In the interview given to the “Daily
Mirror” of 22nd July 2013, Vignesvaran, the Chief Ministerial
candidate of the TNA, at the Northern Province Provincial Council elections
further states “If not for the support
of the international community, particularly India, Sri Lanka could not have
got rid of the LTTE so swiftly. So India, on its part although it was not done
in the 80s, it was done in 2009 and therefore, I don’t believe it is a ground
to set aside 13A, which takes root from the international agreement between
India and Sri Lanka. You cannot play the fool with such agreements and without
the permission of India; it is not possible for Sri Lanka to act unilaterally.”
This is queer logic to say the least and by this answer Vignesvaran attempts to
claim that the Indo Sri Lanka Accord is still valid. It would be interesting to
find out what the Accord said in this regard. It is given in clause 2.9.
“2.9 The emergency will be lifted
in the Eastern and Nothern Provinces by Aug. 15, 1987. A cessation of
hostilities will come into effect all over the island within 48 hours of
signing of this agreement. All arms presently held by militant groups will be
surrendered in accordance with an agreed procedure to authorities to be
designated by the Government of Sri Lanka.
Consequent to the cessation of
hostilities and the surrender of arms by militant groups, the army and other
security personnel will be confined to barracks in camps as on 25 May 1987. The
process of surrendering arms and the confining of security personnel moving
back to barracks shall be completed within 72 hours of the cessation of
hostilities coming into effect.”
Though the security personnel were moved
backed to the barracks, as well known, the process of surrendering arms were
not completed within 72 hours of the cessation of hostilities that should have
come into effect within 48 hours of the
signing of the agreement. As subsequent events showed the hostilities were not
ceased within 48 hours of signing the accord and the Accord became defunct
within 48 hours. That meant that there was no Indo Lanka Accord after the 31st
of July 1987. It was India that did not fulfill the requirements expected from
her and thus unilaterally abrogated the Accord. Even if it is assumed that
hostilities were ceased within 48 hours of signing the Accord the LTTE did not
surrender the arms within 72 hours of the cessation of hostilities coming into
effect. It implies that by 4th of August 1987 latest the Indo Lanka
accord became null and void as a result of India unilaterally abrogating it.
Now Vignesvaran defending India that
forced the TNA to nominate him as the Chief Ministerial candidate as Sampanthan
himself has admitted to Thinakural and Virakesari of 22nd of July,
claims that though India did not do what it was required to do in the eighties
it did so in 2009. It is good of Vignesvaran to admit that India did not comply
with the Indo Lanka Accord in the eighties. However India was not given
indefinite time to accomplish its tasks and in terms of the Accord India should
have been in possession of the arms of the LTTE by 3rd of August
1987 the latest. The accord did not envisage of defeating the LTTE in 2009 with
India supporting the Sri Lankan armed forces in the humanitarian operations. In
any event there was no Indo Lanka Accord to be honoured or violated after the 3rd
of August 2009, and even if Vignesvaran’s claim that if not for the support
given by India, Sri Lanka would not have defeated the LTTE so swiftly is
correct, it does not imply that India honoured the Indo Lanka Accord in 2009,
as there was no agreement valid by then. In any event the Indo Lanka Accord does
not mention anything on defeating the LTTE by 2009.
Now what about the claim that if not for
the support of India and so called international community the LTTE would not
have been defeated so swiftly? It is said that India has the fourth largest
army in the world, but we all know that it could not make the LTTE surrender
its arms let alone defeating it militarily. What is the support that the so
called international community meaning the western countries including Japan,
and India gave the Sri Lankan armed forces to defeat the LTTE? The western
countries were interested in seeing the Sri Lankan forces being defeated by the
LTTE but there was no way that they
could directly interfering with the “war”. They supplied everything from arms
to funds not only through the NGOs but directly through their embassies and
even Catholic clergy. At the last moment they wanted to take the LTTE
leadership including Prabhakaran, and Nambiar
the special envoy of the UN Secretary General who is only a puppet of
the USA, was in Sri Lanka with the intention of bringing a ship to take the
LTTE leadership to the west. However it failed and it is this fiasco that led
the Channel Four and other western agencies to come out with propaganda against
the President, the Defense Secretary and the Armed Forces, falsely accusing
them of violation of human rights etc.
India did not want the LTTE to establish
an Eelam (Eylom of Suntharalingam) as it could not handle Prabhakaran the way
it wanted. Prabhakaran was prepared to obey the west but not India as he did
not want his Eelam to be dictated by the big brother. He did not approve of the
Indo Lanka Accord and did not surrender arms to the IPKF. Finally he made sure
that Rajiv Gandhi was killed and he wanted an Eelam established directly
without going through so called devolution of power, federation (confederation),
Eelam, with the assistance of India. He probably knew that an Eelam established
with the help of India would become a state of India together with the other
parts of Sri Lanka realizing the dream of Nehru and his dynasty. In the third
stage of Tamil racism in Sri Lanka, India did not want a non Vellala
Prabhakaran to lead the armed struggle to establish an Eelam.
We have now entered the fourth stage of
Tamil racism in Sri Lanka. At the end of the third stage in the Nandikadal
Lagoon the Government of Sri Lanka gave a political solution to the so called
Tamil problem as “warfare” is nothing but an extension of politics by other
means. All the agreements signed during the second and third stages of Tamil
racism became null and void with the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009. However the
government was not able to convert the political victory into law due to the
non availability of a two third majority at that time and also due to the
hegemonic western knowledge that is imparted to us through schools and the
universities. It is time to abolish the thirteenth amendment, on which there is
no agreement between India and Sri Lanka though it may be a result of the now
defunct Indo Lanka Accord. Sri Lanka does not have to consult India or any
other country to amend its constitution.
In the meantime India has not given up
Nehru’s dream of making Sri Lanka another state of india, and is working
towards that goal slowly and gradually. India would attempt to have leaders of
the so called Tamil speaking community in Sri Lanka according to its whims and
fancies and in this regard they would not tolerate any leader with the
slightest connections with the LTTE or Prabhakaran. India is working on the
formula devolution of power, Federal state or confederation, Eelam, wars
between Eelam and the rest of Sri Lanka, and finally a new state of India in the
Indian Ocean. It could also lead to wiping out of Buddhism in South Asia
finally. The “choice” of Vignesvaran as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the
Northern Province provincial council is the first step in this direction.
Having become the chief minister Vignesvaran will agitate for police and land
powers with the help of India with the intention of establishing a federal
state. It is the “little now more later” policy of Chelvanayakam that India
advocates and it is in the interest of a Unitary Sri Lanka that the government
amends the relevant provisions of the thirteenth amendment if not abolish it
without delay.
Nalin De Silva
31-07-2013