Patriotism is a funny word now

Author:  R Hariharan |The Pioneer| December 27, 2012

It didn’t matter if one were a student, journalist or a businessman. When the time came in 1962, we all offered our services to the country. Such was the overriding spirit of nationalism which drove us at that time. Now, things have drastically changed

The 50th anniversary of the 1962 India-China war this year, roused a lot of passions in the country. Much of it was hot air, interspersed with some critical analyses of the war and its aftermath. The analyses focused on the strategic inadequacies of the national leadership, in handling national security, that continues to this day. Even the national leaders’ suspicion of the Armed Forces’ leadership still persists, as seen in Parliament during the General VK Singh episode. 

Beatles, Bangladesh and a sitar maestro

R Hariharan

Even as the nation mourned Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar’s death, and the Indian army observed  ‘Vijay Divas’ on December 16 – the day of victory in Bangladesh, many may not be aware of the maestro’s contribution the cause of Bangladesh freedom struggle in 1971.

Book review: Sri Lanka and the defeat of the LTTE

Author: K.M. de Silva

Publisher: Penguin Books Rs 299

The story of Prabhakaran’s rise from the backwoods of Jaffna to build the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), one of the most dreaded terrorist organizations, and his fall in the battlefield can be told in many ways. Sri Lanka historian Prof. K.M. de Silva in his latest book looks at the rise and fall of the LTTE, in the larger context of South Asia and the India-Sri Lanka relationship as well.

Sri Lanka: Storm signals across the Palk Bay

Col R Hariharan

Some of the recent policy decisions of Sri Lanka affecting Indian commercial interests are sending disturbing signals that have the potential to affect Indo-Sri Lanka relations. Will these storm signals add to the political stress created by the non implementation of the much maligned 13^th Amendment to the Constitution? Sri Lanka watchers are probably already debating this question. (For an analysis of the rationale behind 13A stress see South Asia Analysis Group Sri Lanka Update No: 225 December 7, 2012 - “Sri Lanka: Consolidation of Rajapaksa Inc ” at http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/node/1083 )

Sri Lanka: Comments on Heroes Day

By Col R Hariharan

[Summary of answers to questions from media analysts on the occasion of V Prabhakaran’s birth day on November 26 and the LTTE’s Heroes Day on November 27 are given in this article.] 

November 27 used to be celebrated as the Heroes Day by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). On this occasion what is your take on those who lost their lives in the struggle for Tamil Eelam?

It was instituted in commemoration of the death of the LTTE’s first battle casualty - LTTE  Sathiyanathan alias Shankar, who was killed on November 27, 1982. That was only the beginning; over the next 20 years thousands of Tamil youth sacrificed their lives to fulfil the dream of their founder-leader Prabhakaran. The LTTE used to observe the Day as a remembrance day with solemn ceremonies. But three years after the elimination of the LTTE, the families of the thousands who died can mourn them only in their hearts, without public fanfare and ceremony. I share their agony. Death of thousands of Tamil youth changed their lives and also killed their own shared dreams.

Sri Lanka: Consolidation of Rajapaksa Inc.

By Col R Hariharan

The walk out of Chief Justice Mrs Shirani Bandaranayake and her team of lawyers from a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) hearing on an impeachment motion against her Thursday was an eloquent testimony to the charade being enacted in Sri Lanka in the name of democracy. Probably it is a matter of time the PSC would find her guilty of the charges of corruption slapped against her.

Sri Lanka Perspectives - November 2012

Col R Hariharan
  
Highlights

• Judiciary and parliament are on a collision course after the parliament took up a motion to impeach the Chief Justice of Supreme Court for misconduct.

• President Rajapaksa has highlighted the need for changing the present provincial council set. This would indicate that 13^th amendment to the constitution was likely to be replaced or amended.

• Indian business in Sri Lanka heading for tough competition from China and Japan.

• Sri Lanka’s woes at the UN Human Rights Council(UNHRC) continued when the UNHRC discussed the nation’s universal periodic review of human rights. 

•  Miscellaneous: Sri Lanka army recruits Tamil women for its women’s wing for the first time.

Pragmatism will continue to guide CPC

[B Raman analyses the implications of the recent changes in the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Here it is, published courtesy: South Asia Analysis Group. www.southasiaanalysis.org]

B.RAMAN

Pragmatism will continue to guide the policies of the new leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) headed by Mr.XiJinping which took over from the outgoing leadership headed by Mr.Hu Jintao on November 15, 2012.

2. The seven members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, who will lead the party and the country till the 19^th Party Congress in 2017,belong to a transition generation which was born just before the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949 or in the early years thereafter.

Adding substance to SAARC: India-Sri Lanka experience

By Col. (retd) R.Hariharan

[This article includes extracts from the valedictory address delivered by the author at the International Conference on “India-Sri Lanka Relations: Strengthening SAARC” organised by the Centre for Indian Ocean Studies, Osmania University Hyderabad on November 8 and 9, 2012.]

Introduction

There is a widespread feeling of pessimism among South Asians at the halting progress made by the South Asia Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since its inception in 1985. Though SAARC is world’s largest regional grouping of 1.47 billion people, it has not been able to assert its collective strength like the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the European Union (EU).

But the comparison is a little unfair as both ASEAN and EU were formed in different historical contexts and environments. They were conceived when the world was in the grip of Cold War.[i] The European grouping came about to minimize the impact of twin threats: post war economic privations of Europe and the fear of Soviet Union destabilizing Europe. For ASEAN, the U.S. penchant for building regional alliances to fight Communist threat in Southeast Asia provided the incentive.

Sri Lanka Perspectives - October 2012

Col R Hariharan

Highlights

Abolition of 13^th Amendment: The provincial autonomy issue again came the fore as Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and leaders of two coalition partners - the right wing Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and the left wing National Freedom Front (NFF) of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) sought the abolition of 13^th Amendment to the Constitution. This dissension within the ruling alliance could neutralize Indian efforts to get the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to restart talks with the government on the reconciliation process. 

Miscellaneous: 

• Closure of refinery
• India-Sri Lanka FTA’s progress.
• ‘KP’s new role.

Indian Intelligence - Thoughts on new approach to change

Ajit Doval, Director Vivekananda International Foundation

In constant race against time and ever searching for new ideas to defeat ingenuity of their adversaries, for intelligence agencies to change is not an option but a compulsive necessity. Regrettably, those who change only when they have to, pay an un-affordably high price. Worse, it is often preceded by a nation bruised if not bled. Imaginative changes, innovation in tools of intelligence generation and analysis and constant up-gradation of capacities only can keep them a step ahead of their adversaries. The paper analyses the dynamics of change in the Indian context and some of the new realities that Indian intelligence need to factor in for designing its strategy for change.

Is gun replacing deadly sickle?

Col R Hariharan 

Two recent incidents of crime using revolvers in quick succession in and around Chennai show gun culture is making headway in Tamil Nadu. The significance of real estate business connections in these incidents cannot be ignored at a time when ‘land grabbing’ cases is hogging the headlines.  People are shocked because they are brought up on the myth that Tamil Nadu is an amaithy poonga (garden of peace) unlike North Indian states like the UP or Bihar known for their gun culture.

Wanted: a national grand strategy

Col R Hariharan (Retd) 
 

India’s National Security Advisor Mr Shivshankar Menon, while delivering the Cariappa Memorial Lecture last October summarised the changing Indian security environment as: “If Asia is our theatre, South Asia is our home.” 

Asian theatre is vast – after all it is the world’s largest and most populous continent covering 30 percent of the world’s land space and hosting 60 percent of global population. India’s growth into an important economic power in this vast region must encompass a vision which stretches territorially in extent from the Bosphorous to Western Pacific. In keeping with this, India’s strategic vision has to expand from local to regional to Asian theatre  keeping pace with its complexities.

Sri Lanka Perspectives – September 2012

Col R Hariharan

Highlights

• President Mahinda Rajapaksa met Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh at New Delhi during his visit to lay the foundation stone of the International University for Buddhist and Indic Studies at Sanchi.

• The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) swept the polls in North-Central and Sabaragamuwa provincial council elections underlining Rajapaksa’s national popularity. However, UPFA won a slender majority and formed the Eastern provincial council (EPC) government with the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC).

• Sri Lanka used the Commonwealth Parliamentarians Conference at Colombo to show case its achievements in rehabilitation and reconstruction in the post-war period.

• China continued its high profile forays into Sri Lanka with the visit of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Wu Bangguo and signed 16 agreements with Sri Lanka during the visit.

• The U.S. has continued its sustained engagement with Sri Lanka which gained momentum after the passing of the U.S. sponsored resolution seeking greater accountability from Sri Lanka at the last UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in March 2012.

OROP or No OROP

The demand for one-rank-one-pension (OROP) is a demand of Indian military servicemen for over four decades now. Government had been playing dicks and drakes with demand which has been accepted all the political parties, parliamentary select committee and gone through the legal jungle as well. 

Recently a misleading announcement was made in media that OROP has been cleared by the government. But when the details came it was most disappointing; apparently the government was again using the selight of hand to sugar coat the bitter pill it was dishing out to servicemen. The announcement was universally condemned for misleading the public. I am reproducing a hard hitting editorial published in The Statesman on September 26, which lays bare the wheeler-dealer ways of government on this issue.

Advice to the Oracle of South Block

The Military Secretary’s Branch at the Army Headquarters deals with the career of army officers, somewhat like the human resources development department of a corporate house. But unlike the latter, it handled problems faced by officers in the most bureaucratic manner lacking the human touch. It used to behave like the proverbial three monkeys which never heard, saw or said anything; even where it could help out the officer it behaved like the oracle of South Block, where it is located.

In my own case, when it unilaterally extended my service for three more years when I was with the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka. I accepted it willingly as operations were on; I had only one request: please post me to Chennai before retirement so that I can sort out my outstanding personal problems before retirement. The MS Branch had agreed to this request, I was informed. 

But when I had barely one more year to serve, IPKF was pulled out MS Branch ordered my transfer to a Corps Headquarters in Chandigarh area. I was told there was no vacancy in Chennai. When I was travelling to Chandigarh, I met another Colonel in Delhi airport. He told me he wanted a posting to Chandigarh and unfortunately MS Branch insisted on his transfer to Chennai.  This is one small example of how the MS Branch used to behave; I am sure many others have even more unpleasant memories of how MS Branch behaved just like a bunch of paper pushers rather than serious professionals committed to leadership development in army.

‘Tamil separatism may resurface, but not the LTTE’

The issue of discrimination against Tamils in Sri Lanka has recently led to strong protests against Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa as well as some pilgrims from the island nation.

India and Sri Lanka will be able to tide over the current wave of protests and manage to maintain their friendly ties, believes Colonel R Hariharan.

He is a former Military Intelligence officer and an expert on Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Colonel Hariharan has also been awarded the Visish Sewa Medal for his stint as the head of the intelligence unit of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990.

In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, Colonel Hariharan talks about how Jayalalithaa is using anti-Lanka protests for political mileage and why the Rajapaksa government should immediately address the grievances of the nation's Tamil population

India will only alienate Lanka if it tries to coerce it'

Written by:  Shubham Ghosh 

The Tamil issue has resurfaced recently affecting both India's domestic politics and foreign policy priorities. While there are calls to boycott Sri Lanka for overlooking Tamil sentiments, other quarters believe such measures would only affect India's foreign relations with the island state ruled by a powerful President. OneIndia News speaks to retired Military Intelligence officer of the Indian Army, Col R Hariharan on the issue.

Here is the full interview:

OneIndia: We are seeing protest in the Indian media about the Sri Lankan government's atrocities against the Tamils there. Tamil Nadu CM Jayalalithaa took a retaliatory stance against the island nation by driving out football teams and pilgrims.

There is a call for boycotting Sri Lanka from certain sections. India-Sri Lanka relations are not simplistic for besides the ethnic sentiments, a crucial strategic significance is also attached to them. Leaders like Jayalalithaa are actually endangering India's bilateral engagements with Sri Lanka in the name of 'shielding' ethnic nationalism.

If we turn belligerent towards them and do not show interest in a peace process, the Lankans can retaliate in their country against Indian sentiments as well. Do you think such coercive diplomacy will do India any favour? What is your takes on this?

Sri Lanka: Roadblocks to ethnic reconciliation

By Col R Hariharan

Post Conflict Sri Lanka: Rebuilding of the Society

Edited by VR Raghavan

Vij Books, New Delhi, 2012, pp 194, Rs 850

Sri Lanka army ended 25 years of Tamil separatist insurgency on May 19, 2009 when it defeated the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But the victory in what the government called the Humanitarian War (an oxymoron as no war is humanitarian) came at a colossal cost. Three lakhs of people became destitute in the war torn Northern Province. Infrastructure and public services totally destroyed during the war are yet to be fully restored. The trauma of war is very much there in Northern Province putting strains on Sri Lankan society. And the political process to bring back the Tamils to national mainstream is not making much headway.

Use of social media for “war by other means”

By Col R Hariharan (Retd.)

Al Qaeda in Yemen has asked Muslims to step up their protests and kill more U.S. diplomats after the U.S. ambassador to Libya was killed when violent anti-U.S. protestors attacked the U.S. embassy in Benghazi. In a significant statement, the Libyan Prime Minister has said the attack on the U.S. embassy was a preplanned one. Libya was one of the many countries across the world where anti-U.S. protests were triggered when a U.S. made film depicting Prophet Mohammed in a highly objectionable way was put on YouTube. 

Chinese defence minister’s visit to Sri Lanka: an Indian perspective

By Col R Hariharan

China’s Defence Minister General Liang Guanglie’s visited Sri Lanka for five days from August 29, 2012. The first-ever visit by a Chinese defence minister to Sri Lanka with an entourage of 23 members indicates the ever increasing Chinese interest in the island nation.

The defence minister called upon President Rajapaksa and met with the Secretary of Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa. He also visited the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) and and the Defence Service College (DSC) – a national school established for children of defence services and police personnel. Even there the defence minister’s visit was limited to interaction with military personnel only. There was no press meet organised for the visiting delegation. Evidently there was a conscious effort to keep the visit at a low key. It would be charitable to think that this was done as both sides were mindful of India’s sensitivities to Chinese overtures in Sri Lanka. But it would probably accurate to say that the Chinese defence minister did not want the Colombo visit to be overplayed as New Delhi was his next stop.     

While Building Economic Linkages, also Bridge the Ethnic Divide

R. Hariharan

Introduction

Sri Lanka is undergoing catharsis after a resurgent Sri Lankan army ended, on 19 May 2009, the twenty-five-year-long national ordeal at the hands of Velupillai Prabhakaran and the LTTE. Since 1983 Sri Lanka had waged war against the LTTE in three spells that ended in a stalemate. The final victory came only in the fourth episode that started in mid-2006. The victory has come at a great cost – the lives of nearly 24,000 soldiers, over 27,000 LTTE cadres and about 80,000 civilians. Millions of rupees worth of infrastructure, material and habitations were destroyed.

At the macro level, Sri Lanka’s success has demonstrated how a determined national leadership can decisively defeat a strong, well-armed and globally networked insurgent group. A dynamic military leadership managed to turn a demoralised army into a winning force and regain control of over 16,000 sq km of territory in more than eight districts. The Sinhala community’s ethnic pride, hurt by the LTTE’s spectacular raid on Katunayake airbase in July 2001, destroying seventeen aircraft, has been regained. The victory has also given rise to triumphalism bordering on Sinhala chauvinism, and resurfacing of fundamentalist Buddhist elements in politics. This appears to be affecting the way Sri Lanka looks at the unresolved issues of ethnic minorities, and global prescriptions to resolve them.

Sri Lanka Perspectives - August 2012

  Highlights

• Security forces organised two international events to highlight their contribution to the nation’s effort in reconstruction and rehabilitation in war torn zone in North and East.
• The first-ever visit by the Chinese defence minister to Sri Lanka shows the increasing Chinese interest in the island nation.
• As provincial council elections approach, more reports of political violence had been reported. Widespread misuse of government resources by the candidates of ruling coalition has been reported. In Eastern Province, the stand-off between the two major Muslim parties – the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Muslim National Congress (MNC) turned violent.   
•  Tamil Eelam Supporters Conference in Chennai turns out to be a damp squib although it has rallied support for the Eelam Tamils. This triggered objection to training Sri Lanka army officers in military institutions in India has once again become a political issue in Tamil Nadu.   

China's world view in 21st century

Mr Shyam Saran, distinguished diplomat and former foreign secretary, delivering the Second Annual K Subrahmanyam Memorial lecture on August 29, 2012 presented an intersting analysis of what India should know about China's world view in the 21st century. Text of his speech is given below.    

China in the Twenty-First Century: 

What India Needs to Know About China’s World View

Shyam Saran

              

Respected Ambassador Rasgotra, respected Shrimati Subrahmanayam, Chairman, Global India Foundation, Vice-Admiral Jacob,Vice-Chairman, Ambassador Salman Haider, Member Secretary, Shri O.P. Mishra, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, Ambassador Rasgotra for chairing this memorial lecture. I am honoured by the presence of one of my most respected peers.

              

Maritime Security and Challenges in the Indian Ocean Region

by Commodore R. S. Vasan 

(Theme Address delivered by Commodore RS Vasan IN (Retd) during the joint seminar conducted by Center for Asia Studies and Stella Maries College on 08 August 2012 at Helene DE Chappotin Center)

Any seminar on the Security Challenges in the Indian Ocean region, brings attention to the twin subjects of  terrorism and piracy as the two main ingredients. Indeed these two headings have taken centre stage particularly due to the impact on mercantile marine trade that is coming under increased pressure as they traverse through high risk areas. There is enhanced awareness that Indian Ocean is the focus of the world due to the growing of economies and the dependence of these economies on the sea routes for development and security. Though most of the discussions tend to focus on conventional security challenges, there is a need to remember that the very concept of security has undergone a paradigm shift. So when we discuss the security challenges in the Indian Ocean, we also have to discuss issues of security which are distinctly different from the conventional security mould. The reference is to do with fisheries and livelihood security, environmental security, Search and Rescue, Marine Pollution and other such non glamorous issues.

Sri Lanka: Moving from 'Tamil Eelam' to 'Eelam Tamil'

By Col R Hariharan

Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) leader M Karunanidhi seems to have quietly acquiesced to New Delhi’s pressure to shift the focus of his widely publicized “Eelam Tamils’ Rights Protection Conference” on August 12 from ‘Tamil Eelam’ to ‘Eelam Tamil.’ The exercise was more than semantics; except for two – Thol Thirumavalavan of the Viduthalai Chiruthai Katchi (VCK) and Veeramani of the Dravida Kazagham (DK) – other mainline speakers hardly made a reference to an independent Tamil Eelam. Even Thiruma’s speech was mostly devoted to redeem Karunanidhi’s reputation damaged during the Eelam War-4.

Who cares for armed forces grievances?

For sometime now the armed forces, particularly the army, had been in the lime light for the wrong reasons. And TV channels went into a tizzy when the former Chief of Army Staff General VK Singh filed a case in the Supreme Court after his efforts to correct his date of birth in the official records failed. Recently a much more serious issue has been brought to the attention of the Government when the Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee and Naval Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma wrote to the Defence Minister about the absence of any representative from the Services in the committee examining armed forces’ pay and pension anomalies.

The normally taciturn defence minister has also pitched in to convey his concern in writing to the Prime Minister suggesting that “things may take a bad turn” if timely corrective action with regard to the anomalies in fixation of salaries and pensions of the armed forces is not initiated.

But the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh appears to have chosen to ignore these concerns, at least for the time being. Is the Prime Minister ignoring the storm signals? As he is not well known for his public communication, one would think so. But then who cares for armed forces grievances? This is what I hear veterans saying.

India Navy Force Modernisation

Two defence analysts have commented on the India’s Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Admiral Nirmal Verma address at the press conference in New Delhi on  August 2, 2012. Ajai Shukla in his blog http://ajaishukla.blogspot.in draws to CNS comment “major policy statements from the US, from our perspective the primary areas of interest to us is from the Malacca Strait to the (Persian/Arabian) Gulf in the west, and to the Cape of Good Hope in the south… the Pacific and the South China Sea are of concern to us, but activation in those areas is not on the cards.”

In this context the CNS pointed to the Indian Navy’s cooperation with China, particularly in anti-piracy patrols off West Asia, where the Indian, Chinese and Japanese navies coordinate their patrolling.

Sri Lanka Perspectives: July 2012

By Col R Hariharan

Highlights

• As provincial council elections in three provinces are nearing political parties are manoeuvring to gain advantageous position. The elections in Eastern Province which has an ethnic mix would indicate how much the government has managed to convince minorities of its performance.  

• Sri Lanka has announced an action plan to implement the recommendations of the LLRC.      

• India has signed agreements to implement the first phase of constructing 43000 houses  for IDPs. New Delhi’s coalition partner and leader of the DMK has agreed to drop the demand for Eelam from the agenda of Tamil Eelam supporters conference to be held in Chennai.

25 years of India-Sri Lanka Agreement: Questions & Answers

By Col R Hariharan

[Extracts of my answers to questions raised by media on the India-Sri Lanka Agreement 1987 in the last two days are given below.]

The Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardane Accord completes 25 years on July 29, 1987. Many now feel it represents a total diplomatic failure of India. As one who was present in Sri Lanka when Indian forces were operating from 1987 to 90, what are your comments?

Not all, but some of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora consider it as India’s diplomatic failure. The Agreement represented a strategic rather than a mere diplomatic initiative. The Agreement was signed after India arm-twisted Sri Lanka President JR Jayawardane to sign it. He had little option but to do so as no external help was forthcoming particularly after India carried out Operation Poomalai when Indian air force planes dropped much needed food supplies to a beleaguered Jaffna. This showed India would not hesitate to use force if Sri Lanka ignored Indian concerns. 

A tale of two interventions

R. Hariharan

A quarter century on, India’s military involvement in Sri Lanka remains relevant as a lesson in poor leadership in contrast to the 1971 war to liberate East Pakistan

The India-Sri Lanka Agreement 1987, also known as the Rajiv-Jayawardene Accord, completes 25 years on July 29. As a soldier who actively participated in India’s military intervention in both Sri Lanka (1987-90) and East Pakistan in 1971 (that created Bangladesh), I cannot help comparing the two exercises in the assertion of India’s power.

The two theatres, and the environment in India at the time of the two operations, were totally different. In Bangladesh, it was conventional war against the well trained Pakistan army. India went into it after much military planning and preparation. In contrast, in Sri Lanka, the army got embroiled in counter-insurgency combat with Tamil insurgents, for which it was unprepared. Force levels in Bangladesh were much higher. The air force and navy formed part of the overall offensive plan. In Sri Lanka it was essentially a decentralised infantry operation against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Forgetting Kargil

July 26, 2012 was Kargil Day. It went past practically unnoticed except for the Defence Minister and the chiefs of three services laying down wreaths at the India Gate. This is not surprising as the nation and most of the media continue to wallow in trivialities of political shenanigans or film stars peccadilloes. Are we waiting for another Kargil to happen to pay the price for ignoring the warning Kargil sent us? It seems so. 

This is what I understood when I read General VP Malik's article in Times of India yesterday. He was the army chief at the time of Kargil war, and a warning from him sends a strong message to the nation. 

Book Review: The Eelam Struggle Saga

By R Hariharan

The Prabhakaran Saga 
Author: S Murari
Publisher: Sage, Rs 350

The book, besides outlining the history of Lanka’s Tamil problem, provides a few lessons on how to handle insurgencies and their aftermath, says R Hariharan

The history of Sri Lanka’s Tamil insurgency and its bloody end after 25 years of struggle at the hands of the Sri Lankan Army is a complex one. Veteran journalist S Murari’s The Prabhakaran Saga covers the Tamil Eelam armed struggle and Sri Lanka’s response in their multiple dimensions. The chronological coverage of mélange of conspiracies and assassinations, politics and perfidy, and the tragedy of mindless violence enables the reader to understand the complexities of the war and its root causes.

Sri Lanka: Gotabhaya’s larger than life role

Col R Hariharan

Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother, is perhaps the most controversial personality in Sri Lanka. He is interviewer’s delight because of his forthright, no-holds barred comments are sure to be a hit. At the same time, he is media man’s nightmare because Gotabhaya does not allow critical comments go unchallenged and makes no bones about it (pun not intended). 

None can deny Sri Lanka benefited from the veteran’s return from the U.S. in 2005. He took upon the most thankless job at that time - manning the defence ministry when war looked imminent.  His hands on operational experience enabled him to provide seamless connectivity between national leadership and military that had eluded his predecessors in earlier episodes of Eelam war.

Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu: Trampling upon each other’s toes

By Col R Hariharan

Sri Lanka air force personnel who had completed part of their technical training at Air Force Station, Tambaram, Chennai were taken off the course and sent to Bangalore after Ms Jayalalitha, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, raised a hue and cry over their presence in Tamil Nadu. The irrepressible chief minister will no doubt count this as a small victory in her ongoing political confrontation with her bête noir M Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetrda Kazagham, a favoured partner of the ruling coalition in New Delhi.

This is not the first time the Tamil Nadu chief minister has used the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka to settle scores with the Congress and DMK. (Knowing the mood in Tamil Nadu, I don’t know why Ministry of Defence continues to get entangled in avoidable controversies over such an issue repeatedly.)  Nor it is going to be the last time because the Sri Lanka Tamil issue which was on the sidelines of Tamil Nadu politics has now been brought to centre stage. With political patronage it is taking strong anti Sri Lanka overtones.

Sri Lanka Perspectives - June 2012

By Col R Hariharan

Highlights

·       

•  Indian National Security Advisor Shiv Shankara Menon’s one-day visit triggered media speculation as it came after President Mahinda Rajapaksa met with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on the sidelines at the Rio+20 summit in Brazil in the third week of the month.

• Political confrontation between ruling coalition and opposition was triggered after ten goons armed with T-56 rifles, riding motorcycles carried out brazen daylight attack on a JVP meeting in Southern Sri Lanka killing two persons.

• Provincial councils of Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces have been dissolved preparatory to the elections to be held for them in September 2012. The election commission has called for filing of nominations from July 12 to 19; the elections will be held on a Saturday falling on 1st, 8th or 15th September 2012. Opposition parties have castigated the government for not announcing the Northern Provincial Council elections, which are long overdue.  

Sri Lanka: Rajapaksa’s action replay in UK

By Col R Hariharan

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s key note speech at the Commonwealth Economic Forum organised by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the City of London today was called off by the organisers “due to pressure of pro-LTTE elements in London” as the Sri Lanka High Commission claimed. 

Though the Scotland Yard was ready to provide assured security, the CBC “decided it was not in their interest to stage the event” according to media reports. However, CBC website merely said: “After careful consideration, the morning sessions of the Forum… will not take place.''

Sri Lanka Perspectives: May 2012

By Col R Hariharan

     Highlighs

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his Victory Day speech defends the role and deployment of army in Northern Province and emphasises it would not be withdrawn as Tamil Diaspora and the LTTE remnants abroad were trying to revive armed struggle for Tamil Eelam

Release of former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka, from prison after the President granted a remission of his three-year sentence, has introduced a new element in opposition politics.

Miscellaneous: The World Bank is doubling its preferential credit to Sri Lanka to $ 500 million this year. Price of cooking gas, milk and cement which were consumed in retail have been hiked in response to falling rate of Sri Lanka rupee. Seventeen Chinese money launderers were arrested for deportation. The chances of reconciliation process resuming appear dim as the government has ignored the UNP’s plea in parliament to create suitable environment for the Parliamentary Select Committee to take up the issue.

Legacy of General VK Singh

The just completed tenure of General VK Singh as Chief of Army Staff will be remembered as an epoch making one. It was marked by a series of controversies as single handedly he tried to clean up an entrenched corrupt system. I am reproducing an interesting analysis of the legacy Gen VK Singh leaves behind by Lt Gen Harwant Singh, former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, that had appeared in the Hindustan Times (Chandigarh edition) for your reading.                                               

Gen VK Singh's legacy

By  Lt-Gen Harwant Singh ( Retd )
                     
Much has been written in the press and much more discussed on TV channels as to Gen VK Singh’s legacy. Equally there have been controversies and allegations on his conduct, relations with the MoD and with senior officers within the army. It is time to examine the issues in their correct perspective and close this chapter of accusations and counter charges. 

Sri Lanka: Why military matters in the North?

By Col. R. Hariharan 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Victory Day speech this year on May 19 was largely a defensive discourse justifying the continued presence large army formations in the North. The sense of triumphalism that had become hallmark of Victory Day speeches was missing this year. 

This is understandable as the President’s speeches from last year onwards have become increasingly reactive as international focus on Sri Lanka in recent times had been presenting it in bad light.  Many of Sri Lanka’s problems are based on age-old prejudices and three decades of bad blood between the ethnic communities.  

Fonseka's second war

By Col R Hariharan

The presidential pardon to General Sarath Fonseka (officially it is ‘ex-General’ as he has been stripped of his hard earned rank) after he completed only two years of a three-year jail sentence should come as no surprise.

As things happen in the Island nation, the idea touched off speculations on when and how he will be released. Of course, there was a lot of build up before it really happened with the perennial political go-between Tiran Alles MP took up the General’s case for pardon with his one time pal - the President. And the former Army Chief comes up once again in national focus with the speculation on what is he going to do?   

Myanmar: Testing Political Acumen

[This article was written on April 21, 2011; since then, Aung San Suu Kyi and NLD members have been sworn in as members of parliament. The article is reproduced here courtesy South Asia Magazine, May 2012 issue which carries it]

Testing Political Acumen

Emerging victorious, Aung San Suu Kyi has created quite an impression in Myanmar and beyond. But how much political refinement will she need before she is ready to face the real battle for democracy?

By Col R Hariharan (retd)

Nobel laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi who had been leading the struggle for democracy led the National League for Democracy (NLD) to a resounding victory in the recent parliamentary by-elections in Myanmar. The re-entry of Suu Kyi and the NLD in Myanmar politics opens a new chapter in the troubled history of this nation.Undoubtedly, Suu Kyi’s charismatic leadership and tremendous popularity bagged 44 of the 45 seats for the NLD.

Sri Lanka: Flogging the Tamil Eelam issue

By Col. R. Hariharan 

May Day celebrations in Sri Lanka this year saw an unusual sight. R Sampanthan, the septuagenarian leader fighting for Sri Lanka Tamil rights and president of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), standing shoulder to shoulder with the United National Party (UNP) leader Ranil Wickremesinghe, waved a Sri Lanka flag to the cheers of a massive crowd in Jaffna celebrating the May Day. 

Chennai Centre for China Studies - An appeal

The Chennai Centre for China Studies (CCCS), a premier think tank based in Chennai, India, exclusively devoted to covering developments in China, invites voluntary donations from all Indian nationals including the NRIs, in order to help its further progress and consolidation.

 The CCCS researchers include eminent analysts in India and its managing committee comprises former top civil servants, academicians and  military specialists  who remained involved in China-related work for a long time. Access to Chinese language material for research is a specialty of the CCCS. Its website www.c3sindia.org is popular and being viewed throughout the world.

So far, the CCCS has been managing its working, out of self-generated funds and limited contributions from well-wishers. To enhance its capabilities further, it now needs additional financial support and wishes to appeal for donations from the interested Indian nationals, both at home and abroad.

 Following are details which may be required in connection with remitting money to the CCCS:

Account name: Chennai Centre for China Studies
Account No.: 0475 0100 0030 228
Bank: Indian Overseas Bank
Branch Address: Tower Branch, AC-56,5th Avenue,Anna Nagar(West), Chennai- 600 040
Branch Code:  0475
IFS Code:  IOBA0000475
Swift Code: IOBAINBB001

2. The prospective donors may choose any suitable banking money transfer channel for remittance to the above mentioned bank in Chennai, India. Alternately, they may wish to send a crossed cheque direct to the CCCS by courier/air post to the office address given below.

3. The CCCS is yet to be granted exemption under 80G of Indian Income Tax act; as such, the donors may not be eligible for any tax benefit. 

The CCCS will be happy to respond if there is need for further information. 
 

Our Contact Address:

Director, Chennai Centre for China Studies (CCCS),
 2 Apoorva Apartments,
7 Maharani Chinnamma Road, Venus colony,
Alwarpet, Chennai- 600 018
Tel: 044-42113140
fax : 044-42113150