Is Modi a role model for Sri Lankan president Sirisena?

Maithripala Sirisena's agenda in New Delhi could include winning back India's confidence by correcting Mahinda Rajapaksa's "China tilt".

COL R HARIHARAN | POLITICS |   3-minute read  | @colhari2

Sri Lanka's newly elected President Maithripala Sirisena is visiting New Delhi on February 16, his first port of call after becoming President.

Narendra Modi's spectacular rise as a national leader from the sidelines of Gujarat state, hopping over seniors in the party hierarchy, to lead the nation is a real life example for many ambitious politicians to emulate.

Did Modi provide a role model for the newly elected Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena's success?

It would seem so if we see Sirisena's surprise victory against the two-term President of Sri Lanka and his long term party colleague Mahinda Rajapaksa, in the recently concluded presidential election.

Four months ago nobody would have imagined Sirisena, a senior minister who was seen only in the shadow of Rajapaksa, would  reduce the President's bid for a third term to an unfulfilled dream. Skepticism about Modi was initially just as bad; even many of the BJP stalwarts weren't sure of Modi delivering 272 seats in parliament he promised.

Even if Modi was not a role model, his success probably gave Sirisena the courage to contest against Rajapaksa, the most powerful president Sri Lanka had produced  after the first president JR Jayawardane.

Both took their first steps in politics with strong ideological convictions. At a young age RSS attracted Modi while young Sirisena was attracted to communism for a short while before he changed his mind and joined the left-of-centre Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Modi migrated from RSS to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). After that both never changed their party affiliations. While Modi became the general secretary of the BJP, Sirisena remained the general secretary of the SLFP for over a decade.

Both went to the poll with a clear agenda and deadlines to implement their agenda. Modi set six months for his basic agenda while Sirisena is implementing the opposition's 100-day action plan. Both are trying to clean up governance, bring to book the corrupt and restructure the way the government rules.

Maithripala has chosen New Delhi as his first foreign destination after coming to power. That underlines his strong expectation of support from India. But he will have to satisfy Modi that though he had been a close aide of Rajapaksa's policies including the former president's unfulfilled promises to India on implementing the 13th amendment to the Constitution and resuming the political reconciliation process with Tamil leaders.  

Sirisena's agenda in New Delhi could include a few items. First is to win back India's confidence by correcting Rajapaksa's "China tilt" that had soured India. He is making visible moves to achieve balance in Sri Lanka' relations with the two Asian nations.

Secondly, he would try to muster India's support in the UN Human Rights Commission which is meeting next month. Sri Lanka fears it could be embarrassed by the discussion there on Rajapaksa's refusal to implement UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka's alleged war crimes and human rights excesses. India's influence can be useful in buying time for Sirisena to work out a face saving solution. Of course, he will have to convince India he is sincerely trying to address as Modi is likely to raise this issue.

Thirdly, India has influence over Tamil National Alliance, which can swing Tamil votes in Sirisena's favour in the general elections in April 2015. India can also help resuscitate Sri Lankan economy and bring in more investment. That would give strength to Sirisena in dealing with China.

So whether Modi is role model or not, common political perspectives on governance and structural changes in governance between the two leaders can help Sirisena in having a fruitful meeting with Modi. This is important as he is going to China next month.

#Sri Lanka, #India-Sri Lanka relations, #Narendra Modi, #Maithripala Sirisena

http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/is-narendra-modi-a-role-model-for-sri-lankan-president-maithripala-sirisena/story/1/2064.html

Will the burning of Jordananian pilot by the ISIS cause a backlash among Muslims?

Islam forbids burning or cremating a Muslim because it is against Quranic injunctions.

COL R HARIHARAN @colhari2 | DailyO | POLITICS  | 4-minute read | 04-02-2015

With the burning of a captive Jordanian fighter pilot Mouath al-Kasaesbeh yesterday, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS – I prefer this name because it is more accurate than the grandiose "Islamic State") has added yet another feather to its cap of ignominy. The video put on the internet by the ISIS publicity department showed the young man kept in a cage set on fire. 

The young pilot was praying when the heinous act was carried out, according to some media reports. The gruesome video was not shown on many international news channels because of its forbiddingly horrible content. They were probably following their own unwritten decision not to show such videos because they would be aiding the ISIS which uses them as propaganda tools.

Unlike the ISIS’ beheading of Kenji Goto, a Japanese journalist, which set off a wave public outrage in Japan a few days back, the burning of the 27-year-old Jordanian may cause many more ripples in the turbulent waters of West Asia. He was an Arab, Muslim and belonged to the proud Jordanian armed forces. But most importantly he belonged to a tribe that steadfastly supports the ruling Hashemite monarch. Islam forbids burning or cremating a Muslim because it is against Quranic injunctions. Burning is considered an act of disrespect and dishonour to the dead. 

Even cremating a non-Muslim (kaaffir) is not permitted in Islam. In fact, many Muslim countries do not allow Hindus to cremate their dead in their countries for this reason. And young Mouath was a devout Arab Muslim belonging to a large religious family of an important tribe.

Whether it would have a backlash among Muslims, particularly among Arabs, is an open question because the ISIS has already committed many such despicable acts against Muslims. However, in Jordan it has stoked a strong sense of revenge in the country as whole. Jordanian authorities swiftly carried out the death sentence of the two terrorists held in captivity on learning of the death of the Jordanian prisoner. And that included the Iraqi woman suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi; the Jordanian authorities were ready to swap with the ISIS for the release of their F-16 pilot Mouath.

The king of Jordan cut short his tour of the US after a meeting with US President Obama soon after he learned of the pilot’s death. The king’s statement that the pilot was killed “in defence of his religion, his country and his (Islamic) nation” showed the way Jordan sees the killing of their pilot. Jordan has been a pillar of support to the effort of the US against the ISIS; it is a member of the five-nation Arab coalition involved in airstrikes against the ISIS in Syria.

The 100,000 strong Jordan armed force is perhaps one of the most modern forces in the Arab world. It has a small but efficient air force. So Jordan has the capability to deliver at least a short and swift blow to the ISIS. Jordan has one of the most competent spy agencies in West Asia; it has been closely working with the US and Western intelligence agencies. 

Jordan’s special operations forces are a professional body for carrying out swift operations. So the “strong, earth-shaking and decisive” response promised by the Jordanian government spokesman would probably in the form of a special intelligence operation to eliminate some of the top ISIS leaders or destroy a major asset that adds to the Jihadi groups military capability.

However, Jordanian troops are unlikely to be involved in land operations. There are two reasons for this. An estimated 4,200 ISIS followers are believed to be inside Jordan according to an American report. If this is correct, the ISIS can probably create a potentially dangerous situation internally. Moreover, sections of Jordanian public are already against Jordan joining its American and Arab allies in the fight against the ISIS; they feel there was no reason for their country to get involved in it. The king is a great survivor because he always considers public opinion in making decisive moves.

The burning of the Jordanian pilot brought back memories of another burning by the LTTE we saw on day of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) operations started in Sri Lanka in 1987. The Tamil Tigers in those days had revelled in burning of their enemy with a garland of tyres which was set on fire. First hand, we saw the smoking bodies of some members of a Sri Lanka Rupavahini TV crew tied to a pole and set ablaze. It was a cruel, wanton and inhuman act against the media men. In the interrogation of the LTTE captives I had always found that such incidents stirred no feeling of guilt or remorse. On the other hand they had a casual approach to “dying” for the cause rather than “living” and fighting for it (to borrow a dialogue from the movie epic The Bridge on the River Kwai.)

That is what terrorism does; it glorifies death; the more gruesome it is the more thrilled is the terrorist. This is the difference between the terrorist and the soldier, though both live and die with a gun. They are as different as chalk and cheese; let us not glorify terrorists.

#Muslims, #Jordan Pilot, #ISIS

 http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/will-the-burning-of-jordan-pilot-by-isis-cause-a-backlash-among-muslims-mouath-al-kasaesbeh-kenji-goto-sajida-al-rishawi/story/1/1838.html

The IS beheading of Japanese journalist is a deadly warning to India

http://www.dailyo.in/opinion/the-is-beheading-of-japanese-journalist-kenji-goto-shinzo-abe-is-a-deadly-warning-to-india-islam-syria/story/1/1779.html

Their message to the world at large; no “enemy of Islam” is safe in any corner of the world.

POLITICS | 5-minute read | 02-02- 2015 | DailyO |

Col R Hariharan  @colhari2

The beheading of a captive Japanese journalist Kenji Goto in Syria is the latest in the jihadi terror outfit Islamic State (IS)’s serial acts of barbaric killing of 

innocent and helpless people going on for some time now.

The IS found Kenji "guilty" of trying to save his Japanese friend who was beheaded earlier.

With their beheadings, Japan joins the growing rank of nations who want to settle blood debts with the IS. Japan is perhaps one of the few countries where the long arm of Islam reached late with perhaps less than 10,000 native Japanese Muslims. So what was the big deal in the IS adding Japanese victims to its bizarre headcount? With millions of dollars it is earning through captured oil wells, the IS does not need the $200 million ransom it demanded from Japan for its survival. Then,why this mindless killing?

The British-accented, English-speaking masked IS killer who held the knife to Kenji’s throat in the beheading video gave the answer: “Abe, because of your reckless decision to take part in an unwinnable war, this knife will not only slaughter Kenji, but will also carry on and cause carnage wherever your people are found. So, let the nightmare for Japan begin,” he said. The killer was referring to Abe’s pledge of $200 million non-military assistance to the countries fighting the IS.

With these killings across the global spectrum, the IS is making two statements. One, to demonstrate its immense reach to impress sections of young Muslims who feel the need for superheroes to avenge the Western world where they see their culture ridiculed and religion derided. They apparently lap up the IS propaganda videos to volunteer their services. Otherwise it is difficult to understand well-educated, second generation Muslims in the West joining the IS. For instance as many 2,000 such youth from Germany are reported to have joined the IS.

The second message from the IS is to the world at large; no “enemy of Islam” is safe in any corner of the world. The whole IS episode has left Muslims all over the world numb. They see both the perpetrators and victims of terrorism in their midst.

Nothing depicts this more starkly than in India. In Chennai, many hoardings in Tamil condemning terrorist acts in the name of Islam were prominently displayed by Muslim organisations along the route of Muharram procession through their locality. This was in sharp contrast to the serial reports of youth from Bangalore volunteering to join the IS. In the latest episode, Turkey has deported nine persons from Bangalore back to India after they were found trying cross over to Syria to join the IS; three of them were working in IT companies including one who had worked in the US for over a decade. The police are not sure if they were planning to join the IS and not to provide assistance to the suffering Sunni population in strife torn Syria as some of them claimed.

The IS’ bloody spoors are being left across Europe, the Arab world, South Asia, Southeast Asia and even Australia. How to deal with the IS is a question debated widely across the governments, civil society circles including Islamic ones and judicial pundits in many countries. Countries have responded in various ways. Jordan which is a frontline state facing the IS threat in its neighbourhood has warned it would carry out the death sentence of the IS terrorists in its custody if the IS kills the Jordan pilot in their custody. At the other end is Canada which had been a safe haven for LTTE’s overseas hub. It is now waking up to the IS terror threat. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is bringing a legislation that would make encouraging terror attacks a crime. It would also enlarge the powers of the country’s intelligence agency.

India cannot be in a state of denial that its population is doing its bit to further the objectives of the IS. The presence of 40 Indians under the control of the IS for some time now should be a matter of concern. So it should plan for the worst scenario. At the same time, the measures we take should be based on our actual needs rather than copying other models. We need to discuss and deliberate on this issue across the communities and the nation.

Will civil society bodies including religious ones make a positive contribution to encourage the dialogue process rather than nit-pick suggested solutions? Political parties can take the easiest first step: to shut up their fellow travelling activist bodies of various hues which spout paranoia and stoke violence in the name of secularism as well as religion. And we need to revisit our existing laws against terrorist organisations to make them more comprehensive. I doubt whether a politician or a religious head celebrating the IS for beheading of a civilian would be prosecuted under the existing counter terrorism laws in this country.

Can we adopt a law like what Canada is enacting? I can see the hackles of civil society activists rising; they always stand up whenever the human rights of the guilty are threatened. Yes; we need to safeguard the fundamental rights of every citizen including the terrorist. But we should not forget that the right to life of the hapless victim of terror is as precious as that of the terrorist. Can we carry out a dispassionate debate at evolving a comprehensive legislation on terrorism in Parliament? The cynic in me says no; legislators, kindly prove me wrong.

#Terrorism, #ISIS