Noting that talks to find a negotiated political solution to the Tamil ethnic question are deadlocked, the Indian parliamentary delegation, which wound up its six-day tour of Sri Lanka, has emphasised to the government that the stalemate has to be ended.
“We told [Sri Lankan] President Mahinda Rajapaksa that this stalemate has to be broken,” said the leader of the delegation, Sushma Swaraj.
“He [Mr. Rajapaksa] said we can't bring them [the Tamil National Alliance, the credible representative of the Tamils living in the Northern Province] by force. I said yes, you can't bring them by force, but you can bring them by persuasion,” she added.
This was the theme running through the visit, she explained. “Persuade the TNA, persuade the UNP [United National Party, the main Opposition party], to join the talks. And unless and until the Parliament Select Committee (PSC) works, the deadlock will remain. So in every meeting, we have emphasised on this point,” she added.
In a joint statement, the delegation hoped that the government would “seize this window of opportunity and follow an enlightened approach to reach a genuine political reconciliation, based on a meaningful devolution of powers, which takes into account the legitimate needs of the Tamil people for equality, dignity, justice and self-respect. We have been assured in the past that this will be done within the framework of “Thirteenth Amendment – Plus.”
Asked if she or the delegation brought up with the President the fact that he had made promises of devolution and a political solution in May 2009 (to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon), in July 2010 (to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh), in January 2012 (to External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna), she said: “We emphasised this point in every meeting. Even today with Mahinda Rajapaksaji and, as you rightly said, we also reminded them that you have given assurance to the Prime Minister of India, the Hon. External Affairs Minister of India and even to me, as the Leader of Opposition [in the Lok Sabha] when I called on him,” she said.
“But they say that Parliamentary Select Committee will discuss this and they said that we are very, very serious. We said that you are not only talking about 13th Amendment but also 13th Amendment plus. That means something more than the devolution of power,” she added.
The delegation also pressed the TNA to rejoin the talks. It appealed to all parties to join the process in the PSC. “He [TNA leader R. Sampanthan] reiterated thrice that he wants a negotiated settlement and that too within the parameters of an undivided and united Sri Lanka. And he said that he is a proud Sri Lankan. We told the government side that if these are the parameters, then there should not be any problem. There is every scope of moving forward,” she said.
Army interference
One of the many points the delegation raised in the meeting with the President related to the Army's increasingly embedded role in society in the Northern Province. “We told them [the government] that Army is interfering in their [Tamils'] personal life, in their civil life. And the President was very candid. He said he would see to it that the Army would not interfere in their civil life,” Ms. Swaraj said.
On the resettlement programme, she noted that the pace of development “is good,” but “a lot remains to be done.” “There is the question of some missing persons also,” she added. On the question of refugees in India returning, she said that if the conditions in Sri Lanka were conducive, then the refugees would have returned. “It is for the Sri Lankan government to create the conditions that they return to their own homeland,” she said.
Asked to comment on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's comments, dismissing the delegation, she said that she would speak to the Chief Minister. “I will specially speak to madam Jayalalithaa that this visit is not a picnic trip; it is not a junket,” she said.
Keywords: India-Sri Lanka relations, MPs visit, Sri Lankan Tamils; issue, Eelam War IV, displaced Tamils, TNA
Indians darn well knows where the limits are when dealing with SL on one-on-one basis. It is not a surprise that their so called "high powered" delegation didn't make an impact on Sri Lanka's politicians. Not a surprise that they couldn't even get an audience with the President of Sri Lanka.
It should be noted that Politicians of both contries should make honest effort to settle issues in Sri Lanka.Every conuntry, state has problems. The media projection of Sri Lanka has been negative since the demise of civil war, due to poor, communication policy of Lankan Government. They should educate Tamil Nadu, before Indian Central Government or the world community. People of both countries should know, what is their political masters talk. if not Sri Lanka becomes a another CUBA to India, if politicians are allowed to sell rights of Tamils to remain in power in time to come.
They went ; they saw ; they returned. That is it. Nothing will happen Nothing will change. The End.
It is so predictable to see the sinhalese defending their chauvinism, and that too in an Indian newspaper. Talks to their extreme insecurity that they will be judged for their crimes. Instead of expecting the wounded and defeated Tamil people to extend any goodwill to the chauvinist racist sinhalese, it is for the Srilankan government to ensure they are reinstated as normal citizens first. Security forces questioning civilians going to temples ? This sounds like a concentration camp, not a civilian locale in peacetime. The sinhalese have wasted no time in installing budhist stupas and temples all over the North and East in traditional Tamil majority towns and villages, and have brought huge colonies of sinhalese settlers to provoke the Tamil people, themselves struggling to survive. And the armed forces protect sinhalese fishermen as they crowd out the Tamil fishermen who now blame India, as they cannot blame the sinhalese. This is like East Timor before the referendum and UN action.
RG Menon refers to two documentaries which were produced by UK's C4 Television: There are two documentaries first one, was shown last year "Sri Lanka's Killing Fields", second this year - Sri Lanka's Killing Fields-war crimes unpunished. The entire Indian popolation should watch these two documentaries and draw conclusions-how brutal the crime was.They must then decide how the Sinhala regime will treat Tamils in Sri lanka in years to come. One should not forget the anti-Tamil riots unleased on innocent Tamils who lived among the Sinhala people in the South in 1957,1958, 1977, & July 1983, the latter one caused the Tamils to support LTTE looking for armed protection against Sri Lankan state's armed forces.The readers who point to some Tamils presently living among the Sinhala should note that these Tamils are very nervous of the the past race riots and concerned of the future. Tamils want to live with peace and diginity, not controlled politically by regimes elected by voters in south.
@shammera: 50%+, not 60% live in Colombo mainly, not the other parts of the West. The reason being that the army in cahoots with Douglas, Karuna and Pillayan run the North and East with iron fists. That is why the tamils move away from those areas. Remove the army and the Government sponsored paramilitaries and see what happens to that 50%. If tamils are so happy in Sri-Lanka, why did this delegation clearly state that they sensed a lingering fear among the tamil people?
The article states: "We told them [the government] that Army is interfering in their [Tamils'] personal life, in their civil life. And the President was very candid. He said he would see to it that the Army would not interfere in their civil life," Ms. Swaraj said. The AFP news service has reported today that Rajapaksa has publically told Sri- Lankan media that he told Ms. Swaraj that he will NOT remove the army from the North. So again, just like the many other previous trips by S M Krishna and others, Rajapaksa says one thing to visiting Indians and completely the opposite publically to the media right after, making the Indians look like fools.
Indian Politicians are wasting their time and efforts and SL regime will never listen and never treat Tamils equally with respect and dignity. The best soltuion is to this either annex Eelam with Tamil Nadu or have a separate state for the Tamils.
Best is for India to get UN security council to decide the course of implementation of existing promises by Sri Lanka govt. and take the necessary action as has been done in Kosovo,Serbia,Libya and now Syria. Devolution is no bad word. Look at Scotland within the UK, works well.
I find it very difficult to understand how a delegation of Indian MPs come to advise Sri Lanka,when they have not lifted a finger to help the poverty stricken tamils in Tamil Nadu. How is it also that these MPS were very blind or looked the other way when Tamil Nadu allowed LTTE terrorist camps with thousands of terrorists training with their leader the megalomaniac prabakaran to resort to a terrorist war against a sovereign nation. In the major cities in Sri Lanka the population of Tamils is 60% living peacefully with the Sinhalese. So isn't it senseless for the Tamils to be greedy and selfish to claim for any devolution of power on an ethnic Tamil demography. There simply cannot be any mono-ethnic Tamil enclaves in the north and east of Sri Lanka. It is a fact that the Jaffna Tamil cannot live peacefully with any other ethnic race. They want a minority to live like the majority. The solution is a distribution of all ethnic races in the north and the east to solve this problem.
LTTE was cruel. It destroyed not only Sinhalese familes but Indian armymen's families as well. But when similar crimes are committed by a government it is smmething more than criminal. Rajapakse talks like Hitler. He has virtully dismissed the Indian delegation with contempt. He is a hero in the eyes of Sinhalese people, but history will record him as another Pol Pot. After watching the documentary on the Tamil killings, I felt it was a holocaust. Perhaps we can call it Tamilocaust. The Lankan government should start the repair job immediately. Else, whatever goodwill it has in India will be eroded.
more than 60% Tamil community living in the Colombo and in the Western
Sri Lanka. most of leading business men,educated people are Tamils in
the country.Tamil Nadu brothers come and see what is the real situation
in the country.stay few days major cities of the country.......both Tamils and Sinhalese live with peacefully.
Army in any part of the world is trained to speak through the barrel
of the gun. Their presence among the civil population will certainly
no conducive to bring about normalcy. The armed presence after a
bitter civil war is only fueling resentment. Right now Lankan chauvinistic leaders are are basking in the aftermath glory of
vanquishing LTTE completely forgetting to win the heart of the
Tamils. They have won the battle but lost the war. With wisdom conspicuously absent, Sri Lanka is headed for prolonged period of
instability.
These visits will do no help unless Indian Govt takes the issue seriously. These visit is nothing short of adding insult to injury to an already wounded tamil people in lanka. Better do away with such touristing in a war torn nation.
As UPA has no clue how to handle TAMIL crisis, Govt. has rightly sent Sushma opposition leader.People should appreciate persuasive skills of Sushma and not botherred by comments of Jayalalitha or Karunanidhi who have lost lime light in Sonia's eyes or UPA Govt. view.
Whatever said and done, Sri Lanka is a sovereign state with its own responsibility to the welfare of its citizens. They have demonstrated their ability of control lawlessness within its borders. India which has no clue hoe to control the Maoists and their terror activities does not appear to have any right to advise the Sri Lankans how to control their people engaged in terrorist activities. Instead, India could seek the advice and help of the Sri Lancans to bring the Maoists to their knees rather than aggravating them. Their problem is their problem and they know how to control it.
The readers should respectfully understand that the Sri Lanka has been an open land for Tamils and other minorities to buy land, build homes and do businesses and live among Sinhala majority in all parts of the country. But, the Sinhala people cannot live in their own country at their will freely and have been subjugated by threat, violence and murder by the Tamil minorities in the North and East of their own (everyone born in SL) country. Until the majority Sinhala people see the Tamils reciprocate the goodwill that the Sinhala majority has shown to minorities in Sinhalese areas there will be mistrust and animosity. Nobody address this…….
Tamil politicians live in North and East cannot play this game as long as the majority Sinhala people see the discrimination by Tamils in their own country. This question has to be addressed first, to satisfy the Sinhala people who have already welcomed Tamils to live and do their businesses in Sinhala areas for a long time. Thank you.
Well done Sushmaji. You have shown a way for both parties to come to
the table and discuss matters. Afterall at the ground level people are
like brothers and sisters. It is only the leaders who draw the line of
divide between them. If the leaders really act in good faith the
solutions can be find in no time. India can only be a dogooder and a
well wisher. It cannot dictate terms to any of the two parties
involved. Let people not put onus on the Indian team to fulfil their
ambitions. First and foremost as Anna said Let us forgive and forget
and move forward. Enough is done to decimate the tamils in srilanka by
both tigers and singalese.
The Indian MPs have wasted time and effort in Sri Lanka during the last four days. Sihalese will not recognise Tamils as equal citizen ever unless there is strong support for an Independent Tamil Eelam from the International Community, including India.
They saw the real situation in Sri Lanka and genuing effort taken to heal the wounds of 30 years of conflect. This is a setback for LTTE propaganda and Tamilnadu bancrupt polititions who tries to create hatred between two communities and gain for a political mileage and diverge attention of TAmilnadu people from extream poverty, lawlessness and corruption created by them in Tamilnadu. All forget the fact that 54% of Sri Lankan Tamil population is living in Sinhala dominated areas peacefully. If TAmilnadu people are really concerned about Sri Lankan Tamils, they should help the builing up of brotherhood between Sinhalese and SriLankan Tamils and not to distrupt the peace by cultivating and promoting hatred without knowing the real facts, after getting deceived by mass scale pro LTTE propaganda in Tamilnadu.
The entire exercise is nothing more than a cosmetic operation.
The entire exercise is nothing more than a cosmetic operation.
It is unfortunate that the visit by indian MPs led by Sushma Swaraj failed to create positive impact on Rajapaksa and his government. They succeeded in convincing the Indian team, but Indian team failed to convince the Singalese leadership.
Sri lankan is well aware of the weakness of the Indian govt. and the helpless situation of the Tamils. Unless India take rigid stand and fix time frame for all the daunting questions faced by the Tamils, there is no relief for them in sight. Sri lanka is dodging deliberately all these years. We need a dynamic and vibrant envoy in Colombo. India need able and tough trouble shooters and skillful negotiators at the international level. Opposition leader Sushma should meet the CM Jayalalithaa and appraise the developments to her, as Tamilnadu Assembly passed resolution on Lankan Tamils and refrained from joining the Team on valid grounds. later day developments justified her action. Tamils know well SL will not solve their problem. Our aid will never help them
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