Using Chinese influence to win over Tamil demands

The issues related to ethnic relations are debated by the south based politicians only during elections, not to propose solutions to any of those issues but mainly to rouse racism in order to gain narrow political gains

Tamil politicians in the north have totally ignored economic issues even after the economy in the Northern and Eastern Provinces have been devastated due to the three-decade long war. They have instead been obsessed with the issues related to the ethnic problem

The ethnic problem or the national question as some people call it is a topic only among the Tamil leaders, after the end of the war between the armed forces and the LTTE in 2009. The south based political parties seem to have totally dropped it from their political agendas. Despite the previous United National Party (UNP) led government having included it in its effort to introduce a new Constitution, the whole process was washed-out as the effort itself had been lackadaisical.

The issues related to ethnic relations are debated by the south based politicians only during elections, not to propose solutions to any of those issues but mainly to rouse racism in order to gain narrow political gains. 
The southern politics are generally obsessed with economic issues, in spite of the country’s economy being in the doldrums after all those so-called development activities by successive governments. The COVID 19 outbreak has proved that what had been carried out in the name of economic development in the past is not development in its true sense. Yet, politicians keep on arguing about billions worth of economic projects and some of them have been completed without the people being benefitted by them, as trumpeted by the politicians.  

Contrary to that Tamil politicians in the north have totally ignored economic issues even after the economy in the Northern and Eastern Provinces have been devastated due to the three-decade long war. They have instead been obsessed with the issues related to the ethnic problem. They have held all other things hostage to this single issue which is political by nature. If they speak about economic issues they do so in order to highlight what they assume to be discrimination against the Tamil people by the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan State. 

They have two main demands to which everything is tied up. One is a substantial package of devolution of powers and meting out justice to those who suffered during the separatist war by penalizing those who have violated human rights of Tamil people. Similarly, they bank on two mechanisms to achieve these two goals – the Indian government’s geo-political pressure diplomacy and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) process. 
Almost all north based Tamil political parties have been united in these two demands and also the strategies to implement them. They have been of the view that ethnic problem can have a lasting solution under a comprehensive federal set up and the Tamil victims of the war could be meted out justice by conducting an international investigation into the allegations of human rights violations. Based on their decade old experience, they rightly believe that  the Sri Lankan government, no matter which political party is in the saddle, would not implement these two demands. Hence they are totally relying on India’s pressure diplomacy and the commitment of the UNHRC to ensure justice for the victims of human rights violations. 

However, differences have emerged among them in respect of certain slogans that are aimed to highlight their main demands. Parliamentarian Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) has now dropped the demand for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment and his party recently held a demonstration against the amendment that crept into the Constitution due to pressure by India in 1987. He had even gone to the extent of subtly accusing India for thrusting such an amendment on Sri Lanka by saying that the Indian government acted according to it geo-political interests. 

Ponnambalam might have been influenced by the recent mind change in the Tamil Diaspora who had totally dropped the term political solution and insisted on a separate Tamil State in Sri Lankan territory. On November 20, last year, TNA Parliamentarians M.A Sumanthiran and Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, had been forced to leave from a meeting they held in Toronto, which is home to the largest Sri Lankan Tamil community in the Western world by a group of Tamil Diaspora, who branded the two MPs as ‘traitors.’ The rioters had claimed that the Diaspora wanted a separate Tamil State in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka and not a political solution within the country, as the MPs of the main Tamil amalgam were stressing at the meeting.

When several Tamil parties led by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) ignoring the Diaspora’s pressure were preparing a letter to be sent to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month requesting him to prevail upon the Sri Lankan government to implement a federal form of governance through the full implementation of the 13th Amendment, a group of Tamils in the UK had gathered in Downing Street in London on January 16 and protested against the 13th Amendment. They called for a complete end to what they called “the occupation of the Tamil homeland.”  

However, there is no way for the Tamil leaders led by the TNA to move away from their stance and to demand for a separate State. Also they have no option other than banking on India and the UNHRC. Interestingly, now they are using the increasing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka to make India more committed towards their demands. In an interview with the Times of India on February 7 the former Chief Minister of Northern Province and the leaders of the Tamil Makkal Kootani (TMK) C.V.Wigneswaran had stated “China is trying to set up various projects on those islands, for generating electricity, among other things. It’s not going to be easy for India to just watch and keep quiet. So, the need for India to safeguard, help and protect us is in India’s own interest. By protecting the Tamils of Sri Lanka’s north and east, India protects itself. And India can rest assured, that we Tamils of those provinces will be very favourable towards India, as opposed to China.”

Referring to the human rights issue, the former Supreme Court judge had further said “I understand the possible embarrassment for India in supporting an international enquiry against Sri Lanka, a friendly neighbouring country. But if India is not able to directly emphasize this issue, it should take appropriate diplomatic steps to hold an international enquiry through other countries.” 

However, the situation is not the same as that prevailed in 1980s for India to take drastic action against Sri Lanka. During the early days of the Tamil separatist struggle in 1980s India had geo-political compulsions to intervene in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. The then Sri Lankan President J.R.Jayewardene had aligned with the Western bloc while India was an ally of the Soviet bloc. Now it is the Chinese influence in Sri Lanka that is irritating Indian leaders. Yet, India can exert only a limited amount of pressure on Sri Lanka now since using highhanded tactics against Sri Lanka - as it did four decades ago - might push the latter more towards China, especially at a time when Rajapaksas are at the helm.  

Similarly, the responsibility to take legal action against those who have violated human rights in Sri Lanka lies with the UN member countries as per the resolution adopted last year at the UNHRC. Many analysts stated following the passage of the resolution that the real test of the effectiveness of the resolution will rely largely on the commitment of the member states. Amnesty International also then said “While the resolution was an important first step, the real impact will rely on UN member states using it as a basis for concrete action. Will the member countries act according to the resolution? Not sure. Therefore, it is a catch 22 situation for Tamil leaders in respect of both their demands.