Responding To Indian Concerns

by Jehan Perera

(October 21, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A political volcano seems set to erupt in the neigbouring Indian state of Tamil Nadu, just about when the Sri Lankan army is poised to complete the last few kilometers to the LTTE’s administrative centre of Kilinochchi. The political and emotional agitation in Tamil Nadu about the humanitarian crisis due to war in Sri Lanka may even threaten the stability of India’s central government. It is incumbent upon the Sri Lankan government to take Indian concerns into account or risk unpredictable consequences. The problem is that this would require the Rajapaksa government to rise above the narrow ethnic nationalism that currently drives it.

The tension in India is accompanied by another serious threat to Sri Lanka’s well being from beyond its shores. This is the difficult situation the government is placed in its bid to retain the GSP+ preferential treatment that Sri Lankan exports to the EU currently enjoy. The government has refused to permit the EU to investigate whether Sri Lanka has adhered to international human rights standards. The withdrawal of the GSP+ concession would result in a major blow to Sri Lanka’s already troubled economy. It would threaten an export market of over USD 2 billion and the employment of over one hundred thousand relatively well paid export sector workers.

At the root of both threats is the Sri Lankan government’s cavalier attitude to international human rights and humanitarian concerns. There appears to be a belief that government is possible by relying on the high degree of power conferred on those who govern by the Sri Lankan constitution, and by their popularity with the ethnic majority voters. But in the global village of modern times, it has not been possible for Sri Lanka to conduct its affairs as if it were an island all to itself.

Warning signs

The warning signs should have been clear several months when Sri Lanka was voted out of the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations, of which it had been one of the original members. Instead of correcting itself and putting an end to the spate of abductions, assassinations and disappearances and threats to media freedom in which government-allied forces were implicated, it denied them. The government took an offensive position on human rights, and claimed that international and Sri Lankan NGOs were orchestrating anti-government propaganda and were pro-LTTE. .

The manner in which the government directed all international humanitarian organizations, with the sole exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross, to leave the battlegrounds of the north is a concrete manifestation of this mistrust. When questioned about this action, the government claimed it was done to ensure the safety of international humanitarian workers. If so, this action revealed the lack of concern for the plight and safety of the civilian population who would now have to face the ravages of war without the protective presence of international humanitarian organizations.

The casual manner in which the government has treated the human rights and humanitarian concerns of the international community is now hurting the government very badly. It has permitted the politicians and pro-LTTE lobbies in Tamil Nadu to take the moral high ground. They have justified their call for Indian intervention in Sri Lankan affairs on the grounds of what they call the genocide of the Tamil people. This is an untenable accusation.

The government has been taking great pains to send in relief convoys into the affected areas with the support of UN agencies. The death toll amongst the civilians due to firing and bombardment has been very low compared to that of LTTE cadre and Sri Lankan soldiers. On the other hand, the plight of the displaced civilian population, some of them seriously sick, some of them infants, some of them very elderly, living under trees in torrential rains without adequate food, shelter and medical attention can be imagined.

Three things

There are three things that can be done that could assuage Indian and international concerns about the humanitarian situation in the north. The first would be to accept international assistance to move out the trapped civilians of the Vanni to places of safety. It is said that many civilians do not wish to leave because they fear being victimized by the Sri Lankan military. Therefore, international humanitarian organizations could be vested with the authority to set up safety zones, under their supervision, in which civilians can stay until it is safe for them to once again return to their original homes. The Madhu Church area could be one such safety zone.

The second thing that could be done is for the government to come out with its political solution to the ethnic conflict without further delay. President Rajapaksa has recently stated that the political solution could go beyond the devolution of power envisaged in the 13th Amendment if a 2/3 majority in Parliament can be obtained. The government should invite parties that are currently not participating in the All Party process aimed at developing a political solution, particularly the UNP and JVP, but also the TNA which it has so far not invited on the grounds that this party is an LTTE proxy. The participation of the UNP in particular could ensure the degree of bipartisanship that could yield a 2/3 majority to change the constitution.

The LTTE too needs to see the reading on the wall. The Indian government has publicly justified its military support to Sri Lanka as being to protect the unity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka. The focus of the mainstream Tamil Nadu political parties has been the humanitarian plight and political rights of the Tamils of Sri Lanka rather than the survival of the LTTE. The LTTE needs to take the suffering of the Tamil people into account. They should permit those who are trapped in the Vanni the option to leave to places of safety that are supervised by the international community. The LTTE should also be open to a non-military solution. They should encourage the TNA to join the All Party Conference, if the Sri Lankan government has the political wisdom and moral balance to invite them to join that political process. - Sri Lanka Guardian