India May Turn Against Lanka at the UNHRC

By Dilrook Kannangara

It is obvious USA will move a resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC session later this month. Noticeably they have done their homework. EU has already stated its position on the likely resolution. They are in the process of collecting support from the 46 member commission for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes. Relying on India is an absolute disaster. India has a history of fooling Lanka. The Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987 promised to disarm the LTTE but nothing of the sort happened. Ultimately Lanka ended up disarming the LTTE all alone while agreeing to a political solution in exchange of India’s promise of disarming the LTTE. Today the Indian Foreign Minister, the US Secretary of state and the US Assistant Secretary of state speak the same language.

The geopolitical shift of India is all too obvious. Feared by a soaring China, India and USA have become strange bedfellows. India which is a temporary member of the UN Security Council voted with the USA and against its traditional weapons supplier, trusted friend and partner – Russia on Syria. It also voted against Russia and with USA at the UN General Assembly. Sri Lanka was absent from voting. India has come to a similar agreement with Russia over China as it came to with Sri Lanka in 1987. Under this agreement Russia is prevented from selling weapons to the lucrative Chinese market. But India recently broke ranks with Russia buying Rafale jets from France for $11 billion. It is a definite indication of India’s changing geopolitical preferences. Russia and China must cooperate on defence and sharing military technology against the latest US bastion in the region – India.

It is an open secret India and USA trying to disintegrate Pakistan. Balochistan which is the largest state of Pakistan is fighting separatism funded by India and USA. Their plan is to separate Balochistan from Pakistan and merge it with Baloch regions of Iran and Afghanistan to create a large nation covering vital coastal areas of Pakistan and Iran. This new nation will be a subservient nation of the US like Kosovo and will have vital seaports including Gwadar. Gwadar port of Pakistan is partnered with China and is situated in the Balochistan state. It is one of the ‘pearls’ in the US and Indian created myth of ‘string of pearls’. It was rumoured in Indian media about Sri Lanka providing counter insurgency expertise to Pakistan to fight Balochistan separatist terrorists. This is another point of diversion between Sri Lanka and India/USA. Only last week a resolution was passed in the US House of Representatives to recognize the right of self determination of Balochistan!

Sri Lanka is involuntarily dragged into these regional power games.

Dr Dayan Jayatilake a staunch Indian supporter in global matters has realised this danger. His support of Indian involvement in Lanka is all too well known. But he too has come to his senses over US-Indian manoeuvrers against Sri Lanka. In an article he now claims USA and India pushing Lanka towards China.

Sri Lanka tried to piggyback on India to overcome US-EU sanctions on Iran but India refused to accommodate Lanka. Sanctions on Iran are taking a very heavy toll on Sri Lankan oil prices as expected as the local refinery can process mainly Iranian crude oil. India and China have come to agreements with Iran to buy oil and paying it in local currency. Had Lanka partnered with China, this disaster would not have happened.

This is the context within which the UNHRC session will be held. Lankans must get support from members loyal to China and Pakistan without relying on India. The truth is India has no loyal members! Overreliance on India will cause a shock at the session when India may vote in favour of the US resolution. Tamil Nadu pressure is mounting on India to do so.

No compromise should be reached at the UNHRC. A compromise allows Indian and US interferers to land in the island from time to time and dictate terms. No political solutions under pressure. The US resolution should be outright defeated. The fact that the former Army Commander is now deposed and without power means the Sri Lankan Army is capable of conducting an objective investigation into specific individual cases alleged by various quarters. USA regularly carries out similar internal investigations. The matter should not be postponed either as it can be sorted out at this session.

Long term plans should be put in place to prevent economic reliance on USA and EU. European colonials tied the national economy to slavery through the deliberate destruction of agriculture and replacing it will tea and rubber plantations powered by Indian slaves. Neo colonials follow the same strategy today. Garment industry is also based on slavery on which the nation depends. USA is the largest export destination of local produce. Unless this dependency vicious cycle is broken, there is no way this nation can go against harakiri prescriptions of USA and EU. New export destinations must be found in China, Eastern Europe and Russia, the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Their economies grow faster than USA and EU!

The local economy which is mostly in the hands of anti-nationalists must be handed over to nationalists while retaining the commercial focus. Attempts by US and EU based LTTE Rump from gaining a stranglehold on the economy should be defeated. The Singaporean business model of state owned commercial entities should be introduced. Supported by tax breaks and state patronage, they should be promoted against Indian, US, EU and Tamil Diaspora owned businesses in the island.