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Sri Lanka engages India on UN report
MK Bhadrakumar
The visit of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris to Delhi came at a juncture when the relationship between the two countries is delicately poised. Colombo faces a sudden reversal of fortunes. The war against the LTTE was decisively won and overall security situation is better than at any time in living memory. So indeed political stability, since Mahinda Rajapaksa won thrice within the past year or so presidential, parliamentary and local body elections. His prestige and authority is at an all-time high. But then came the so-called expert report sought by the UN Secretary general relating to the dark period of the last phases of the war the fashion, so to speak, in which the war against LTTE was won. How Sri Lanka, which is very astute in international diplomacy, blundered into this booby trap set in the West boggles the mind. Anyway, a big handle is now available with the US to chastise Colombo and a Democles sword literally hangs on the SL leadership, threatening trial for war crimes.
After a lot of rhetorical initial posturing by SL leadership, Colombo seems to have decided to switch to the diplomatic track to try and finesse the situation to its advantage by constructively engaging the world powers who are influential. Why not? SL is a gifted country which has an extraordinary grasp of the potentials of diplomacy. The soft-spoken, scholarly, articulate Peiris is also Colombos trump card. (Despite AIDMK leader Jayalalithas demand that Rajapaksa should be tried for war crimes, Peiris wrote a nice letter to her, congratulating her on her magnificent election victory and seeking to work with her for the welfare of the people of the two countries.)
Significantly, Peiris started his Odyssey with Delhi from where he has proceeded to Beijing. This isnt surprising. From Colombos perspective, Indias stance is going to be very crucial while Chinas can be helpful. Indeed, Chinas stance, arguably, would also be influenced by the stance India takes. Colombo is keenly hoping that Delhi would take a stance that puts paid to the scandalous UN expert report.
So far, Delhi has been sitting on the fence, literally dangling its feet, lost in thoughts. Indications are that Peiris succeeded in getting the Indian leadership to begin talking. The fact that a joint statement has been issued speaks of a broad convergence. Peiris told the media that Delhi showed empathy and understanding. The joint statement underscores that Delhi sought to broaden the discourse to cover the entire range of issues in the India-SL relationship including even the ubiquitous Indian expectation of SL support for its bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and to set a sense of direction in which the ties can be advanced, and within which, of course, the ruckus over the UN report can be tackled.Delhi took pains to publicise that the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.
This is all for the good. Delhi would have sized up that Colombo is receptive to the Indian counselling more than at anytime in the past 2-year period since the war was won about the imperative of a genuine national reconciliation in a spirit of give-and-take and with a long-term vision that would settle the Tamil problem. The joint statement reflects the Indian thinking and it is significant that SL concurs. Specifically, it must be noted that the joint statement singled out that A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation.
The joint statement suggests that Delhi would have advised Peiris that the best means of responding to the UN report would be to have a Sri Lankan initiative of national reconciliation and an expeditious inquiry of its own into war excesses. However, the two countries are not holding their broader relationship a hostage to the present impasse over the UN report. Strategic ties are also being enhanced, including in areas such as energy and defence. Most certainly, India needs to engage SL as deeply as possible and it is only within such a matrix that optimal influence can be put on Colombo in a climate of trust and confidence to accelerate a fair settlement to the Tamil problem.
In my opinion, India should not be party to any big power pressure tactic toward Sri Lanka. The fact is that Delhi actively assisted rightly or wrongly Colombo to win the war. And having done that, it is improper to ride the high horse. It is simply inconceivable that Delhi was unaware of the brutalities of the Lankan war. India has fought more counterinsurgency wars than any other country in modern history and would know such wars are invariably very brutal. In this particular case, there is also a moral dimension insofar as Indian policies toward the LTTE were never really consistent and Delhis good-neighbourliness toward Colombo also had its tragic twists and turns in the period since 1983.
At the end of the day, national reconciliation in SL remains a very complicated process and Delhi can only cajole Colombo up to a point. The point is, SL is a genuinely functioning democracy. Rajapaksa cannot be compared to Slobodan Milosovich. Injecting geopolitics into the Sri Lankan situation is fraught with unforeseeable consequences and should be avoided. Delhis priorities lie in ensuring regional stability and in using its good offices to try to resolve SLs Tamil problem. The recent election results in Tamil Nadu testify that there is still a sizable swathe of Indian hinterland which taps into Tamil alienation in Sri Lanka. Indeed, it seems to have been a factor behind the rout of the Congress party in the southern coastal region.
Sri Lanka engages India on UN report - Indian Punchline
MK Bhadrakumar
The visit of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris to Delhi came at a juncture when the relationship between the two countries is delicately poised. Colombo faces a sudden reversal of fortunes. The war against the LTTE was decisively won and overall security situation is better than at any time in living memory. So indeed political stability, since Mahinda Rajapaksa won thrice within the past year or so presidential, parliamentary and local body elections. His prestige and authority is at an all-time high. But then came the so-called expert report sought by the UN Secretary general relating to the dark period of the last phases of the war the fashion, so to speak, in which the war against LTTE was won. How Sri Lanka, which is very astute in international diplomacy, blundered into this booby trap set in the West boggles the mind. Anyway, a big handle is now available with the US to chastise Colombo and a Democles sword literally hangs on the SL leadership, threatening trial for war crimes.
After a lot of rhetorical initial posturing by SL leadership, Colombo seems to have decided to switch to the diplomatic track to try and finesse the situation to its advantage by constructively engaging the world powers who are influential. Why not? SL is a gifted country which has an extraordinary grasp of the potentials of diplomacy. The soft-spoken, scholarly, articulate Peiris is also Colombos trump card. (Despite AIDMK leader Jayalalithas demand that Rajapaksa should be tried for war crimes, Peiris wrote a nice letter to her, congratulating her on her magnificent election victory and seeking to work with her for the welfare of the people of the two countries.)
Significantly, Peiris started his Odyssey with Delhi from where he has proceeded to Beijing. This isnt surprising. From Colombos perspective, Indias stance is going to be very crucial while Chinas can be helpful. Indeed, Chinas stance, arguably, would also be influenced by the stance India takes. Colombo is keenly hoping that Delhi would take a stance that puts paid to the scandalous UN expert report.
So far, Delhi has been sitting on the fence, literally dangling its feet, lost in thoughts. Indications are that Peiris succeeded in getting the Indian leadership to begin talking. The fact that a joint statement has been issued speaks of a broad convergence. Peiris told the media that Delhi showed empathy and understanding. The joint statement underscores that Delhi sought to broaden the discourse to cover the entire range of issues in the India-SL relationship including even the ubiquitous Indian expectation of SL support for its bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council and to set a sense of direction in which the ties can be advanced, and within which, of course, the ruckus over the UN report can be tackled.Delhi took pains to publicise that the talks were held in a cordial atmosphere.
This is all for the good. Delhi would have sized up that Colombo is receptive to the Indian counselling more than at anytime in the past 2-year period since the war was won about the imperative of a genuine national reconciliation in a spirit of give-and-take and with a long-term vision that would settle the Tamil problem. The joint statement reflects the Indian thinking and it is significant that SL concurs. Specifically, it must be noted that the joint statement singled out that A devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would contribute towards creating the necessary conditions for such reconciliation.
The joint statement suggests that Delhi would have advised Peiris that the best means of responding to the UN report would be to have a Sri Lankan initiative of national reconciliation and an expeditious inquiry of its own into war excesses. However, the two countries are not holding their broader relationship a hostage to the present impasse over the UN report. Strategic ties are also being enhanced, including in areas such as energy and defence. Most certainly, India needs to engage SL as deeply as possible and it is only within such a matrix that optimal influence can be put on Colombo in a climate of trust and confidence to accelerate a fair settlement to the Tamil problem.
In my opinion, India should not be party to any big power pressure tactic toward Sri Lanka. The fact is that Delhi actively assisted rightly or wrongly Colombo to win the war. And having done that, it is improper to ride the high horse. It is simply inconceivable that Delhi was unaware of the brutalities of the Lankan war. India has fought more counterinsurgency wars than any other country in modern history and would know such wars are invariably very brutal. In this particular case, there is also a moral dimension insofar as Indian policies toward the LTTE were never really consistent and Delhis good-neighbourliness toward Colombo also had its tragic twists and turns in the period since 1983.
At the end of the day, national reconciliation in SL remains a very complicated process and Delhi can only cajole Colombo up to a point. The point is, SL is a genuinely functioning democracy. Rajapaksa cannot be compared to Slobodan Milosovich. Injecting geopolitics into the Sri Lankan situation is fraught with unforeseeable consequences and should be avoided. Delhis priorities lie in ensuring regional stability and in using its good offices to try to resolve SLs Tamil problem. The recent election results in Tamil Nadu testify that there is still a sizable swathe of Indian hinterland which taps into Tamil alienation in Sri Lanka. Indeed, it seems to have been a factor behind the rout of the Congress party in the southern coastal region.
Sri Lanka engages India on UN report - Indian Punchline
