Report of the IPCS Seminar held on 29 September 2008

Chair: Amb Salman Haidar
Speaker: HE Mr CR Jayasinghe, High Commissioner, Sri Lanka

Salman Haidar

This discussion is being held at a time of conspicuous changes in Sri Lanka, some of which are worth probing further. Militarily, matters had appeared to be stuck as the rebels gained authority and the central government continued to be engaged in a stand-off with little possibility of any major change. This conventional thinking has now been challenged. At the political level, some settlements such as devolution of powers were being worked on. Has this process stalled in light of the changing military situation or does it continue? On the economic plane, a notable development has been the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka that could bring both countries closer and change the dynamics of South Asia in important ways. Finally, it would be worth exploring what more could be done to realize SAARC objectives and agreements. Would the India-Sri Lanka FTA make it easier to achieve a SAARC FTA?

CR Jayasinghe

I speak amidst a distinguished and well informed audience at IPCS, like I did almost two years ago on 7 July 2006, although the ground situation has changed dramatically in Sri Lanka. A ceasefire agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and the rebels was operationalized in February 2002 under the aegis of the Norwegians. It collapsed after four years in light of the assassination of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadiragamar on 12 August 2005, attempt on the life of the army commander Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka and targeting of civilians seen in bus bombings in Kebitigollawa, Nittambuwa, Seenigama and Cheddikulum. Two attempts by the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajpaksa to engage the LTTE through dialogue at Geneva failed to yield a positive outcome.

In fact, the LTTE's militarism increased by abusing the ceasefire to acquire new weapons systems such as the Ultra Light Aircraft that is believed to have been smuggled into the island by the LTTE sometime in 2004. The LTTE leaders utilized their travel overseas for political dialogue to places such as Norway, Thailand, and Japan and to reach out to the Tamil Diaspora in order to mobilize money. The LTTE's game plan was to pressure the government into releasing their eastern operative Karuna who had broken away from the LTTE chief Parbhakaran. Many also felt that the dismantling of the security check points around Colombo, as part of the ceasefire, was used by the LTTE to push through suicide bombers.

The international community on its part kept urging the Sri Lankan government to come up with innovative solutions to the crisis while ignoring the political realities of the day. The government of Sri Lanka did not enjoy a majority, while the population remained extremely skeptical about the motives of the LTTE.

However, Sri Lanka has shown that despite facing tremendous internal upheaval it possesses the capacity to take things forward in South Asia. A good case in point in this respect is the gains made at the SAARC summit in Colombo - coinciding with which the LTTE made a shrewd but unsuccessful unilateral ceasefire offer. First, the SAARC convention on mutual assistance has brought the issue of terrorism well within its ambit. Second, a SAARC development fund with an initial corpus of US$370 million has been set up, with a secretariat housed at Thimpu. Third, the economic agenda of SAARC has been pushed forward by liberalizing trade. Fourth, the Colombo statement on food security is to be followed up by a meeting of South Asian food ministers. Finally, SAARC summit at Colombo also provided a meaningful platform for constructive dialogue between India and Pakistan. No endeavor to reinvent the wheel is required as is suggested by some in context of SAARC as the Colombo Summit would take forward many of the SAARC initiatives.

The Sri Lankan government regards the May 2008 eastern provincial council elections as a positive step following the flushing out of the LTTE in June 2007. The 13th amendment to the constitution that provides for sharing of power and responsibility between the centre and the state draws upon the Indian constitutional arrangement. The government remains committed to extending cooperation with elected Chief Minister Chandrakanta, who had been conscripted as a child soldier by the LTTE at the age of fifteen and served in their ranks for the next fifteen years. He has now renounced violence and joined the political mainstream and the government of Sri Lanka is willing to work with those who want to join the democratic process. Now that the election process in the eastern province has been concluded, it has paved the way for the implementation of a US$1.8 billion package for development purposes. Once the military operation in the north of the country to flush out the LTTE is over, a similar process of election and development would ensue.

There have been frequent high level interactions between Indian and Sri Lankan officials on strategic and related issues. Amongst some of the issues discussed was conflict in Sri Lanka allowing third parties to gain a foothold in the region and its potential impact on Indo-Sri Lankan relations. Another important issue discussed has been the division of the Palk Straits, where Indian fishing vessels have been making increasing number of incursions into Sri Lankan waters rich in fish catch. Indian trawlers also indulge in the practice of 'bottom trawling' that is causing serious damage to the marine eco-system and it could potentially denude fisheries in the area, thus, harming fishing communities on both sides.

These incursions tracked through naval radars have become a source of serious security concern since the hinterland is dominated by the LTTE who often mingle amidst Indian trawlers. Often Indian fishermen too are vulnerable to attack by the LTTE who instigate attacks with the intention of shifting the blame onto the Sri Lankan navy and thus try to induce tensions in bilateral relations with India. This facet of the problem has been officially acknowledged by officials from the government of India. The Sri Lankan government has agreed to receive papers from their Indian counterparts and discuss the issue of Palk straits.

In the northwest of Sri Lanka, the LTTE is being increasingly pushed inland thus leading to a dwindling supply of logistics. A drastic shrinking of the area controlled by the LTTE has also been accompanied by a simultaneous decline in its fighting capacity. In a little over two years since the LTTE initiated hostilities, it has lost 75 per cent of the area it controlled. After nearly two and half decades of turmoil, there appears to be hope that stems from: a firm political commitment demonstrated by the President of Sri Lanka and the leadership of the armed forces who faced the LTTE onslaught; schism within the LTTE ranks; and mounting international hostility to the LTTE as they failed to purposefully engage in any meaningful political dialogue.

India has held Sri Lankan territorial integrity as sacrosanct and has advocated the redressal of Tamil grievances by empowering them. The Indo-Sri Lankan accord of 1987 laid the foundations for the healing principle that we now see underway. Had these principles been implemented earlier, the island would have progressed socially and economically. The situation in the island displays the challenging combination of extremism with complexities of democratic governance that came in the way of implementing the principles in letter and spirit. Thus, India's stance on upholding the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and finding a political solution to the dispute has been a positive external factor.

An insightful statement in this regard was made by President Mahinda Rajpaksa who stated that "We are two sides of the same coin - India and Sri Lanka - with all our culture, our religion and history. A close understanding between our two countries is basic to the security of the South Asian region. Our economic destiny too is closely tied to that of India. These are the basics that should guide our relations." We should thus strive towards forging a relationship that builds upon and strengthens the civilizational ties between the two countries.