Both Delhi and Washington, however, are clear that dialogue alone will offer a solution, and that TNA offers the best bet. So their message is therefore, clear to Colombo – don’t miss the opportunity and thus once again mess up the issue. India stands for devolution of powers to the Tamil-majority northern provincial council; the United States shares this perception. So does the European Union, which holds the key for a turnaround of Sri Lankan exports.
Simultaneously, Delhi has held out a homily to the TNA, when its leaders visited the Indian capital from Oct 10 to 14 and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and the leader of the main opposition party, Sushma Swaraj. It is significant that the TNA conveyed to Colombo its readiness for talks on the return of the party seniors from Delhi.
There is no denying that LTTE acted as the mid-wife at the time of TNA’s birth and used it to further its own clout over the civilian set up. On its part the TNA functioned as the mouthpiece of the Tigers in Parliament. Now, with the decimation of Tigers and end of the Wanni War, the TNA, which, in fact, is a coalition of some four-five parties, each with specified area of influence, has been trying to bounce back on the political stage. The recent council elections have given the TNA the perfect launch pad and its electoral show has left Colombo with no alibi for ignoring its presence. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged President Mahinda Rajapakse during his visit to Delhi in early October to reach a “speedy and genuine reconciliation” with the TNA.
In recent weeks, India – Sri Lanka ties are in not pink of health. Double speak has been characterising Colombo’s approach. It tells one thing to visiting Indian leaders and tells quite the opposite to its domestic audience by the time the visitors return home. Why it does so is unclear and all its actions cannot be attributed to southern consensus alone. Is it possible to see a design? Is Colombo no longer keen on a political solution? Does it intend to persist with the ruthlessness that had characterised the last phase of Wanni War? These are important questions and yet it is difficult to answer any of them in the affirmative. There is no gain in saying however that Post-war, Colombo has not endeared itself to either Jaffna or Delhi.
Viewed against this backdrop, the TNA is justified in putting in place a caveat. R. Sambandan, a truly moderate Tamil voice today, who heads the TNA, articulated the party’s position in an interview to The Island. He said while TNA is ready for ‘a reasonable, workable and durable solution within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, it doesn’t want to be cheated like in the past. He asked President Rajapaksa to come forward with such an assurance. No such assurance has come in yet. It doesn’t come as a surprise though.
The earlier exercise at talks lasted 18 rounds. It floundered as the President was unprepared to devolve significant powers to the Northern provincial council. He had asked the TNA to join a parliamentary select committee though the charter of the committee has not been clearly spelt out as yet
Undeniably, the resumption of direct talks between TNA and Colombo will be booster shot President Rajapaksa badly needs as he gets ready for a review of Sri Lanka’s HR record by the UN Human Rights Council.
– by m rama rao
