Indo-US Geneva Resolution and Sri Lanka’s strategic options

By Shenali Waduge

The UNHRC Resolution against Sri Lanka is nothing about “accountability” “pace of implementation” or any of the gibberish international statements claims to project. If so, despite resolutions against Israel on “accountability” the UNHRC has done nothing against Israel. Instead Israel has broken ties with UNHRC completely. If every nation in the UN has equal status – or rather is supposed to have equal status, what’s all this bullying with regard to Sri Lanka?

That question does not have one single answer for the reasons used are just cover-ups.

India, the US and many other nations joined government backed INGOs/NGOs, think tanks like International Crisis Group, human rights organizations like Amnesty Intl, and their local mouthpieces concluding that Sri Lanka faced an unwinnable war. Their solution was nothing better than the separation of Sri Lanka along the lines of Kosovo and now with LTTE eliminated it is the 13^th amendment being used en route to the eventual separation of Sri Lanka – just follow the trail of 13^th amendment supporters and their paymasters to know the gameplan.

Partnering with India works well for the US though that friendship in no way compromises the US ties with Pakistan. The US will use India as its partner in the Indian Ocean Rim just as it is using Japan. A friend according to US terminology is not the buddy terminology that any dictionary would reveal. Every time the US declares a nation a “friend” it is always with a covert plan to disturb that nation using its covert operatives and the US uses many methods. India is well aware of these though India is desperately looking at a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and that dream over shadows the reality of things. Nevertheless a closer look at India’s states concludes that it’s borders are all facing enormous pressures nothing that India will be able to ignore and when US Secretaries of State makes beeline visits for tete-a-tete’s with State Chief Ministers we should know the visits have nothing to do about encouraging these States to help the Central Government of India.

Are we to honestly believe that the Resolution brought forth in 2012 and now in 2013 was originated by the US? Is it difficult to understand that the US will not do anything without India’s concurrence given India’s role as strategic partner in the Indian Ocean Rim. Therefore it is amply clear that it was India (not the US) that instigated and initiated the Resolution against Sri Lanka through the US and the 2012 Indian “watered-down” version of the Resolution is the giveaway. All this seems oblivious to Sri Lanka’s leaders.

In supporting the 2012 US-backed Resolution India experimented on Sri Lanka’s reaction and knew nothing untoward would happen to its stakes and interests in Sri Lanka. The nation expected far better than a few snubs in local languages – a consistent ploy to fool the masses.

The tragedy if not irony is that while Prabakaran managed to keep Indian presence in Sri Lanka to a countable number of Indian companies, post-conflict scenario has entirely changed that situation. Indians are now virtually running Sri Lanka’s economy, influencing mass media and even segments of the political establishment in Sri Lanka and is placed near every strategic location right round the island using all sorts of canards like industrial parks, economic zones, housing, educational institutes etc. The Indian High Commissioner makes regular visits round the country no different to the role played by the Viceroy during the British Raj.

All the warnings against agreeing to Sampur were ignored, all the warnings about allowing Indian presence in strategic locations were ignored and do our policy makers think that India will be giving pats on the backs for these Christmas gifts? Vathararaja Perumal in exile in India is himself complaining of ill-treatment by Indians! It’s an opportune time for Sri Lanka’s leaders to really introspect where its advisors have taken the country and what the likelihood of their own fates would be because all these advisors are those that never think twice about taking flight. The lesson is loyalty can never be paid for.

It is therefore a perfect time for Sri Lanka’s leaders to distance themselves from the advisors that have repeatedly led Sri Lanka astray – Sri Lanka’s executive must now review and analyze the situation for himself and devise how best the country can undo the damage that has been done to the territorial and sovereignty of the nation. We are talking about a nation with a 2600 civilization and the future of 20million people and their children – we cannot throw our heritage and history for a Resolution and hand our nation to a country that has for centuries been trying to destabilize us.

As of now, Sri Lanka appears to be practically laying the foundations for Sri Lanka to become an Indian colony with the entire nation ignorant to the extent to which the territorial and sovereignty of the nation is being compromised. We do not have farmers going to the Middle East so how can there be a shortage that would necessitate Indian labor into Sri Lanka – experiments on allowing a steady flow of Indians into Sri Lanka has already resulted in several arrests of Indians though the news has come out far later. Why does the GOSL wish to commit hara kiri at this stage by knowingly experimenting with scenarios that will affect the population demographics of Sri Lanka and lead to future calamities? Now with Indian labor becoming the newest headache are the policy makers of Sri Lanka going to betray the nation’s citizens as well?

Are we to sacrifice our soldiers unnecessarily again when politicians are bound to nip things in the bud? Is this not a betrayal for all the services that our armed forces have done for us?

Do we really have strategic options having compromised every natural asset we’ve got?

We now come to the inevitable 2013 Resolution – as expected India proudly announces it is voting with the US. It was from India that the same images of Prabakaran’s son surfaced and Indian media assisting Channel 4 with the tarnishing Sri Lanka campaign – this is India that refused entry to Prabakaran’s own mother! Not a hum comes from Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry which was nothing to be alarmed over given that we have vested the external affairs of the nation upon a man that was globally praising the 2002 ceasefire agreement that literally handed over areas of the northern and eastern provinces to the LTTE and a man having no penchant for the interests of the people of Sri Lanka except to be in gay parley with the West that is ever ready to shower accolades so long as his polices serve their interests and his actions have repeatedly shown to be a slap on the face of our proud soldiers who made Sri Lanka the only country to eliminate terrorism. We are walking away from victory to the eventuality that our nation is being handed over to India.

As a nation we want to face the Resolution and we want to know who will vote for Sri Lanka or not – we should not beg for support because begging comes with the compromise of the loss of hand and limb of Sri Lanka. If nations do not realize the developments we have made post-conflict that fault lies with the Foreign Ministry. We do not care if India votes against Sri Lanka – we have known the value of India’s so called “friendship” for centuries and it is time Sri Lanka’s politicians understood that too.

Do we really have strategic options?

If we are to follow the path of cowardice as being recommended by striking deals that are never in the interest of Sri Lanka or its people by not taking the Resolution to a vote, the best way moving forward is to let the Sri Lankan polity know that our nation is being handed over to India. Then at least we can mentally prepare ourselves for the eventuality because it is pointless defending a nation if behind the scenes deals are being forged to compromise the territorial and sovereignty of the nation and most importantly our children’s’ future and we wonder where these leaders propose to go thereafter!

We do have strategic options.

We must not show cowardice by refraining from taking the Resolution to a vote – though our own advisors will do their best to cut deals behind the scenes. Let the Resolution be tabled. Let nations vote. Our strategic options can be disclosed thereafter.