Indian envoy, Mr. J.N. Dixit,” said Mr. Weeratunga, to an audience that comprised all top elected leaders and officials and diplomats in Sri Lanka, including President Rajapaksa and the Indian High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha.
Sri Lanka firmly believed that if this operation had gone on, the country could have been rid of terrorism more than two decades ago. Reading from the book, Mr. Weeratunga said: “While the Vadamarachchi operation was on, the Indian Envoy Mr. J.N. Dixit had met President Jayawardene and bluntly told him that India will not stand by idly and allow Jaffna to fall into the hands of the Army, and if the military operation continued, there could be unforeseen consequences. Asked to explain what these ‘unforeseen consequences' could be, Dixit had told Jayawardene that military aid may be given by India to the LTTE leading to the possible dismemberment of Sri Lanka.”
Keywords: India, Sri Lanka, abetting of terror, Lalith Weeratunga
@ SANKARAN, It is pity and sick that you have failed to understand the Sinhala Buddhist Apartheid racism even today. Now there is no LTTE and Tamils live under a military occupation with constant fear in Eelam? After the end of the war Tamils were herded into detention Camps and thousands of innocent Tamils were brutally raped, tortured and murdered.
Glad, at last someone said the truth without mincing words. India nurtured Tamil militants in the seventies and eighties. Chief minister of Tamil Nadu MGR supported big time morally and financially. This was openly done. Tamil militant groups trained in India openly killed each other in the streets of Tamil nadu. If India was honest and loving its neighbour in the Ghandian way, Sri Lanka would not have gone through all the suffering and blood shed.
In the 80s India was misled by short-sighted Tamil leaders and, to a
certain extent, by Keralite diplomats who invariably occupy India's
External Affairs ministry as permanent representatives or God's gift to
diplomacy; almost all the Kerala diplomats failed in Sri Lanka is a well
known secret. However, the repetition of the tragedy is that India still
appeases the indecent requests of the regional parties at the cost of
her national interests. Can we learn from our past blunders and win back
our lost neighbours?
If someone is telling that Tamils in Sri Lanka do not enjoy equal rights, that person is telling a lie. Being a less than 5% of the populations, Tamils enjoy far more than equal rights in Sri Lanka. There is no discrimination for Tamils. They have total freedom of education to obtaining jobs and living in the society.
What happened when the British left was Sinhalese got their lost rights under the British, and the Tamils who enjoyed favourism from British did not like Sinhalese getting equal. That led to a whole disgruntlement where Tamils wanted to maintain their superiority they enjoyed under British.
Now in Sri Lanka, the Muslim population is the biggest comprising 11%. With LTTE destroying the Tamils, the Tamil population in Sri Lanka has gone down to about 5% as they have migrated away. The Estate Tamils who live in Sri Lanka do not identify themselves with the Tamils in the North and East, and they conduct separate lives. The EELAM Tamils cry a non-existent discrimination!
Why is ‘The Hindu’ upset? It’s a common knowledge fact that India
aided and abetted terrorism in Lanka. For a few examples (1) Who was
behind in LTTE killing of 250 civilians at Anurathapuram (2) Who was
behind in TELO killing of Darmalingam MP, Aalasundaram MP (this was
confirmed by his son Siththarthan Darmalingam –PLOTE) (3) Who was
behind in EPDP recruiting Child soldiers which later LTTE followed in
their effort to strengthen their forces. I even go further, who is
behind in Sinhala army killing 146,696 (according to Manner Bishop)
Tamil civilians? Who assisted the Sinhala regime with the diplomatic,
and intelligence to escape International condemnation until March
2012? Even ‘The Hindu’ had given a ‘clean’ certificate after go on a
Sinhala army guided tour to Vanni back in May 2009.
Many Indians do not want to believe the truth about their country's history in the initial training and arming of the LTTE. It was Shekhar Gupta, the renowned editor of India Today at the time, and a writer of unquestioned integrity, who uncovered Indira Gandhi's role in fuelihg the Tamil secessionist movement and published an investigative report documented with photographs, of this connection.
The new book Gota's War from which Mr. Weeratunga read the relevant passages is a record of the history of the 3 decades of war with focus on the battles that led to a final defeat of the LTTE.
That India helped to fuel the conflict, but at the end also helped bring it to a close after realizing the threat to India's security itself and that LTTE violence was out of control as was shown by the murder of Rajiv Gandhi. India's volte face at the UNHRC in Geneva is what has stunned Sri Lankans, who had begun to view India more positively as a genuinely friendly neighbor that could be trusted.
Many Indians do not want to believe the truth about their country's history in the initial training and arming of the LTTEE. It was Shekhar Gupta, the renowned editor of India Today at the time, and a writer of unquestioned integrity, who uncovered Indira Gandhi's role in fuelihg the Tamil secessionist movement and published an investigative report documented with photographs, of this connection.
The new book Gota's War from which Mr. Weeratunga read the relevant passages is a record of the history of the 3 decades of war with focus on the battles that led to a final defeat of the LTTE.
That India helped to fuel the conflict, but at the end also helped bring it to a close after realizing the threat to India's security itself and that LTTE violence was out of control as was shown by the murder of Rajiv Gandhi. India's volte face at the UNHRC in Geneva is what has stunned Sri Lankans, who had begun to view India more positively as a genuinely friendly neighbor that could be trusted.
India has serious foriegn policy issues. For example.... she has no friends in south asia. (Pakistan, Nepal, China, Sri Lanka...etc etc are not happy with India's agression)
Unfortunately, India is a wannabe western country.
The book's claims reaffirm what many Sri Lankans had suspected all this time. This is why Sri Lankan people don't feel they owe the Indians a debt of gratitude for their assistance in the 2007-09 war. As they point out, if New Delhi ignored Tamil pleas in 1987 - as they did in 2009 - Sri Lanka would be in a much better right place now. Although the belated end to the conflict in 2009 has enabled SL to recover it's potential as a developing country, it is now two decades behind where it would have been.
India armed all the tamil militant groups in lanka and also gave a life
line to the militants when the lankan forces surrounded them in the 80's
and so literally india fathered the ltte !! the way to becoming a regional power is not by intimidating the neighbors to epees internal
states. india should help the region and not destroy it !! no wonder
china is growing in strength in the sub continent.
@Mr.Christopher - literacy doesn't mean education. As a literate you should know that. How else would you explain the racism and ethnic cleansing of Tamil, Hindus and even Christian BEFORE the civil war.
You should realize without active participation of India - SL even with all the Chinese and Pakistani weapons wouldn't have dented the LTTE.
The problem now is SL is starting to think they are bigger than their boots forgetting its India that helped them wear the shoes in the first place.
And ofcourse nothing sells books like making someone the bad guy.
Back in early 1980's, LTTE's late leader Prabhakaran was loitering around Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal asking for strategic help as India trying to play safe had avoided making direct assistance to him but had guided him towards the then King of Nepal Birendra to receive the same. On the other hand, India had also made it clear to the King of Nepal that reciprocal cooperation would be provided to Nepal in return for this favour to India which wanted to create Nepal a safe ground for training and supporting the LTTE Army. Nepal being the only Hindu country and Srilankan Tamil being the oppressed Hindus who needed the help to overcome the so called 'Buddhist oppression', this sham hypothesis of brothers helping brothers was propounded by the then govt of India. However, King Birendra being one of the proponents of the SAARC movement did not in any way desire to wage a guerrilla war or at least be a part of it, against a member and friendly country. Nevertheless, the Indian hegemony which loomed, and still looms, large over Nepal did not provide him the chance to do otherwise. Thus the king ordered the then chief of Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Kashi Nath Upadhyay, a Nepali national but highly respected in VHP movement to do the necessary preparation so that the Indian wishes could be realized. In the meanwhile the Srilankan govt got the hints of this preparation and contacted King Birendra on the same matter. King Birendra, feeling highly ashamed of this anti neighborly and anti friendly activity put all the responsibilities of this act on the shoulders of VHP chief and diplomatically cleared his hands off the affair. Consequently, the VHP head was instructed by the Royal Palace to resign from the post for having performed anti national deeds as the matter was turning from bad to worse. Kashi Nath did the same and the matter was closed as far as Nepal was concerned. But India resumed the activity shortly afterwards in an around the hill station of Dehradun for the same purpose from where came the hordes of Tamil guerrillas to hound the Srilankan government. And the rest is the history everybody knows. Let the truth prevail. (Contents from the boigraphy of then VHP chief Kashi Nath Upadhyay)
Mr.SHIVA must understand that LTTE should have fought against its government in the gandian way, as Nelson Mandella did.Indra gandhi,MGR and Rajiv Gandhi did not follow any rule or justice.All Tamil political leaders failed to guide LTTE properky.
When India push to give equal right to Tamils SL Government doesn't like it. Earlier Tamils requested equal rights. Then they go war against them. Now India pushing for equal rights. So now war turn against India.
Truth hurts... When India bashing Pakis for training, terror and accommodating them, they refused and looks feel bad of them selves.. Same here, when SL bashing Inadia, they might feel the same. For all those who concerned rights of SL tamils, would like to mentioned the sovereignty, freedom and rights of Independent countries that India invaded and still keep under oppression for decades...
SL regime has been committing state terrorism on the Eelam Tamils. It is time for the Indian central regime to take action and expose war crimes, human rights abuses, crimes against humanity. India should demand for an International independent investigation in Sri Lanka and bring the regime's leaders to face Justice and accept responsibility.
This is actually 'Praba's war'; how come it became 'Gota's War'
It was no secret that India using RAW and Tamilnadu sponsorship, trained the LTTE and many other terrorist groups to carry out attacks against the sovereign country of Sri Lanka. They created and armed the Sri Lankan terrorists. Those terrorists killed thousands of people. India stopped Vadamarachchi Operation, violated Sri Lankan air space and dropped dhal from air to Jaffna, and saved Prabhakaran by landing an Indian Helicopter in Jaffna and taking the LTTE leader Prabhakaran to India for safety in the 80's. Those acts are not 'friendly' nor 'civilized' by any means. However, the same group killed Rajiv Ghandhi. Killed scores of Indian Army soldiers. India always did politics to keep internal states happy. That is backfiring every step of the way. We should not be afraid to tell India when it is wrong. In Sri Lanka, Tamils have more than equal rights. They are the most privileged minority in the world. Tamil is not an 'official' language, but in Sri Lanka. Whom are we kidding?
Unnecessary intervention of India, had cost life of one former Prime Minister of India as a revenge of killing 10,000+ Eelam Tamils by IPKF. This clash was the product of Jayawardne's super brain and now India, once prime sponsorer of LTTE had to be at the side of Colombo in the Eelam war IV and without Indian interventions and technology support Colombo would never tasted this victory.
@Mr.Christopher,You neither have the stature nor the goodwill which India has.If India had had the same population as Sri lanka we will better developed.Sri Lankans maybe more in no. when it comes reading and writing (your so called literacy rate!!:|)) but there are more Indians when it comes to being grateful.You a pot calling the kettle black? Funny!!! Hello sir after all morality does not come through literacy! which you Sri lankans don't have.
Sri Lanka don't cry.It is okay to commit a mistake once, a fault- not good, blaming anyone without proof, never!.You will have to answer your conscience Mr. if you have one.
India should first mind its own business before poping in another countries issue. @sandilya, India is not a godfather. We know the genocides took place in Gujarat , Bombay & etc.Australian Paster and his children were burnt alive a few yeas back. Thing are not judges on it's size.
The truth is India instigated terrorism and supported it. India is considered a bully by all her small neighbours. Today China has become the trusted friend because of Indian hegemonism. What it means is India will behave like a bull in a china shop.That is why India is the largest arms buyer inspire of many people live below poverty lines If India wishes to be a friend and leader of the smaller nations it must exploit the strong cultural and religious connections. Hegamony will not take her any where.
The truth is India instigated terrorism and supported it. India is considered a bully by all her small neighbours. Today China has become the trusted friend because of Indian hegemonism. What it means is India will behave like a bull in a china shop. If India wishes to be a friend and leader of the smaller nations it must exploit the strong cultural and religious connections. Hegamony will not take her any where.
As for the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka, it was a wellknown fact that conditions of Sri Lankan Tamils used to be far better than Tamils in India before India started supporting few separatist politicians from North to have control over Colombo. Some Naval stations in the North were mainly established in 50s and 60s not against any local Tamil insurgency but to control illegal migrants from TN to Jaffna. Many Indian Tamil plantation workers (in the South) brought by British refused to go back to India after the independence. They were treated practically as slaves by British and became a respectable community since the independence due to many welfare programs implemented by the SL government. In fact they are the majority of the Tamil community in SL now. Of course there has been ethnic tensions between Sinhalese and Tamils due to divide and rule tactics of the British. Rather than helping to reconcile them for the well-being of Sri Lankan Tamils India exploited it against SL.
This is an excuse from them for not giving equal rights to Srilankan Tamils. The main problem is giving equal rights to Tamils. But nobody is talking about this. If this had happened there would not have been a group called LTTE.
Even though we all are against terrorism It will be interesting to look into the facts before the war for Tamil Eelam, how the Tamils were treated and what caused the minoritiy tamils to look for a seperate state.If China was in our place it would have been a different story in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Secretary, is trying not to solve all the real problems (like South Asian countries) that their countries are facing (poverty, unemployment, hunger, thirst and water). Past is past, and there is no sound by clapping one hand.
All of must be focused and truly get rid of the problems (as said before). After it is our own brothers and sisters who are facing and undergoing all these untold ordeals of crisis. The facilitators (politicians and secretaries) must join hand for good cause.
Mukul Kanti Dutta, He has told the truth. Yes, it's bitter and hard to digest, but sadly true. It's also true that India in recent past helped SL resolve the same issue. It's a well grounded fact that Indira Gandhi, with the help of RAW, assisted LTTE run a large network of training camps in TN and provided ample funding for them, becuase SL at that time was seen as pro-US and progressing at a hectic pace. They used LTTE to keep SL in check, which worked well until IPKF landed in SL and as a result, Rajiv Gandhi got bitten off by the very snake they've been feeding all these years. That than resulted in Sonia Gandhi's decision to take LTTE to task. The rest is history! All India did was help SL destroy the demon they created themselves. It's all part of India's changing political game to remain the regional power, but it did a monumental damage to a peaceful neighbour.
It would be foolish to believe that we have been angels all along, and that we are the ones who have been wronged. We do not know for sure what 'Big Brother' tactics the Indian govt employed to our smaller neighbours, meddling in their internal affairs. Are our hands really that clean? Patriotism should never be used as a cover for our faults.
Sensationalism has its reward. More sales and a civillian decoration by the Government. Mr Dixit was right in arm-twisting Jayawardene. India cannot and should not sit idle when genocide was taking place in its doorsteps. India did not hesitate to provide aid to Mukthi Bahini under similar circumstances. This is not sponsoring terrorism but liberating the oppressed.
India has changed sides now and embraced the US, back then India was pro
USSR and actively worked to destabilise Sri Lanka including through
terrorism as Sri Lanka was pro US. India paid for its mistake with the
life of Rajiv Gandhi and only then did it start supporting Sri Lanka to
fight the terrorism that it cultivated. I think the bashing is directed
at the government at the time - which was Indira Gandhi, this is
assuming subsequent governments do not condone it.
Why now? IF India is abetting in terrorism than why Rajpksha's secretary was silent so long. It is clearly visible that India's vote against Sri Lanka provoked them.
Mr Vicky Singh, Yes the smaller nations will blame India, if India has
done some thing wrong to them. If not NO. I am very much inclined to endorse the comments of "p donde". As in the case of Sri Lanka, India did train the LTTE, when Indira Gandhi was in power. Ironically LTTE assassinated a President of Sri Lanka and a Prime Minister of India too.
This is in reply to Mr. Vicky Singh's contention in deciding how to go about in a decent society of a state. It is not the size of a nation that matters, but the brains of its citizenry. Now don’t be mistaken Sri Lanka to any other country of the Asian sub region. For yours as well as other Indians information, Sri Lanka stands sky-high where literacy rate is concerned. If you need to satisfy yourself, then please check up the world's literacy statistics maintained by the United Nations. In this contention - as the adage goes, “as huge as an elephant with a pea of a brain” may fit your expression.
The subject matter here is very clear. Sri Lanka has pointed out clearly India's support for terrorism in Sri Lanka. No other "ills" are mentioned. By all means reply whether or not India supported terrorism in Sri Lanka. Other "ills" in Sri Lanka are better managed in Sri Lanka than India. All Sri Lankans enjoy better health care, education, than Indians in general.All states bordering India has concerns over Indian intereference in their domestic affairs. None consider India a real friend. Face upto facts, Vicky Singh.
India's government policies are based on vote-bank-politics! Unfortunately, although we ourselves suffer from terrorism, looks like the govt did not empathize with our ally Sri Lanka. These allegations must be truthfully investigated, instead of just simply denying them!
Exposing India's sponsorship of terrorism in Sri Lanka is "India
bashing"? How interesting. One would have thought that exposing the
truth should be lauded. For too long has India tried to hide the ugly
role it has played in furthering violence and war in Sri Lanka. Before
pointing fingers at Pakistan for "sponsoring terorrism" India ought to reflect on what it did in sri Lanka by arming, training and funding the LTTE.
Excellent. For all these years we have not heard anything of this sort from Sri Lanka instead our position on Sri Lanka's war against the LTTE was appreciated by successive Presidents and High Commissioners. We helped them carry out their offensive against the Tamil terror outfit much to the chagrin of the world community that was all up against Sri Lanka. We even had to handle significant domestic pressure from Tamil population. Now, everything is being disregarded thanks to India's vote at the UNHRC against barbaric war crimes perpetrated by Sri Lanka. It expected us to side with it and support its horrendous crime against humanity but we did not do it. We showed them we don't have a accommodating mindset when it comes to human rights violation. We cannot be selective in our approach to sanction or allow such atrocities depending on who is committing them. Sri Lanka may be our neighbour but that does not give it licence to kill with impunity. Enough is enough.
We need to reply to this unwanted India bashing by tiny states like Sri
Lanka right now.Otherwise,Nepal,Bhutan and Bangladesh and even Maldives
will stand up tomorrow to blame India for all their ills created by
their own people.
Yes Mr secretary we did..Just like your Govt did a state sponsored genocide on the Tamils to start the war and repeated the same to end the war.
British always followed divide and rule policy in India. The British while leaving India had successfully partitioned India into India and Pakistan. Similarly the British missionaries implanted the seeds of separation in Sri Lankan Tamils that led to the long civil war in Sri Lanka. A new beginning can be made now.
It shows that the current UPA regime is corrupt and collaborated with the SL regime in committing human rights abuses and crimes against humanity against innocent Tamils. Indra Gandhi, MGR and Rajiv Gandhi were sympathetic to the Tamils demand for Democracy, Freedom, Justice, Rule of Law, media freedom, human rights, R2P and Equality and trained and aided the LTTE to mitigate and prevent state terrorism as well as to safeguard the Tamils. The world is aware that Sinhala Buddhist state terrorism since May 2009 and hundreds of thousands of innocent Tamils including women and children were abducted, tortured, raped and murdered. This book is nothing but a praise about the war criminals and brutal mass murderers.
Human rights violence continue under the Rajapaksa clan government if one reads reports by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch which are independent, international organisations. Amnesty's recent report "Locked away sri lanka's security detainees" lists all the state sponsored terrorism in Lanka. But who do we have to blame but ourselves and our incompetant politicians for not supporting the legitimate cause of Eelam Tamils. The establishment of Eelam would have proven to readily stabilise India's regional presence by gaining a loyal ally, not to mention save millions of innocent people from the clutches of racially motivated pogroms. Now Sri Lanka will join every other India's neighbours in cohorts with China against our strategic interests. It is a known fact that Sri Lanka was never serious either about the 13th amendment or equal rights to the Tamil community.
There were hundreds of terror training camps in tamil Nadu as in pakistan today.
India needs to be a good friendly Grand mother , not a bossy frail Brahmin with an attitude of supremacy . While India never talk back to the West, India always shows off to neighbors.
India's behaviour is pathetic towards a brotherly country like Sri Lanka. India needs to show aggression towards countries like PAKISTAN who directs terror towrards it..
It is also a home fact that IPKF has lost thousands of soldiers fighting LTTE cadres. But for the effective naval policing of Indian Navy and choking of sea shipments of arms and ammunition to the LTTE, the IV Eelam war could very well have turned otherwise. Gratitude is a rare commodity these days.
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