Dr Sudath Gunasekara, Mahanuwara,
Shame! Shame! For the Greatness of India! when Sri Lanka in dire distress, asked for a distress loan, for emergency supplies of food, fuel and medicines, instead of helping its neighbor, opportunist India is trying to fish in troubled Sri Lankan waters.
I earnestly request all my patriotic readers first, to read carefully the following arrogant and opportunistic and utterly undiplomatic statement India has issued and how she has reacted to a request made by the Sri Lankan Government for a distress lo purchase food, fuel and medicine from its worthy neighbor and thereafter please read my comments there to, that follows.
India imposes tough conditions for US$ 1 billion loan
Seeks road map to overcome economic crisis and outlines strategic projects in North and East; Basil’s visit off till then
India has called for a road map from Sri Lanka on how it is going to overcome its economic crisis in the long term as well as to clear the decks for a long list of its economic cum strategic demands for implementation in the North and the East of Sri Lanka.
Till then the future of the one billion dollar emergency loan from India seems uncertain.
Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s twice cancelled visit to India after securing a USD 500 million loan in December last year to clinch a further one billion dollar loan for emergency supplies of food, fuel and medicines to overcome the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka is yet to be rescheduled. The December loan taken by Sri Lanka was also to be repaid this week.
The Sunday Times learns that the Indian Government is awaiting the green light from the Colombo Government on both fronts, i.e. the economic action plan aimed at long term recovery from the country’s foreign exchange and debt repayment crisis and to the Indian list of demands to start economic projects in Sri Lanka. Neither Colombo nor New Delhi has officially mentioned either so far.
The Indian demands involve a string of maritime security agreements that will strengthen India’s strategic interests, particularly around the eastern Trincomalee harbour. These include Donier surveillance aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force, a ship repair dock for the Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee and posting of a Sri Lankan Navy officer at the Intelligence Fusion Centre, a Bahrain-based intelligence sharing office which is a US Navy initiative to combat international terrorism, the narcotics trade and ensure safe maritime passage for commercial vessels in the region.
One of the key pressure-points from the Indian Government is to start a renewable energy (solar power) project in and around Sampur near Trincomalee. An earlier plan by India to begin a coal power project in joint partnership with Japan has now been abandoned as Sri Lanka announced a move away from coal plants as part of its futuristic energy policy.
The reopening of the Palay airport for commercial operations and several cultural projects in the Jaffna peninsula are also among items on the list already made public.
The Indian Government also wants to enter into the renewable energy field in the Delft islet after it scuttled a Chinese company securing the project following an Asian Development Bank ((ADB) tender procedure.
The one billion US dollar loan from India agreed to earlier in principle by the Indian Finance Ministry remains suspended for now, until guarantees are given from the Sri Lankan side, it is learnt.
The Indian High Commission said it did not want to comment on Finance Minister Rajapaksa’s visit as it was not formally announced that he was to visit New Delhi for a one-billion-dollar loan facility. Last week, however, the mission stated that the visit fixed for last week was rescheduled as Foreign Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had to urgently visit Paris on official business.
Mr. Jaishankar was earlier due in Colombo on March 18, but the high commission remained tight-lipped on the visit takin
My Comments
Indian Kautilyan and Jewish demands
I do not propose to comment in detail on each of these typical Indian Kautilyan and Jewish demands and conditions it has rudely laid down, just like Shylock the Jew did when he asked a pound of flesh from the heart of the victim and I leave it for the intelligent readers to make their own assessments on the Indian attitude towards this country and its government. As a person who has closely studied the Indian attitude towards this country, starting from prehistoric times of Rama to date, I don’t trust the hypocritic goodwill of India for an atom in any field and I treat the usual political flattery like the long-standing close friendship and mutually beneficial relationship we had’ our politicians always repeat like parrots as mere rubbish which never prevailed between the two countries in known history.
On the Indian demands and conditions, I think, it suffices to state very briefly that it is like asking a man who is about to get drowned and die in the middle of the deep sea to catch a big fish if he needs help by a passing by fishing trawler.
India thinks Sri Lanka is already one of their colonies
The long list of economic and strategic demands, which no sensible government in Sri Lanka can possibly agree without compromising its sovereignty and independence, presented by India for implementing in the North and East and those that will strengthen India’s selfish, strategic and political interests, like the renewable energy plant in Delft, Sampur Solar power project and the conditions laid down looks like as if this part of Sri Lanka is already under Indian control and to that extent it also appears that. they are thinking as if Sri Lanka is already one of their colonies
a well-planned Indian steel net over the northern part of the Island
Obviously, this is a well-planned Indian steel net they are trying to throw over the northern part of the Island to consolidate the Indian grip over that area with very broad objectives. Firstly, to take physical control of the Northern part of the Island with air and naval presence. Second to consolidate Indian presence over this strategically important part including Palali Airport and Trinco harbour, to take full control over Northern Sri Lanka and thirdly, to prevent any other power like China or USA getting in there. The only missing demand in this cleverly manipulated Indian conspiracy, as I see, is that they have not included the condition that the Central Hill Country, the HETTLAND of the Sinhale Kingdom to be made the Exclusive Homeland of Indian estate slave labour, brought by the British and left astray when they left and to grant them irrevocable deeds for the Heartland of this Island nation, that provides physical stability that decides the fate of the entire life system and human civilization of this land, as all rivers in the country that gives life to the nation have their sources on these hills and also not to settle any native Sinhalese there” as a precondition. It is surprising that They have not demanded a lease document to this land or to make constitutional safeguards to that effect as they did it to the North and East by the Rajiv/Jr Accord of 1987 so that in the event of default the ownership of this part of the Island goes to India.
India is trying to fish in troubled waters
Overall, in this ridiculous letter India seems to have completely forgotten that Sri Lanka is a fully sovereign Independent Republic on the world political map, the same way as India is, with the same political status and not one of India’s suzerainties
This un-diplomatic letter clearly shows that India is trying to fish in troubled Sri Lankan waters as if someone is trying to light his cigar while the other’s beard is caught in fire”. It is obvious that India is trying to tighten its grip on this country by getting the Sri Lankan government to commit under the present desperate situation. Reading this Indian message reminded me the Lion and the Lamb story we learned in the kindergarten.
India has never been a true friend of Sri Lanka
As I have always consistently maintained that India has never been a true friend of Sri Lanka. It was the main invader and the biggest headache throughout history from time immemorial, say at least from the time of Rama- Ravana episode in the prehistoric period. Indian aggression on this little Island to own it had been the stark fact and also an eternal craving of India and the rule rather than the exception. There had been 18 recorded Indian aggressions on this Island from 2nd century BC up to Magha devastation in the 12 Century AD. This was the regular and crazy expansionist agenda India pursued, until the Portuguese invaded the island in 1505. In fact, the history of ancient Lanka is nothing but a continuous line of invasions from South India, where Sri Lankan rulers were trying to defend their motherland against these invaders until the 12th Century when finally, the Rajarata Civilization was shifted to the South West of the Island in defeat. As a result, the Rajarata Sinhala Buddhist civilization, once acclaimed in par with ancient Roman and Greek civilizations was taken over by the jungle tide with sporadic ruins of ancient irrigation marvels and remnants of destroyed religious monuments vandalized and left behind by the invading South Indian Tamils.
This was the true situation of Northern and Eastern parts of the Island when Portuguese invaded and captured the maritime Provinces in 1505.Portuguese were followed by the Dutch (1665-1797) and the British took over from Dutch in 1797 finally they ceded the Sinhale Kingdom to their Empire by intrigue and deception in 1815 under the Kandyan Convention on 2nd of March and they left in 1948 after ruling the country from 1815 to 1948 as Ceylon meaning the land of the Sinhala people.
Thereafter fortunately for us India had a long interval in invading this Island as India itself had come under the Western colonial rule. Meanwhile all three colonial powers brought South Indian slaves to work on their projects here. British in particular brought them in large numbers as mercenaries first to fight against the Sinhalese freedom fighters in 1817 and 1848 freedom struggles. The worst Indian infiltration in the Islands history took place with the forceful recruitment of South Indian Tamil indentured labour in millions after 1830 to work on the newly opened up coffee and Tea plantations in central Sri Lanka by removing the entire primeval forest cover of the Island. When British left the island in 1948, they left behind all these Indian slave labourers numbering over 1.2 million stateless Indians high and dry deliberately creating a major demographic, economic, social and political headache for the newly independent Dominion as a part of their vicious colonial strategy to destabilize this Island nation.
The British maintained these plantation areas as a South Indian enclave separated from the native Sinhalese villages, as an alien community different from the natives with a different language, different religion and different culture.
After the British left in 1948 , Indian government restarted the old game
After the British left, again the Indian government came in a different garb as their new god fathers. India renewed the age old Kautilyan expansionist agenda and claimed Sri Lankan citizenship for all Tamils labourers living on these plantations in Sri Lanka with a vicious dream of creating a Malayanadu in Central Sri Lanka, the Heartland of the Sinhale Kandyan Kingdom that successfully defended the traditional Sinhale Kingdom for 500 years against three powerful colonial invaders
The period that followed the 1948 fake independence was marked by a series of communal agitation by Tamils both in the plantation areas and the North and the East demanding them to be recognized as a separate nation with special privileges using the weaknesses of the Soulbury Constitution which gave them recognitions as a minority nation (Sec 29 for the first time in Sri Lankan history) within this country.
Sad failures and weaknesses of the native Sinhala leaders in the post independent era paved the way for Tamil militancy.
The sad failures and weaknesses of the native Sinhala leaders to restore a fully independent country, Sinhale with all traditional native privileges we lost to the invaders in 1815 and whatever left, systematically destroyed by them since then. They include the name of the Kingdom we lost in 1815 Sinhale, the National flag, the Language of the people Sinhala, their religion Buddhism, native Administrative and legal system, vacant possession of the motherland, without the Indian slave laboures brought by the British and settled on plantations, the native education system and restoring the Sinhale Kingdom or at least declaring an Independent Republic and reinstalling a native political system of our own without blindly embracing the alien British Parliamentary system, with a cancerous political party system that was designed to divide and destroy the Sinhala nation and this country laid down by the departing British as the foundation for a divided and disunited jumble called the Sri Lanka Nation.
Thereafter India heavily backed the Tamils and started to agitate on behalf of them calling them as people of Indian origin with no regard for this country as a separate sovereign and Independent State. Unlike in the past where only the South Indian Dravidayans like Chola and Pandyans were involved in aggressions, now new India created by the British in 1947 got involved in Tamil issues in Sri Lanka as they form a part and parcel of the nearly 70 million Tamils in Tamilnadu whose vote became a critical factor in the political power structure in Delhi , which apparently has made Tamilnadu more important to India than Sri Lanka. With these changes in the global political map Tamils in this country looked upon India as their protector and benefactor and the Indian Prime Minister as their Prime Minister. Even Indian Leaders like Ghandi, Subash Chandrabos and Gokahale were venerated like Gods and everything Indian were worshipped by them. In fact, they always treated India as their Motherland with second hand treatment to Sri Lanka, although they earn their daily living in this country. This is like saluting the sea after drinking water from the well. All Tamils living in Lanka were here only in their bodies and their bodies and dreams were always in India.
It was under this backdrop Ponnambalama asked for 50 50 in 1935 and Chelvanayagam a Catholic migrant from Malasia started his ambitious new political Party Ilankai Tamil Arusukachchi in 1947 with the aim of forming an independent Tamil State within Sri Lanka. This situation further complicated conditions in this country
It was in this backdrop Tamil Agitation began for a separate Tamil State in this country. The climax of these movements was marked with the rise of the LTTE separatist movement found in 1976 by Prabhaakaran to create an independent Tamil state for the Sri Lankan Tamil people with the ultimate objective of making Sri Lanka the Headquarters of future EELAM Empire for all the Tamils in the world, including India, Malaysia, Fiji Islands and many other countries having a Tamil population resident.
Prabhakaran’s vicious movement lasted for nearly 25 years and finally got defeated in 2009 thanks to the Sri Lanka security Forces under the President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2009 May 29.
The LTTE terrorist movement was created with full support from India to compel the Sri Lankan government to give a separate State for Tamils in this country with the long -term dream of converting Sri Lanka in to what they called EELAM. They say it was the ancient name for this Island nation without accepting the hard fact that South Indian Tamils have coined it from the word Sinhale, meaning the land of the Sinhalese people, founded by them.
The LTTE was Fathered and mothered by India
This movement was manipulated, directed and largely funded by the Indian Government and nursed by the RAW openly. The whole world knows how India financed that terrorist movement, opened training camps all over India to train them with the LTTE headquarters in Tamilnadu, provided them with all facilities to fight against the Sri Lankan Government, such as weaponry, ammunition, know- how and everything else. Meanwhile in 1987 India invaded Sri Lankan airspace dropped Parippu and threatened old JR the then President of this country, that India will invade unless JR agree to sing almost at gun point the illegal and un-democratic and unconventional Rajiv/ JR Accord on29th July, violating all covenants of the Viana Convention on diplomatic norms.
As a result, the infamous JR/Rajiv Accord declaring northern and Eastern Provinces 1/3 of the country’s total area illegally as the Historical Home Land of Tamils (a complete travesty of the history of this country) with the following clauses was singed on 29th July 1987
1.The Northern and Eastern Provinces to be merged as one with provisions to merge it with one or more other provinces in future. (this was a long- term plan to merge Central, Uva And Sabavragamuwa where there is high concentration of Tamils as the next step if forming the nucleus of the future Greater EELAM)
2Giving Sri Lankan Citizenship to all illegal Indian immigrants (kallathonis) living in this Country,
3.Accepting Tamil as an official Language of Sri Lanka with special provisions and privileges to the N&E.
4 Setting up of Provincial Councils to cover the whole Island under the 13th Amendment to the 1987 Constitution of Sri Lanka with wide powers on matters such as Land, Police and Legal to the PCC as the road map for future balkanization of this Island nation. One wonders whether this was a subcontract taken over by India from the British to divide this country to pieces and wipe out the Sinhala nation and Buddhism from the face of this planet, which they were hatching for centuries since 1797 by way of taking revenge for resisting their taking over this land when British were at the peak of world domination.
The only good thing we have ever got from India in known history is Buddhism.
The only good thing we have ever got from India known history is Buddhism. that was introduce to this Island in 307 BC during the time of Dharmasoka.
All the rest was a continuous chain of miserable invasion followed by looting, destruction and devastation.
So, in this backdrop, looking in retrospect India had always been our number one enemy of this country and its nation the Sinhala People trying to grab this Island nation throughout history.
Furthermore. In contemporary history India had always been against this country even in international fora at Geneva or New York. As I see it India is suffering from, an incurable chronic ailment, a craving to annex all its neighbors as if 3287 million km2 within the Subcontinent is not big enough for them.
Tracing back this ugly behavior of India, now look at what she has done to the SAARC. It is a funny situation with India that it never likes us having friendly relations with any other country either. When we were getting closer to America during JR time India was against it. Same when we were friendly with USSR in 1960s and 70s. And now India does not want us to be friendly with China the emerging power of Asia that might very likely be the world leader of the 22nd Century, as renowned people like Prof. Samuel Huntington in his The clash of Civilizations and remaking the World Order” and Martin Jacques the Author of When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order:” August 28, 2012. have predicted.
China a good Samaritan of Sri Lanka
Now looking at what China has done to help our country over the years, what is it that India has done to this country, other than festering us all the time interfering with our domestic affairs, blaming that we are not treating people of Indian origin living here with dignity, self- respect and what not as if they have given everything including equal rights, dignity and self- respect. None of these rights are given even in Tamilnadu, the historical Tamil Homeland of Tamils. India is preaching us long sermons while denying even official status to Tamil Language in spite of 70 million Tamils living there as their traditional Homeland from the inception of human history? The whole world knows how Nehru crushed Tamil claims for their rights when taken up by Dravidamunnetra kasagam.
Sri Lanka should withdraw its request for the 1 billion loan
In this backdrop, as a country with self-respect and dignity I suggest Sri Lanka withdraws its request for the loan and send a Thank you note diplomatically refusing to agree to any of those condition and demands India has laid down in their press release. The finance minister also should immediately withdraw our request for that infamous 1billiom distress loan and look for alternative strategies of meeting the present crisis on a multi-faceted approach.
Summon a SAARC Finance Ministers in Colombo to discuss Sri Lankan crisis
Since India has not come to our help when we are in distress there is no point in trying to build up cordial relationships with such a country. That is why I suggested in Lankaweb of 8.3.2022. that the Government convene a Colombo meeting of the SAARC Finance Ministers immediately to discuss our current crisis with a view to working out an alternative multilateral solution with SAARC members and let us see as to what India is going to do. If she does not attend the meeting then she will get isolated among the SAARC family. Already all the SAARC members
Reject Indian demands and conditions
Thereafter as an expression of our dissatisfaction Sri Lanka also should show that we are not prepared to accede to their unrealistic and unreasonable demands and conditions as we value more our own interests as and fully independent, sovereign and a free nation and take the following measures to protect our own interests. Also, we have to tell India that Sri Lanka is not a puppet of India and we are also a fully independent sovereign state as much as India is. We have always respected your independence and dignity and supported you at all international fora. We expect the same from you as well. although you have not been always so.
1.Pay back the 500 m US$ due immediately
2.Scrap the agreement with the IOC, a major pipe line laid to drain our wealth to Delhi, and hand over fuel distribution of all types within the country to CPC so that the profit presently going to India will come to the CPC and thereby increasing its income and profits and also save the Forex now going to India and employment for locals will also go up.
(Mrs Bandaranayaka nationalized the foreign owned Shell. Caltex and Esso in 1962 and set up the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. Ranil Wickramasinha sold part of CPC to IOC (A Subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation) in 2002. And now in 2022 CPC is almost on the verge of closing down as it is unable to face competition from IOC)
3 Start a full review of all other agreements with India, such as Trinco Oil Farm lease, Mattala Airport and Colombo Harbour Western Terminal with a view to cancel them finally or at least re-negotiate the terms and conditions to make them favourable to Sri Lanka.
4 Take steps to close down the Consular Offices in Jaffna, and Hambantota as they are only Indian spying centers against Sri Lanka. Also close down Kandy Assistant Commissioner’s office as it has ceased to serve its original purpose of providing assistance to the Indian Estate labourers in the Central Province, annually going to India to deposit their earnings and see their relatives. In any case there is absolutely no need to have 3 additional Consular Offices in Jaffna, Kandy and Hambantota all at strategic places.
5 Also request the Indian Central government to take immediate steps to stop illicit poaching by Indian Fishermen in the Mannar bay within the Sri Lankan maritime territory and instruct Sri Lankan Forces to arrest all encroaching on Sri Lankan territorial waters and take legal action without releasing them on the request of the Indian Government as they do it at present
6 Also take action to keep Indian imports to the minimum on a staggered basis going by national priorities.
7 Take legal action under the provisions of the 6th Amendment to Constitution against those Tamil Politicians who go after the Indian Government against the Sri Lanka Government in their agitation for separation and undue demands.
8 Request the Indian Government to refrain from all sort of unnecessary interferences with the internal matters of this country and also to leave us alone to decide on matters pertaining to Tamils living in this country..
9 Recall the present Ambassador Milinda Molagoda for failing to successfully negotiate this loan and appoint a senior carrier SLOS person in place of Molagoda, before he sells the whole country to India under his Policy Road Map for Indo Sri Lankan relations
10 The Government also should at least now give up its foolish ”India First” policy as stated by the Prime Minister MR and instead we must adopt a Sri Lanka First” policy and all our diplomatic affairs should be geared to achieve that objective.
11 As a founder member [S1] of the NAN we should strictly maintain the non-Aligned policy, while maintaining special friendly realtions with countries who help us in our needs but not with countries who are concerned with only their self- interests..
Let the arrogant Indian Kautillyan mandarins and selfish Indian Politicians of the day also understand the frustration we Sri Lankans feel about their non friendly attitude
12 Lay down a clear national policy statement on our national assets that will not change with change of government prohibiting outright sale or long-term lease to any country and never allow another country to have its military, communication or any other installation that can become a threat to national security of this country.
Now that the USA also has decided to impose a wide array sanction on India over S-400 deal with Russia this is an ideal time to take this course of action with regard to India.
My million-dollar question is what is the friendship and the cordial and warm diplomatic or any other relationship Sri Lanka can have with a country like that,
1.First, refuses to lend a helping hand, by way of a loan, (remember not an outright grant) in a friendly manner to us in the hour of our need and when we are in dire distress asking for help.
2. Second, that had been gunning against us from the dawn of history and providing financial and military assistance including training to the LTTE to ousted the democratically elected government of this country for three decades (1976-2010)
3 Finally, its Prime Minister Rajiv Ghandhi in desperation presented his bullet Proof jacket to Prabhakaran, founder and leader of the most ruthless killer terrorist gang in the world in 1987 to protect himself in his indiscriminate killing spree against the unarmed Sinhala people including Buddhist Monks, devotes at observing sil at places of worship, destroying their historic places of worship like the Sacred Bo Tree in Anuradhapura, the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the palladium of the entire Buddhist world and ordinary innocent men, women and children and also destroying national assets such as the nation’s premier International AirPort at Katunayaka along with a large fleet of brand new planes the central Bank of the nation, and a large number of trains and busses carrying passengers, to bring nemesis to a nation dastardly wishing him,
The son of the sun God” and the liberator of the Tamil nation on earth, you go back to the land of the Sinhalese and kill them indiscriminately whether young or old, men or women big or small in thousands with no fear and bring total annihilation to the Sinhala nation. This Jacket will protect you against all evils on earth’ until you win your noble war against the Sinhalese the adversary of the Tamils and you raise the Tiger flag of victory on the top of the Adam’s Peak and declare the establishment of the newly won Kingdom of Tamil EELAM to the whole world.
(Postscript: Had Rajiv listened to my advice posted to him in march 1991 asking him to refrain from helping Tamil Tigers to kill Sinhala people in this country, who also descend from North India just like him. I also warned him in that letter that if he failed to do so, Prabhakaran will one day turn his guns at him in retribution., He was killed on his own motherland at Sriperumbudur on May 21, 1991 Had he listened to me he would have been alive even at this moment, perhaps as the Prime Minister of India)
What happened to India with his death, the Indian Congress almost disappeared, legendary Nehru tradition also disappeared from Indian soil and a period of mediocre politics emerged, who could be led on a blind alley by the Indian mandarins in contrast to the golden days of Jawaharlal Nehru. Today it is being run by pack of Indian Brahamin mandarins molded in the Kautilyan -Machiavellian crucible advocating the expansion of the Indian Empire, who believe on the dictum ‘ends justifie the means” are unusually busy in paving the way for the disintegration and Balkanization of India in the post-British period. Today India is at loggerheads with all the other SAARC members around, with giant Pakistan in the West and now emerging economic power Bangladesh in the East with no friends around.
It is in this backdrop, I think India is struggling to move south by encroaching on Sri Lanka with the help of Tamils living there and the So-called Tamil diaspora spread all over the world who are dreaming to establish their dream EELAM on this soil as an answer for India’s subjugation of their traditional Tamil Home Land on earth In Tamilnadu in South India.
This trend is more than evident when we see how India is having its Consular Offices all over the Island (Jaffna, Kandy and Hamabantota in addition to their main Embassy in Colombo. My question is as to why should they run four Embassies at sizable expense, in an Island of only 25,332 Sq miles. Then Its expansionism is successfully carried out in the central Sri Lanka at the moment with is 100,00o housing programme and all, other infrastructure facilities like roads, houses, hospitals, schools linked with Indian colleges for graduate and post graduate studies for Sri Lankan Tamil students annually awarded and what not. All this is a compact secret package implemented with a long-term agenda by Indian authorities while the Sri Lankan counterparts are dead asleep.
If India had maintained friendly and cordial relationships with Sri Lanka from time immemorial respecting the freedom and sovereignty of this country” as our politicians always used to say, then how are we going to reconcile such lose words within this back ground