{"id":32854,"date":"2014-08-30T23:10:28","date_gmt":"2014-08-31T03:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=32854"},"modified":"2014-08-30T23:12:58","modified_gmt":"2014-08-31T03:12:58","slug":"will-upfa-govt-and-tna-resume-direct-dialogue-as-requested-by-indian-pm-narendra-modi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=32854","title":{"rendered":"Will Rajapaksa Regime and Tamil National Alliance Resume Direct Dialogue as Requested by Indian PM Narendra Modi?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indian Premier Narendra Modi has urged the TNA to begin a direct dialogue with the Government. He was reiterating India\u2019s earlier call that the Government should have a blateral dialogue. India has concurred with the TNA\u2019s position in not taking part in the Parliamentary Select Committee. The earlier request was made in the days after the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva adopted the third US-backed resolution to launch an international investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. India which abstained from voting held the view that a dialogue between the Government and the TNA would have had a salutary effect on Sri Lanka.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

No doubt, that would have also taken a part of the sting away from the US resolution. That is by driving home the point that talks for reconciliation have got under way. The move did not materialise since both sides were wary about an unconditional dialogue. The idea was to carry forward only the outcome of such a dialogue to the Parliamentary Select Committee. There were strong indications in New Delhi last week that Premier Modi also hoped to talk to leaders of other opposition political parties in Sri Lanka as well as politicians of repute not in active politics now. That indeed would be a marked shift.<\/p>\n

The first meeting of the Special Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to recommend and report on \u201cmeasures to be taken to create a political environment, where all Sri Lankans could live as one nation\u201d was held on July 9, 2013. It was presided over by Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa named 19 members to this parliamentary body. Though it is expected to have 12 opposition members, opposition political parties have refused to serve.<\/p>\n

In June (2014) Parliament approved the extension of the time limit granted to the PSC. Minister de Silva said then that the term would have to be extended by another six months. What was set to expire on June 22 was thus extended till December 21, 2014.<\/p>\n

The UPFA members in this Committee, besides Minister de Silva are G. L. Peiris, Basil Rajapaksa, Maithripala Sirisena, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, John Seneviratne, Susil Premajayantha, D. E. W. Gunesekera, Douglas Devananda, Rishard Bathiudeen, Lakshman Seneviratne, Wimal Weerawansa, Champika Ranawaka, Vasudeva Nanayakkara, A. L. M. Athaullah, Deputy Minister Muththu Sivalingam, MPs Sudarshini Fernandopulle and Janaka Bandara. The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) does not have representation.
\nThe response of the UPFA Government was somewhat contradictory. Minister Susil Premajayantha, General Secretary of the UPFA, declared that talks with the TNA could be held if they made a request. However, this week, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa told reporters that the TNA should work with the existing powers before asking for more. If that view represents official policy, it shuts the door to any possible bilateral dialogue. The remarks came when Rajapaksa launched a Divineguma loan scheme. Recipients would receive Rs. 50,000 at an interest rate of four per cent and repayable only after a year. Needless to say, with the presidential elections round the corner, there will be a big draw for them.<\/p>\n

For the UPFA Government, holding bilateral talks with the TNA would have been a complete reversal of its stated policy. It has continued to insist that any settlement to the national question should come from the PSC. However, making policy changes midstream is nothing unusual and the UPFA\u2019s catalogue is long enough. Among the highlights is the refusal to recognise UN Secretary General\u2019s three-member Panel of Experts on Sri Lanka. A Sri Lanka delegation nevertheless testified before the panel secretly. Their surreptitious act was exposed when the PoE released its report. For five long years the Government rejected international appeals for a domestic inquiry into accountability issues. Some weeks ago, the Government relented. Now, it has even named its own international advisory panel to the Disappearances Commission whose scope has been broadened to cover alleged war crimes.<\/p>\n

There are also contradictory policies that are enforced concurrently. Domestically the UPFA Government chastises the United States. The US Ambassador and staff have been at the butt end of vicious personal attacks by state-run media outlets. Externally, public relations\/Lobbying firms are being hired to woo the US Government and the political establishment there. Just a week ago, President Rajapaksa told foreign correspondents no visas would be given to the OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) team conducting the international investigation into alleged war crimes to visit Sri Lanka. They have not sought such visas so far. <\/p>\n

Rajapaksa\u2019s remarks drew an editorial comment in the New York Times. It noted that \u201c\u2026..Mr. Rajapaksa\u2019s intransigence puts Sri Lanka in the company of North Korea and Syria, two countries that also barred access to United Nations human rights investigators. Mr. Rajapaksa claims Sri Lanka can handle the inquiry on its own. This is doubtful. It was the Sri Lankan government\u2019s failure over several years to prosecute and punish perpetrators of abuses during the civil war that prompted the United Nations Human Rights Council in March to request a comprehensive investigation\u2026..\u201d<\/p>\n

The well-known and highly respected newspaper is published in New York, the heart of the global financial system that holds 40 per cent of Sri Lanka\u2019s debt. It is clear, that the damage this bad publicity causes is self-inflicted and not caused by Sri Lanka\u2019s enemies. The shots were fired before foreign correspondents to be conveyed to the world. How wise was this self- destructive exercise and who was responsible? The word \u201caccountability\u201d is so dirty in UPFA circles that the answer will not be known. It would no doubt make another welcome case for hiring more PR\/lobbying firms, to use the Central Bank parlance, to \u201cre-calibrate\u201d (or change) US foreign policy in favour of Sri Lanka. Who cares even if more public funds are used? All these notwithstanding, direct talks with the TNA, at a time when presidential elections are around, would lead to acute embarrassment for the UPFA. For this reason, for the second time around, the TNA is not going to shy away. This is particularly in the light of the request coming from Premier Modi. The first was from the caretaker Congress Government with the Indian parliamentary elections then just round the corner.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Sunday Times<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indian Premier Narendra Modi has urged the TNA to begin a direct dialogue with the Government. He was reiterating India\u2019s earlier call that the Government should have a blateral dialogue. India has concurred with the TNA\u2019s position in not taking part in the Parliamentary Select Committee. The earlier request was made in the days after …<\/p>\n

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