A Hambantota Indian consulate to monitor China’s string of pearls

[BanglaBhoot]

When President Mahinda Rajapaksa is being sworn in for the second term as the President of Sri Lanka (SL) on the 19th of November , the ceremonial entry of the first vessel into the Hambantota Port has also been scheduled for the same day. While the Hambantota port project is being expedited with this in view ,the Indian High Commission office in SL is also agog with the objective of opening its Hambantota Consulate office swiftly. It is not sure whether the Indian High Commission is striving to open its consulate office before the opening of the Hambantota Port..

In any event , before Mahinda left for India to attend the Commonwealth games, the Indian High Commissioner in SL made an evaluation of the progress made in regard to the establishment of the Consulate office when he toured Hambantota . Immediately thereafter he flew to New Delhi perhaps to forward the necessary report on the progress made towards the opening of the Indian consulate offices in Hambantota and Jaffna at the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mahinda.

On the first occasion when India proposed to open a consulate office in Hambantota , Mahinda’s Govt. objected to it. But later Mahinda’s Govt. agreed after India intensified its pressure .

Mahinda’s Govt. opposing the opening of an Indian consulate office in Hambantota is justifiable. This is because the SL Govt. is suspicious over the Indian Govt.’s interest in that regard. However India proved the necessity to open its consulate office in Hambantota when a controversy arose in regard to a ship that was anchored at the Colombo Port on 22nd August 2007…

On August 22, 2007, Sri Lankan Navy confiscated a Panamian-registered vessel, MV MOL Admiration, which was carrying suspected military cargo from Karachi in Pakistan to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh. Following a tip off that the consignment may be meant for the LTTE, the Sri Lankan naval officials boarded the ship when it anchored at Colombo Port. The ship’s manifesto listed the consignment as “steel helmets, bullet proof jackets and DMS boots”. The ship did not have any documentation showing the end users. Further questioning revealed that the consignment was from Pakistan Ordinance Factory (POF) at Wah, and it was meant for Bangladesh Army. However, Bangladeshi authorities denied that there was any such order from their side for procurement of the said consignment from the PoF. The matter reached the highest levels in all the 3 countries, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and Colombo refused to release the consignment without end user confirmation from Dhaka. While Bangladesh Army initially refused to give any such confirmation, the Pak Army mounted pressure on the then Interim government led by Gen. Moeen to issue such a certificate. The latter finally relented and issued necessary certification. The consignment was then released and was picked up by a Chinese ship for an undisclosed location. Sri Lankan naval authorities who checked the containers revealed that they contained explosives and hand grenades of `ARGES 84’ type. The explosive material was Penta Erythrital Tetra Nitrate (PETN)

After this bizarre incident , it is reported that India pointed out to Mahinda’s Govt. that China via the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh Harbors can possibly smuggle weapons to the terrorists in India to the detriment of India’s security. Likewise , India drew the attention of Mahinda’s govt. to the exposures made by the May 2008 Jane’s intelligence review regarding the network of arms trafficking Industry of China

Under the title, “Lords of war”, the magazine gave a graphic picture of weapons supplies to warring groups in South America and Asia. The network supplied arms and weapons to both parties of the conflict simultaneously like in the case of the LTTE and Sri Lankan forces. Arms were also supplied to the Taliban in Afghanistan and various insurgent groups active in north-eastern states of India. The Chittagong ship consignment of arms meant for the Indian insurgent group, United Liberation Force of Assam (ULFA), based in Bangladesh originated from China’s state-owned NORINCO. The consignment comprises of assault rifles, RPGs, T-85 sub-machine guns, hand grenades and ammunition.

NORINCO’s international activities were the focus of a diplomatic spat between the US and China in 2003 when US Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance described the corporation as a “serial proliferators”. The Jane’s weekly stated that in Asia, NORINCO often operates through companies that act as subsidiaries or sales agents. “In Bangkok, for example, NORINCO business is represented by HD Intertrade Company Ltd (Thailand).”

Over the Karadhiyanaru explosion , India expressed fears to the Mahinda Govt. pertaining to the large amount of ammunition of Chinese origin which were stored in Karadihiyanaru pointing out that it is suspicion prone. The SL Govt. cannot ignore the grave concerns of the Indian Govt. This is precisely why Mahinda’s Govt. consented to the opening of an Indian Consulate office in Hambantota. It is the conviction of Mahinda’s Govt. that if the Hambantota Port is used in a manner that poses a danger to India’s security, the Indian consulate of Hambantota can by its vigilance provide information to the SL govt. Yet, the Mahinda’s govt. following the handing over of the Hambantota Port project to China , has also allowed China to refurbish and develop the Colombo Port thereby exacerbating the apprehensions and suspicions of India.

To make confusion worse confounded , both Mahinda’s Govt. and China on the other hand are also harboring fears that India could station its spies in its Consulate.

In the event of the Indian consulate office also opening at the same time as Hambantota Port inauguration , there is a great likelihood that the whole world can witness an interesting contest of eyeball to eyeball between two giants of Asia in the coming years.

A Hambantota Indian consulate to monitor China?s string of pearls

 

[RajmaChawal]

‘The Tamils are coming on board'​

An exclusive interview with Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris.

Sri Lankan Minister for External Affairs Gamini Lakshman Peiris says the Tamils at home and abroad are responding favourably to the sincere efforts President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has been making to improve their lot since the so-called Eelam War IV ended 17 months ago.

In an exclusive interview to this writer in New Delhi on Thursday, October 14, he said: “The Tamils' response has been good. They are coming on board.”

Mr. Peiris further declared: “India is the pivot of our foreign policy. India has helped us in our darkest hour.” He was apparently referring to the crucial help India rendered to the island nation during the Eelam War IV that ended in May last year.

“There is close rapport between the political leaders of our two countries,” Mr. Peiris pointed out. He recalled that his predecessor Lakshman Kadirgamar used to say that relations between India and Sri Lanka were “so ancient that they are lost in the mist of time,” and yet so strong.

Explaining the reasons behind the Tamils' change of stance in recent months, he said Mr. Rajapaksa had met Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief R. Sampanthan and TNA MPs twice, and invited their suggestions for totally transforming the north-east from a devastated war zone into a zone of peace and prosperity.

Mr. Peiris quoted the Tamil MPs as telling Mr. Rajapaksa: “Trust us. We will work with you.”

The President's next meeting with Mr. Sampanthan would take place shortly. The TNA leader had been in Chennai for a long time for medical reasons. He returned to Colombo only a couple of days ago.

The Minister said that, in the past, plans were imposed on the Tamils from above. The absence of a two-thirds majority in Parliament had made it impossible for successive governments during the past 25 years to undertake any worthwhile schemes or devolution packages for the north-east.

But, said Mr. Peiris, Mr. Rajapaksa's re-election for a second term in January and a near two-third majority for the ruling combine in the April parliamentary election had brought about a dramatic change in the island's political scenario.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was holding sittings in Colombo, Jaffna and elsewhere. It had already submitted an interim report. Of the 2,97,000 Tamils of the Northern Province internally displaced due to the civil war, only 20,000 remained to be resettled and rehabilitated in their native places.

Tamil-speaking girls were now bread-winners in many families in the North, he noted.

Mr. Peiris, a Rhodes Scholar with PhDs from Oxford and Colombo Universities, said: “We are resuscitating the political process in the North. Local government elections have been held in Jaffna and Vavuniya. They will be held in the remaining districts as well. We hope to conduct provincial council polls in the North as soon as possible.”

As for the nearly one-million-strong Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, the Minister said: “Gotabaya Rajapaksa and I are working on this. We want to engage our Tamil brethren living overseas in our efforts to transform the civil war-ravaged north-east”. (Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is Defence Secretary and Mr. Rajapaksa's brother).

Mr. Peiris said: “We tell them: You have to recognise that the ground situation has changed fundamentally since the war ended. They realise this too, and their response has been good.”

Judging by a Sri Lankan airline's passenger manifest, a large number of Tamils who fled to the West from their villages in the north-east due to the civil war were now flying to Colombo with their wives and children and going to their native places to see for themselves what had been happening since the bloody civil war ended.

And, said the Minister, they were reasonably impressed with what they saw with their own eyes. They now wanted to invest at home, and hoped to return to their homeland in the not-too-distant future.

“At the end of the day, wherever you may live for years and decades, you long to return to your homeland to live in peace and tranquility.”

Mr. Peiris added: “The Tamil diaspora is no longer a monolith. We can engage a substantial segment of the diaspora to change things around.”

Since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was defeated and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran physically eliminated in May 2009, there was durable peace all across the island. There was a mood of optimism. The anxiety and tension that pervaded for nearly three decades was gone, and people were looking to the future with hope, said the Minister.

There was an unprecedented degree of political stability. This was encouraging foreign companies, including those from India, to invest in a big way in a variety of projects in Sri Lanka, the Minister explained.

Investment in infrastructure

“We are putting a multifaceted strategy in place. We are investing hugely in infrastructure projects, like building ports, harbours, a new international airport, agricultural and skill development schemes,” he said.

Mr. Peiris pointed out that it took Sri Lanka 12 years to raise the per capita income to $1,000. After becoming President five years ago, Mr. Rajapaksa undertook a massive transformation at the grassroots level, and succeeded in doubling the per capita income to $2,000. “Now, so much economic activity is going on that we are hoping to double the per capita income to $4,000 by 2015.”

Thanks to the resounding faith Sri Lankans had imposed in Mr. Rajapaksa by electing him to a second term and giving his ruling alliance a near two-third majority in Parliament, and thanks to the recent 18th Amendment, it was now possible to undertake meaningful and long-term plans that would make Sri Lanka a model state of progress and cultural integration, Mr. Peiris opined.

Concluding his 45-minute conversation with this writer at the ITC Maurya, Mr. Peiris said: “The people's confidence in the President is the most conspicuous feature of life in Sri Lanka today. The people are saying, ‘We don't want history to repeat itself as a tragedy. We want a job done. Do it now, and do it well'.”

India has given nearly a billion dollars to Sri Lanka as grants and assistance to help rebuild the infrastructure ravaged during the three-decades of civil war, and to build 50,000 homes for war-displaced Tamils in the Northern Province. Several dozens of Indian companies have so far invested nearly half a billion dollars in several projects across the island. Many more are planning to invest in several sectors of the economy, like tourism, and hotels.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : ‘The Tamils are coming on board'

 

[BanglaBhoot]

How can a banned member post?

‘The Tamils are coming on board'​

An exclusive interview with Sri Lankan External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris.

Sri Lankan Minister for External Affairs Gamini Lakshman Peiris says the Tamils at home and abroad are responding favourably to the sincere efforts President Mahinda Rajapaksa's government has been making to improve their lot since the so-called Eelam War IV ended 17 months ago.

In an exclusive interview to this writer in New Delhi on Thursday, October 14, he said: “The Tamils' response has been good. They are coming on board.”

Mr. Peiris further declared: “India is the pivot of our foreign policy. India has helped us in our darkest hour.” He was apparently referring to the crucial help India rendered to the island nation during the Eelam War IV that ended in May last year.

“There is close rapport between the political leaders of our two countries,” Mr. Peiris pointed out. He recalled that his predecessor Lakshman Kadirgamar used to say that relations between India and Sri Lanka were “so ancient that they are lost in the mist of time,” and yet so strong.

Explaining the reasons behind the Tamils' change of stance in recent months, he said Mr. Rajapaksa had met Tamil National Alliance (TNA) chief R. Sampanthan and TNA MPs twice, and invited their suggestions for totally transforming the north-east from a devastated war zone into a zone of peace and prosperity.

Mr. Peiris quoted the Tamil MPs as telling Mr. Rajapaksa: “Trust us. We will work with you.”

The President's next meeting with Mr. Sampanthan would take place shortly. The TNA leader had been in Chennai for a long time for medical reasons. He returned to Colombo only a couple of days ago.

The Minister said that, in the past, plans were imposed on the Tamils from above. The absence of a two-thirds majority in Parliament had made it impossible for successive governments during the past 25 years to undertake any worthwhile schemes or devolution packages for the north-east.

But, said Mr. Peiris, Mr. Rajapaksa's re-election for a second term in January and a near two-third majority for the ruling combine in the April parliamentary election had brought about a dramatic change in the island's political scenario.

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission was holding sittings in Colombo, Jaffna and elsewhere. It had already submitted an interim report. Of the 2,97,000 Tamils of the Northern Province internally displaced due to the civil war, only 20,000 remained to be resettled and rehabilitated in their native places.

Tamil-speaking girls were now bread-winners in many families in the North, he noted.

Mr. Peiris, a Rhodes Scholar with PhDs from Oxford and Colombo Universities, said: “We are resuscitating the political process in the North. Local government elections have been held in Jaffna and Vavuniya. They will be held in the remaining districts as well. We hope to conduct provincial council polls in the North as soon as possible.”

As for the nearly one-million-strong Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora, the Minister said: “Gotabaya Rajapaksa and I are working on this. We want to engage our Tamil brethren living overseas in our efforts to transform the civil war-ravaged north-east”. (Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa is Defence Secretary and Mr. Rajapaksa's brother).

Mr. Peiris said: “We tell them: You have to recognise that the ground situation has changed fundamentally since the war ended. They realise this too, and their response has been good.”

Judging by a Sri Lankan airline's passenger manifest, a large number of Tamils who fled to the West from their villages in the north-east due to the civil war were now flying to Colombo with their wives and children and going to their native places to see for themselves what had been happening since the bloody civil war ended.

And, said the Minister, they were reasonably impressed with what they saw with their own eyes. They now wanted to invest at home, and hoped to return to their homeland in the not-too-distant future.

“At the end of the day, wherever you may live for years and decades, you long to return to your homeland to live in peace and tranquility.”

Mr. Peiris added: “The Tamil diaspora is no longer a monolith. We can engage a substantial segment of the diaspora to change things around.”

Since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was defeated and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran physically eliminated in May 2009, there was durable peace all across the island. There was a mood of optimism. The anxiety and tension that pervaded for nearly three decades was gone, and people were looking to the future with hope, said the Minister.

There was an unprecedented degree of political stability. This was encouraging foreign companies, including those from India, to invest in a big way in a variety of projects in Sri Lanka, the Minister explained.

Investment in infrastructure

“We are putting a multifaceted strategy in place. We are investing hugely in infrastructure projects, like building ports, harbours, a new international airport, agricultural and skill development schemes,” he said.

Mr. Peiris pointed out that it took Sri Lanka 12 years to raise the per capita income to $1,000. After becoming President five years ago, Mr. Rajapaksa undertook a massive transformation at the grassroots level, and succeeded in doubling the per capita income to $2,000. “Now, so much economic activity is going on that we are hoping to double the per capita income to $4,000 by 2015.”

Thanks to the resounding faith Sri Lankans had imposed in Mr. Rajapaksa by electing him to a second term and giving his ruling alliance a near two-third majority in Parliament, and thanks to the recent 18th Amendment, it was now possible to undertake meaningful and long-term plans that would make Sri Lanka a model state of progress and cultural integration, Mr. Peiris opined.

Concluding his 45-minute conversation with this writer at the ITC Maurya, Mr. Peiris said: “The people's confidence in the President is the most conspicuous feature of life in Sri Lanka today. The people are saying, ‘We don't want history to repeat itself as a tragedy. We want a job done. Do it now, and do it well'.”

India has given nearly a billion dollars to Sri Lanka as grants and assistance to help rebuild the infrastructure ravaged during the three-decades of civil war, and to build 50,000 homes for war-displaced Tamils in the Northern Province. Several dozens of Indian companies have so far invested nearly half a billion dollars in several projects across the island. Many more are planning to invest in several sectors of the economy, like tourism, and hotels.

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : ‘The Tamils are coming on board'

 

[TATA]

When President Mahinda Rajapaksa is being sworn in for the second term as the President of Sri Lanka (SL) on the 19th of November , the ceremonial entry of the first vessel into the Hambantota Port has also been scheduled for the same day. While the Hambantota port project is being expedited with this in view ,the Indian High Commission office in SL is also agog with the objective of opening its Hambantota Consulate office swiftly. It is not sure whether the Indian High Commission is striving to open its consulate office before the opening of the Hambantota Port..

In any event , before Mahinda left for India to attend the Commonwealth games, the Indian High Commissioner in SL made an evaluation of the progress made in regard to the establishment of the Consulate office when he toured Hambantota . Immediately thereafter he flew to New Delhi perhaps to forward the necessary report on the progress made towards the opening of the Indian consulate offices in Hambantota and Jaffna at the meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mahinda.

On the first occasion when India proposed to open a consulate office in Hambantota , Mahinda’s Govt. objected to it. But later Mahinda’s Govt. agreed after India intensified its pressure .

Mahinda’s Govt. opposing the opening of an Indian consulate office in Hambantota is justifiable. This is because the SL Govt. is suspicious over the Indian Govt.’s interest in that regard. However India proved the necessity to open its consulate office in Hambantota when a controversy arose in regard to a ship that was anchored at the Colombo Port on 22nd August 2007…

On August 22, 2007, Sri Lankan Navy confiscated a Panamian-registered vessel, MV MOL Admiration, which was carrying suspected military cargo from Karachi in Pakistan to Chittagong Port in Bangladesh. Following a tip off that the consignment may be meant for the LTTE, the Sri Lankan naval officials boarded the ship when it anchored at Colombo Port. The ship’s manifesto listed the consignment as “steel helmets, bullet proof jackets and DMS boots”. The ship did not have any documentation showing the end users. Further questioning revealed that the consignment was from Pakistan Ordinance Factory (POF) at Wah, and it was meant for Bangladesh Army. However, Bangladeshi authorities denied that there was any such order from their side for procurement of the said consignment from the PoF. The matter reached the highest levels in all the 3 countries, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and Colombo refused to release the consignment without end user confirmation from Dhaka. While Bangladesh Army initially refused to give any such confirmation, the Pak Army mounted pressure on the then Interim government led by Gen. Moeen to issue such a certificate. The latter finally relented and issued necessary certification. The consignment was then released and was picked up by a Chinese ship for an undisclosed location. Sri Lankan naval authorities who checked the containers revealed that they contained explosives and hand grenades of `ARGES 84’ type. The explosive material was Penta Erythrital Tetra Nitrate (PETN)

After this bizarre incident , it is reported that India pointed out to Mahinda’s Govt. that China via the Sri Lankan and Bangladesh Harbors can possibly smuggle weapons to the terrorists in India to the detriment of India’s security. Likewise , India drew the attention of Mahinda’s govt. to the exposures made by the May 2008 Jane’s intelligence review regarding the network of arms trafficking Industry of China

Under the title, “Lords of war”, the magazine gave a graphic picture of weapons supplies to warring groups in South America and Asia. The network supplied arms and weapons to both parties of the conflict simultaneously like in the case of the LTTE and Sri Lankan forces. Arms were also supplied to the Taliban in Afghanistan and various insurgent groups active in north-eastern states of India. The Chittagong ship consignment of arms meant for the Indian insurgent group, United Liberation Force of Assam (ULFA), based in Bangladesh originated from China’s state-owned NORINCO. The consignment comprises of assault rifles, RPGs, T-85 sub-machine guns, hand grenades and ammunition.

NORINCO’s international activities were the focus of a diplomatic spat between the US and China in 2003 when US Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance described the corporation as a “serial proliferators”. The Jane’s weekly stated that in Asia, NORINCO often operates through companies that act as subsidiaries or sales agents. “In Bangkok, for example, NORINCO business is represented by HD Intertrade Company Ltd (Thailand).”

Over the Karadhiyanaru explosion , India expressed fears to the Mahinda Govt. pertaining to the large amount of ammunition of Chinese origin which were stored in Karadihiyanaru pointing out that it is suspicion prone. The SL Govt. cannot ignore the grave concerns of the Indian Govt. This is precisely why Mahinda’s Govt. consented to the opening of an Indian Consulate office in Hambantota. It is the conviction of Mahinda’s Govt. that if the Hambantota Port is used in a manner that poses a danger to India’s security, the Indian consulate of Hambantota can by its vigilance provide information to the SL govt. Yet, the Mahinda’s govt. following the handing over of the Hambantota Port project to China , has also allowed China to refurbish and develop the Colombo Port thereby exacerbating the apprehensions and suspicions of India.

To make confusion worse confounded , both Mahinda’s Govt. and China on the other hand are also harboring fears that India could station its spies in its Consulate.

In the event of the Indian consulate office also opening at the same time as Hambantota Port inauguration , there is a great likelihood that the whole world can witness an interesting contest of eyeball to eyeball between two giants of Asia in the coming years.

A Hambantota Indian consulate to monitor China?s string of pearls

This is very serious issue India should make it clear very strongly that we will not allow this type of anti India activity that too near our border.

While we are helping srilanka in every way they can't take it granted otherwise there are USA, Australia, Europe after Sri Lanka for its human rights abuse and war crimes. We will not shield it forever and LTTE can be return any day.

Sri Lanka have to choose what it want development with peace or civil war and terrorism.