10 March 2013

Time to face the music in Geneva!

A few weeks ago, the word from Delhi on US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka the UNHRC Sessions in Geneva was ‘yes’.  Let us translate: ‘Yes, we will vote ‘yes’ on the resolution’.  No surprises there because a) India voted ‘yes’ in 2012, and b) India is India (read ‘Not Sri Lanka’s friend) and c) this is an INDIAN Resolution, an INDIAN doosra although it is being delivered by the USA. 

The latest though is that India is ‘undecided’.  Now, in diplomatic circles, this indecision would be correctly read as evidence that the main protagonist is trying to extract the maximum juice from the Sri Lankan orange while not appearing to be anywhere near the fruit. 
Delhi has a problem.  It is called ‘Tamil Nadu’.  No, it is not Tamil Nationalism, which has been safely offshored to Sri Lanka.  It is about elections and related arithmetic.  It’s a political reality that figured in the calculations of all Indian political leaders.  So Delhi needs to ‘deliver’ something that’s at least halfway sweet to Jayalalitha.  On the other hand Delhi has to do this without appearing to be the bad guy that Delhi is because that might constitute the last brick in the Great Wall of China that India is building. So Geneva 2013 would ideally (for India) end  with Sri Lanka agreeing to India’s ‘solution’ (plus some other benefits, just like the Indo-Lanka Accord was not just about sorting an ‘ethnic’ conflict) for the price of the resolution being ‘watered down’ or even withdrawn (by the USA, not India, of course!). 

Sri Lanka’s main strength at this point is the fact that it is weak.  In other words Sri Lanka is in ‘Nothing to Lose Land’.  There’s no way that the Government can agree to India’s proposal (a re-hashing of the various Eelam proposals or Interim Eelam proposals) and still hope to retain popularity among all ethnic groups. 
Equal rights by definition cannot exclude anyone.  A 13A Plus, in the way India envisages, would concretize an Eelamist myth regarding traditional homelands. That would threaten the Sinhalese.  That would exclude the Sinhalese.  Equal rights can be obtained in other ways and should be obtained too. Sri Lanka doesn’t need India’s permission or India’s recommendations on such matters. 

We must recollect at this point that those who ruled India (either as whole or in part) have always attacked the Sinhalese; one remembers the Chola invasions and the tyrannies of the likes of Raja Raja and Magha.  Dr. Manmohan Singh is but a 21st Century avatar of these gentlemen. 
President Mahinda Rajapaksa observed recently, ‘Sri Lanka is like a volley ball; everyone is taking turns at punching it to cover up their sins’.  He did not elaborate, but here’s a list that ought to be read by whoever is negotiating defeat for Sri Lanka in Geneva:

We have the German SPD needing to cover up history of killing millions in the 20th Century. We have the USA, wanting us to forget the monumental crimes against humanity in all parts of the world as well as against the First Nations in America and African Americans. We have Britain’s genocidal conduct in colonies and subsequent crimes against humanity as partner-in-crime of the USA. We have India and the Kashmir they want the world not to talk about.

The bottom line though is that given the amount of bucks and weapons of mass destruction these countries possess and given Sri Lanka’s poverties in these respects, the ‘cover up’ will continue.  But since Sri Lanka can only be expected to be goaded to sign agreements against Sri Lanka’s interest, each one more pernicious than the ones that came before, this is as opportune a moment as any to call India’s bluff.

Sri Lanka can take the following position:

‘Go ahead.  Table the resolution. We’ll face the vote, we’ll face the music.  All we can do is do our best and we have.  We’ve done what you have not done, ever. Try rescuing 300,000 people held hostage by the Al Qaeda (or by the US Marines), trying feeding them 3 meals a day.  Try thinking about releasing over 10,000 terrorists after rehabilitation.  Stop. Don’t even try. You cannot.  So let’s cut to the chase.  Let’s take the vote. We want to see who are friends are.  Ms. India, go ahead, vote.  We want to know where you stand, so that we can decided in which direction we should move.  Wait, did we hear someone mention China? Maybe we heard wrong. So, to get back to the point, vote.  We have little to lose, but even in defeat we would like to see the face of the enemy, we would like to know the names of those who did us in.  Simple. 


3 comments:

Bobby said...

Good piece of advice Malinda. That is exactly what the GOSL should do. Even we, the ordinary people are fed up with this Indian and American bull crap. Sri Lanka did a marvellous job by getting rid of the terrorism with minimal collateral damage. For that these bullies are crucifying us. They must be ashamed of their own human right records. The atrocities they committed and continue to commit are numerous. Though they pretend to be great democracies these two countries are rotten to the core. What human rights can India talk about with their caste system and their pathetic attitude towards women (not forgetting Kashmir)? The sins Americans committed towards their own citizens and others in every corner of the world? (Did not know that the Shah was installed by the US and the British who toppled the democratic government of Iran until I saw “Argo” during a recent flight. Also did not know that Abe Lincoln was a Republican and how hard he had to fight to abolish slavery until I saw “Lincoln” in the same flight.)

We should ask these hypocritical bullies to go and fly a kite. At least we got rid of terrorism from our land. Can any of those bullies claim that? I doubt they will be able to say that during this century. (While Obama is trying to bring in Gun Control, some school teachers are issued with guns. Beautiful.) Both the US and India will continue to pay for the abuses they and their forefathers inflicted on people for centuries.

Beg to differ with you on one point. There was one Indian ruler who treated Sri Lanka with respect and love. He was none other than the Emperor Ashoka who sent the son and the daughter to Sri Lanka with the greatest gift of all, Buddhism. For that we are eternally grateful to him.

Anonymous said...

A delightful article. Somewhere in this mosaic jungle, there is a Tamil who feel that he doesn't belong in the country and that he/she needs more rights. Not one iota of these resolutions or the LTTE flags waived by the Diaspora can help that Tamil. Only the Sinhalese and the Tamils together can bring reconciliation.

Anonymous said...

Agree. But not enough, need more.Yes, we have nothing to lose and good to see the real face of "a friend" when the strong keeps beating although we understand that the politics and prostitution has so much in common- R