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.
Since the Eeelam War IV ended in 2009 coinciding
with the parliamentary poll, Ms Jayalalitha has used its adverse fall out on
Sri Lankan Tamils as one of the important issues to boost her political space
in shaping national affairs – she wants to have a say in shaping India’s Sri
Lanka policy although it is in New Delhi’s domain. She has demonstrated it in
her other actions also: proposing PA Sangma as a candidate in the presidential
poll and protesting against the increasing erosion of state’s powers by the
centre by objecting to the creation of the National Counter Terrorism Centre. By such actions she probably hopes to
influence government formation in New Delhi if an opportunity arises after the
2014 parliamentary poll.
There are four issues in her Sri Lanka agenda on
which she wants New Delhi to act: holding of a referendum for creation of Tamil
Eelam, international action against Sri Lanka army personnel and political
leaders for alleged war crimes against Tamils, pressurize Sri Lanka for a
political solution to bring equity to Tamils, and impose economic embargo on
Sri Lanka till it complies.
These issues reflect the concerns of the people of
Tamil Nadu at the cavalier way Sri Lanka had been handling Tamil affairs in the
post war period. New Delhi’s reticence even to discuss these issues in public
domain has added to the suspicion that its acts of omission are partly to blame
for the plight of Tamils. While
diplomacy requires confidentiality, the public has a right to know the
government policy with certain amount of clarity.
So these concerns have found widespread sympathy
regardless of Ms Jayalalitha’s motives in projecting them. As they have a
political relevance, their potential to shape future course of India-Sri Lanka
relations should not be under estimated. Equally true is the possibility of
some of her demands resulting in Eelam Tamil separatist aspirations spilling
over in Tamil Nadu with detrimental impact on India's cordial relations with
Sri Lanka.
As these issues fall in the domain of external
affairs, New Delhi is responsible for acting upon them. Obviously, New Delhi is
faced with Hobson’s choice in acting upon her demands as Tamil Eelam issue is
not the only ingredient in India's multi-faceted relationship with Colombo. So
perhaps New Delhi is trying to nuance its actions to achieve a balance in its
approach to various issues.
Although the Centre had over a period of time
clarified its stand on most of the issues Ms Jayalalithaa had raised, the
overall picture lacks clarity. By its
reluctance to take public into confidence New Delhi has given the impression
that the issues she has raised are not serious. The Centre should have
confidence in its Sri Lanka policy.
India stands for a united Sri Lanka. It is opposed
to the creation of independent Tamil Eelam. So it is necessary for New Delhi to
unambiguously clarify its stand to the Tamil Nadu chief minister on this issue.
On issues like war crimes, Indian stand is largely based upon international
reaction at the UN forums. Probably greater consultation with the state
government, periodically addressing Tamils concern in its Sri Lanka policy
statements and greater transparency in its reasoning would clear the air.
But the way India has gone about it so far has left
everyone, including Sri Lankans, unhappy. Centre would do well to work out a
game plan on how to handle Colombo as well as Chennai so that its policy is
brought to bear upon the concerns of Tamil Nadu while respecting Sri Lanka’s
concerns on revival of Tamil separatist demand.
Of course, as democratic governments are subject to
electoral fortunes there is always fear among political parties in clarifying
their stand on various issues. However, imparting clarity on its actions would
probably prevent further loss of electoral support for Congress party in Tamil
Nadu. In any case it is likely to continue to retain the loyalty of about 12
percent voters who form its core strength. Similarly, the DMK is also likely to
retain its core support. So it will be a risk worth taking if both the parties
are really concerned about satisfying the concerns of Tamils.
Thanks to Sri Lanka’s
clumsy and indifferent handling of Tamil concerns in the post war period as
well as public concern about war crimes allegations, pro-LTTE elements among
the Tamil Diaspora have been given a lease of life to revive the Tamil Eelam
struggle. Notable among them is the Transnational Government of Tamil Eelam (TGTE)
formed by the LTTE’s overseas representative Kumaran Pathmanathan (KP) in the
last days of LTTE. Its objective is to struggle for creating independent Tamil
Eelam, ostensibly by democratic means. Led by Visvanathan Rudrakumaran, U.S.
based legal advisor of the LTTE, as ‘prime minister,’ the TGTE has offices in
12 countries.
They have made common
cause with other Tamil Diaspora groups like the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) to get the Sri Lankan
army war crimes investigated by international tribunal. Their recent successes
in preventing President Rajapaksa from addressing meetings in UK during his
visits have emboldened them to come together on such occasions. A joint
statement issued by the GTF and the TGTE on the occasion of the “Mullivaikkal
Remembrance Day” on May 19, 2012 is of special interest to India. They said
both the organisations have agreed upon several areas of joint action. The GTF
“intends to liaise with other Diaspora Tamil organisations and representatives
of Tamil speaking people in Sri Lanka in its efforts to build similar forms of
shared understanding.” The TGTE for its part “is engaged in building a power base
among the world Tamil community, particularly in Tamil Nadu, and with sections
of the international civil society.”
The TGTE has already shown keen interest in furthering its linkages in
Tamil Nadu. In April 2012 the TGTE nominated five persons from Tamil Nadu as
“members” of TGTE “parliament.” A TGTE Solidarity Centre with Prof Saraswathi
Rajendran, a TGTE parliament member as convener, operates in Tamil Nadu.
In a bid to recoup DMK after its assembly poll
rout, M Karunanidhi has brushed up his Eelam card for political play. He has
announced the revival of the defunct Tamil Eelam Supporters Orgranisation
(TESO) organisation formed in 1986 to pursue the Tamil Eelam agenda. Along with
Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK), and the Paatali Makkal Katchi (PMK), the
DMK leader proposes to organise a conference of TESO on August 5 at Villupuram
with participation from Tamil Diaspora members.
As
India’s Sri Lanka policy has a larger strategic context, revival of Tamil Eelam
issue by both the Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu in tandem with Tamil Diaspora
efforts, should be a matter of concern not only for Sri Lanka but India as
well. The support of Tamil Nadu leaders to Tamil Eelam might only be limited to
political rhetoric at present. However, their support legitimises the
separatist cause and provides political space to pro-LTTE fringe parties in
Tamil Nadu that deify Prabhakaran.
If the DMK fully activates
TESO, its link up with TGTE would be firmed up. This increases the risk of
Tamil Nadu becoming a safe haven for Tamil extremism with serious implications
for national security. As these developments affect Sri Lanka’s internal
security, it would kindle legitimate concerns in Colombo. It would become a
foil in the hands of anti-India lobbies in Sri Lanka and strengthen Sinhala
chauvinism.
Thus both the Dravidian
parties need to understand the issues on a broader perspective and control
their rhetoric on Tamil Eelam in their slanging matches. The Centre and Tamil
Nadu government have no option but to sit together and carefully evolve a
cogent approach to separate the issue of concern for Tamils in Sri Lanka from
the Tamil Eelam issue.
For such an
initiative to succeed both India and Sri Lanka will have to address each
other’s concerns expeditiously and show some results. Otherwise, the already
bruised relations between the two countries would be damaged further. Moreover,
Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu will continue to trample upon each other’s toes
further vitiating the atmosphere, without any benefit to hapless Tamils
affected by the war.
Courtesy: South Asia Analysis Group Note No 659 8-Jul-2012
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