Manmohan Singh set to skip CHOGM meet in Sri Lanka

[rockstarIN]

Its election time and SL better understand this and hope they will behave responsibly.

 

[takeiteasy]

the threat of Tamil nationalism made Congress to budge to their motive. in fact, Tamilnadu should be more integrated to rest of India. (fake)Dravidian movement has made whole generations learn wrong nationalism. education all gave wrong Dravidian edited History classes. blame Periyar & co for that. now, Tamils believe they are "Dravida" people who are older than sanskrit and are the original sumerians. Tamil nationalism is the enemy of Kerala,Karnatka and another nation Srilanka also. quarantine this fake nationalism for the sake of united India.

 

[Skyline]

He has to give up one, Sri Lanka or Tamils in Tamilnadu. so he has given up Sri Lanka, that is the best option for their country. I do not see anything wrong with Indian PM's decision.

 

[livingdead]

He has to give up one, Sri Lanka or Tamils in Tamilnadu. so he has given up Sri Lanka, that is the best option for their country. I do not see anything wrong with Indian PM's decision.

exactly. He cannot possibly go there when tamil parties and his own colleagues counsel against it. He is not a dictator. 

spineless f@ggot this guy is

I would prefer if he does not meet another faggot Mr Rajapaksa and get romantic...

 

[Gibbs]

exactly. He cannot possibly go there when tamil parties and his own colleagues counsel against it. He is not a dictator. 

I would prefer if he does not meet another faggot Mr Rajapaksa and get romantic...

Rajapaksa may be a dictator and many may hate him but he is no faggot.. He has shown the middle finger to the western powers and LTTE diaspora funded so called INGO's for nearly 4 years now unwavering unlike the spineless geriatric poof Manmohan Singh, Who take orders from a Italian woman and is bending over the arse to the Americans and regional extremists

Cometh the circumstances commeth the the man.. The country needed a ruthless thug to get rid of a megalomaniac like Prabhakaran and we got it in Rajapaksa.. He did the job.. Someone that you Indian can only dream of.. Thats why some of you hold such a grudge

 

[Echo_419]

He has to give up one, Sri Lanka or Tamils in Tamilnadu. so he has given up Sri Lanka, that is the best option for their country. I do not see anything wrong with Indian PM's decision.

Wow that was very mature
I thought SL members will troll
Don't mind PM this is election year anything is possible
On topic
Our FM is still going there

 

[livingdead]

Rajapaksa may be a dictator and many may hate him but he is no faggot.. He has shown the middle finger to the western powers and LTTE diaspora funded so called INGO's for nearly 4 years now unwavering unlike the spineless geriatric poof Manmohan Singh, Who take orders from a Italian woman and is bending over the arse to the Americans and regional extremists

Cometh the circumstances commeth the the man.. The country needed a ruthless thug to get rid of a megalomaniac like Prabhakaran and we got it in Rajapaksa.. He did the job.. Someone that you Indian can only dream of.. Thats why some of you hold such a grudge

we got enough strongmen in India... I hope they never come to power....
but yeah to me rajapaksa is a faggot for having blood of weak and innocent in his hands...

 

[Jaggu]

Those who are opposing PM's move, what are you view of the human rights abuses against the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka? I have seen video interviews of people who have described how they were tortured and raped by Sri Lankan army. It is very disturbing to say the least.

 

[Azizam]

we got enough strongmen in India... I hope they never come to power....
but yeah to me rajapaksa is a faggot for having blood of weak and innocent in his hands...

oh yeah LTTE was killed accidentally while the army was busy shooting civilians  

Those who are opposing PM's move, what are you view of the human rights abuses against the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka? I have seen video interviews of people who have described how they were tortured and raped by Sri Lankan army. It is very disturbing to say the least.

I can post plenty of such videos against India as well especially the latest trending topic that starts with "r" and ends with "e".

 

[Bang Galore]

Those who are opposing PM's move, what are you view of the human rights abuses against the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka? I have seen video interviews of people who have described how they were tortured and raped by Sri Lankan army. It is very disturbing to say the least.

So, how does this help? We are not blameless in such matters either. The human rights issue in SL is tragic but I would be concerned primarily if there was evidence that such abuses were going on now, not that they were committed in the heat of a bloody war.

 

[Jaggu]

So, how does this help? We are not blameless in such matters either. The human rights issue in SL is tragic but I would be concerned primarily if there was evidence that such abuses were going on now, not that they were committed in the heat of a bloody war.

Take a look at this video on the BBC site.
BBC News - 'Tamils still being raped and tortured' in Sri Lanka

See how Tamil women are raped and the brutal method of torture they employ on Tamils. I'm not against Sinhalese people. It's good the civil war is over. But is the rape and torture necessary? No army in the world no matter how heated up the war is should employ such tactics during or after the war against their fallen foe. What is wrong is wrong. It should not be justified by saying: Oh we do it too so nothing wrong if SL army does it. If we are doing it, then it's still wrong.

 

[Skyline]

Wow that was very mature
I thought SL members will troll
Don't mind PM this is election year anything is possible
On topic
Our FM is still going there

On the other hand, if I'm correct Tamil percentage is around 7% (?) in India, so if their voice overrides rest of majority then it's a failure of India.

 

[Bang Galore]

Take a look at this video on the BBC site.
BBC News - 'Tamils still being raped and tortured' in Sri Lanka

See how Tamil women are raped and the brutal method of torture they employ on Tamils. I'm not against Sinhalese people. It's good the civil war is over. But is the rape and torture necessary? No army in the world no matter how heated up the war is should employ such tactics during or after the war against their fallen foe. What is wrong is wrong. It should not be justified by saying: Oh we do it too so nothing wrong if SL army does it. If we are doing it, then it's still wrong.

Not defending anything. Just that a boycott is meaningless. It's not that we do the same, it is just that we are in no position to sit on a high horse. My point is that acting like we are now will make no difference to the SL government except for embarrasing them which might actually result in us having less influence over them. The PM could have visted Jaffna & let the Tamil populace there know that they are not without friends. Our aim must be to practically help those SL tamils who still live in SL rather than pandering to the emotions of the diaspora or the parties in TN which would be counter productive for the SL tamils residing there . We must be very clear headed about such matters, not run around like headless chickens.

 

[Gibbs]

Not defending anything. Just that a boycott is meaningless. It's not that we do the same, it is just that we are in no position to sit on a high horse. My point is that acting like we are now will make no difference to the SL government except for embarrasing them which might actually result in us having less influence over them. The PM could have visted Jaffna & let the Tamil populace there know that they are not without friends. Our aim must be to practically help those SL tamils who still live in SL rather than pandering to the emotions of the diaspora or the parties in TN which would be counter productive for the SL tamils residing there . We must be very clear headed about such matters, not run around like headless chickens.

Well lets see IF the Govt changes next year, The incumbents will have a more prudent national agenda, And keep national interests a priority, Than sacrifice it for cheap politics to appease regional extremists.. For India's sake

Because the weak and meek India we see now will have repercussions on the whole region 
Indian blunder in Sri Lanka
By Harsh V Pant

Published: 11th November 2013 06:00 AM

Last Updated: 11th November 2013 12:31 AM

So finally the Indian government decided that partisan politics is far too important to be sacrificed at the altar of national interest and took the decision that external affairs minister Salman Khurshid will head the Indian delegation at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in Sri Lanka next week instead of prime minister Manmohan Singh. This decision was taken in view of the opposition by parties in Tamil Nadu as well as a section in Congress and further underscores the weakening of the authority of the PM. The external affairs ministry has justified the decision by suggesting that in 10 summit-level meetings since 1993, the PM represented India five times while on four occasions, ministers had headed the Indian delegation. But the decision which has been taken under pressure will have long-term consequences for Indian foreign policy which politicians in their attempt at political tokenism are failing to comprehend.

This decision comes after India voted with 24 other states in May in favour of the controversial United Nation Human Rights Council resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The main aspect of Indian intervention was the need for the institution of a credible and independent investigation into alleged war crimes and human rights abuses. If last year, New Delhi had tried to amend the West-sponsored resolution to make it less intrusive, more balanced and more respectful of Sri Lankan sovereignty, this year it was trying to do the opposite: bring in amendments to make some words in the resolution stronger. It reportedly pushed for seven written amendments in six paragraphs of the resolution. But if this was aimed at the domestic political landscape, it clearly failed to have any impact as both the AIADMK and the DMK accused the UPA government of “diluting” the US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC by not moving any amendment demanded by it.

As a consequence of such domestic political posturing, India has not only marginalised itself in the affairs of Tamils in Sri Lanka but has also made sure one of its most important neighbours will move further into the arms of China. After repeatedly opposing country-specific resolutions at the UNHCR and other such bodies, India ended up setting a dangerous precedent that will come back to haunt it. India’s foreign policy stands bereft of principle and pragmatism.

As it is Sri Lanka has been rapidly slipping out of India’s orbit. India failed to exert its leverage over the humanitarian troubles that the Tamils trapped in the fighting were facing. New Delhi’s attempts to end the war and avert humanitarian tragedy in north-east Sri Lanka proved futile.

Colombo’s centrality between Aden and Singapore makes it extremely significant strategically for Indian power projection possibilities. After initially following India’s lead in international affairs, even demanding that the British leave from their naval base at Trincomalee air base and air base at Katunayake in 1957, Colombo gradually gravitated towards a more independent foreign policy posture. And it was India’s enthusiasm for China that made Sri Lanka take China seriously but after the Chinese victory in its 1962 war with India, Colombo started courting Beijing much more seriously.

And now China has displaced Japan as Sri Lanka’s major aid donor with an annual package of $1 billion. Bilateral trade has doubled over the last five years with China emerging as the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka. China is now supplying over half of all the construction and development loans Sri Lanka is receiving.

Chinese investment in the development of infrastructure and oil exploration projects in Sri Lanka has also gathered momentum. China is providing interest free loans and preferential loans at subsidised rates to Sri Lanka for the development of infrastructure. It is the first foreign nation to have an exclusive economic zone in Sri Lanka. China is involved in a range of infrastructure development projects in Sri Lanka — constructing power plants, modernising Lankan railway, providing financial and technical assistance in launching of communication satellites.

China is financing over 85 per cent of the Hambantota Development Zone to be completed over the next decade. This will include an international container port, a bunkering system, an oil refinery, and international airport. The port, deeper than the one in Colombo, is to be used as a refuelling and docking station for its navy.

Though the two sides claim that this is merely a commercial venture, its future utility as a strategic asset by China remains a real possibility to India’s consternation. For China, Hambantota will not only be an important transit for general cargo and oil but a presence in Hambantota also enhances China’s monitoring and intelligence gathering capabilities vis-à-vis India.

India has expressed its displeasure about growing Chinese involvement in Sri Lanka on a number of occasions. In 2007, India’s national security adviser openly criticised Sri Lanka for attempting to purchase Chinese-built radar system on the grounds that it would “overreach” into the Indian air space. Yet Sri Lanka has emerged stronger and more stable after the military success in the Eelam war and the two elections at the national level. To counter Chinese influence, India has been forced to step up its diplomatic offensive and offer Colombo reconstruction aid. With the LTTE out of the picture, India has been hoping that it will have greater strategic space to manage bilateral ties.

However, where New Delhi will have to continue to balance domestic sensitivities and strategic interests, Beijing faces no such constraint in developing even stronger ties with Colombo. As a result, India is struggling to make itself more relevant to Sri Lanka than China.

Colombo matters because Indian Ocean matters. The “great game” of this century will be played on the waters of the Indian Ocean. Though India’s location gives it great operational advantages in the ocean, it is by no means certain that New Delhi is in a position to hold on to its geographic advantages. China is rapidly catching up and its ties with Sri Lanka are aimed at expanding its profile in this crucial part of the world.

India’s decision to not attend the CHOGM summit at the prime ministerial level will not only make India even more marginal in Sri Lanka with some grave long-term damage to its vital interests but will also raise doubts about India’s ability to lead South Asia.

The author is a reader in international relations, department of defence studies, King’s College,

London

Indian blunder in Sri Lanka -The New Indian Express

 

[Jaggu]

On the other hand, if I'm correct Tamil percentage is around 7% (?) in India, so if their voice overrides rest of majority then it's a failure of India.

Sinhalese population is 15 million and that's not even part of India. Compared to 72 million Tamil Nadu population in India. So obviously for India the Tamil population should matter more.