April 6, 2014
The Congress Party's Election Manifesto is STILL PANDERING to Tamil Nadu politicians, despite its ally, the DMK, having abandoned the Congress Party in the upcoming elections.
Just a few days ago, Indian High Commissioner Y. K. Sinha was harping on the "full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond and show concrete movement towards a meaningful devolution of powers".
Sri Lanka really needs to KICK India out of INTERFERING in Sri Lanka's internal matters, and to DRIVE A SPIKE into the heart of this "DEVOLUTION" demand by REPEALING the 13th Amendment and IMPLEMENTING the 6th Amendment to the Constitution without DELAY.
As long as Sri Lanka CONTINUES to mollycoddle the Tamil Separatists and their India backers, and give them hope that through DEVOLUTION OF POWER under the 13th Amendment they can GAIN through BLACKMAIL in PEACE what they FAILED to WIN by VIOLENCE in WAR, Sri Lanka will FOREVER be pursued by India trying to PLEASE its Tamil constituency.
This MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE!
Irrespective of WHICH PARTY comes to power in New Delhi (and it appears that a COALITION led by the BJP will do so), Sri Lanka needs to not only to TELL India, but DECISIVELY KICK India, out of our country. BTW, if a BJP-led coalition comes to power, the AIADMK led by Jayalalitha will most likely be a part of it, and Sri Lanka's troubles with India could WORSEN!
One way of getting the MESSAGE ACROSS, is to DO UNTO as DONE UNTO: by inviting Indian Separatists from Kashmir, Assam and elsewhere in India to Sri Lanka for Discussions on their GRIEVANCES, offering to use "Sri Lanka's GOOD OFFICES" on a CONTINUING BASIS to MEDIATE with the Government of India. After all, just as Sri Lankan Tamils have kinfolk in India, we Sri Lanka Sinhalese have kinfolk ALL over INdia, and we have a STAKE in resolving their OUTSTANDING GRIEVANCES ... Don't we?
The current approach of accepting one-way INTEFERENCE in Sri Lanka by India MUST END; let us make it a TWO WAY STREET!
FIRST and FOREMOST, the GOSL must get India out of its involvement in Reconstruction and REhabilitation of the North and East of Sri Lanka. They are just BUILDING a FIFTH COLUMN among the Tamil citizens of Sri Lanka. Limit Indians to ONLY THEIR EMBASSY in Colombo!
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The Indian Elections: What The Congress Party Has To Say About Foreign Policy
By Alyssa Ayres
Forbes.com
April4, 2014
This post is part of a series on the Indian elections.
With India’s national elections about to kick off on April 7, politics dominates the media and private conversations alike. Most of the conversation focuses on the poll horse race, at this point heavily favoring the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win more than 200 of the 543 seats in the lower house of Parliament and form a coalition government. (Click here to learn three things to know about the upcoming elections).
Foreign policy, however, has been largely invisible throughout this campaign cycle, except for the contributions of the two main regional parties in Tamil Nadu, which have a long-standing and special focus on Sri Lanka. Of the two main national parties, only Congress has released its official manifesto so far, putting its foreign policy platform on view for all. (The BJP appears to be in an internal squabble about its manifesto, which was slated for an April 3 release but now may not come out until next week).
Chief of India's ruling Congress party Sonia Gandhi holds her party's manifesto for the April/May general election in New Delhi on March 26, 2014 (Adnan Abidi/Courtesy Reuters).
Chief of India’s ruling Congress party Sonia Gandhi holds her party’s manifesto for the April/May general election in New Delhi on March 26, 2014 (Adnan Abidi/Courtesy Reuters).
The Congress Party manifesto provides some important insights into how the party views India’s role in the world, and indeed how the party views India itself. For Congress, foreign policy comes at the very end of its 50-page platform document, and occupies less than two pages. The most striking aspect for an American reader is the absence of any specific reference to the United States—not one mention.
While the document prioritizes India’s role as a “critical bridge between the developed world and developing world,” and refers by name to China, Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and Sri Lanka, there’s not a hint of any specific interest in furthering ties with the United States beyond doing so as part of “building peaceful, stable and mutually beneficial relations with all major powers” as prioritized at the top of the foreign policy platform.
What the platform does emphasize at the very top, however, are the party’s commitments to contribute to global challenges like “climate change and sustainable development, non-proliferation, international trade and cross-border terrorism.” Its second and third priorities focus on support for an Indian seat on the UN Security Council, and in combating global terrorism.
At that point the document turns to describing India’s unique role in the world—using the “critical bridge” language, but additionally highlighting the “cumulative heritage of Non-Aligned Movement” (NAM) and pledges to “continue to support the goodwill nurtured for decades amongst socialist countries.” These elements come as something of a surprise given that they have no counterpart language in the platform situating India as a rising power, or more fully describing India’s interests and partnerships with the United States, European Union, Japan, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia or other powers with which India has strong ties. Given anticipation around the world for an India rising to global power, it’s worth noting that the Congress worldview appears focused on India as a “bridge” more than India as a “power.”
Within the region, as one might expect, the platform pledges to strengthen SAARC, resolve border differences with China, improve relations with Pakistan while “calibrating” according to Pakistani action in tackling terror and affirms support for Afghanistan’s peace process. The section on Sri Lanka is relatively detailed in comparison to other countries, committing to press for “full equality” for Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority as well as a credible inquiry into allegations of excesses at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war in 2009.
Although not included in the section on foreign policy, the Congress manifesto contains substantial attention to trade and economics, including a commitment to get back to eight percent growth, and a road map for the next half decade. The platform promises to promote “greater integration with the global economy” and encourage foreign direct investment.
The manifesto also pledges to “ensure that India has a globally competitive business and investment-friendly environment.” It specifically calls to improve India’s rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index from its current 134 to 75 within five years. These are welcome words for foreign investors and governments supportive of enhancing trade and investment ties. They also serve as an acknowledgement that recent years—in a Congress-led government—have dampened perceptions of India.
Outside observers will be watching to see how the foreign policy discussion in India evolves further during the coming weeks, especially after the BJP releases its manifesto. In an effort to focus on foreign policy positions in the Indian elections, Mumbai’s Gateway House convened a panel discussion April 1 (watch the video here) which featured representatives of the BJP, Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party. I was delighted to participate as a discussant with some thoughts on what Americans have in mind as they await the outcome in India. As the April 1 panel proceeded, it appeared as if the three parties represented had similar positions on trade, UN Security Council, China and other issues—so the coming weeks and more fully articulated statements from all the parties on their foreign policy positions will be helpful.
For now, the Congress Party’s platform puts into writing an approach to the region consistent with its years in government. It’s the framing of India’s role in the world, however, that officially presents some ideas that sit less comfortably alongside the notion of India as a rising global power.
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India asks Sri Lanka to show concrete movement towards a meaningful devolution of power
ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Apr 05, Colombo: India has asked Sri Lanka to take forward the process of broader dialogue through full implementation of the 13th Amendment and going beyond and show concrete movement towards a meaningful devolution of powers.
Such move would greatly facilitate national reconciliation by building trust and confidence on all sides, India's top diplomat in Colombo said.
Indian High Commissioner Y. K. Sinha said New Delhi had also conveyed to Colombo on a number of occasions the need for expeditious steps towards genuine national reconciliation, including investigations into allegations of human rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas, reduction of 'high security zones', satisfactorily addressing the issue of missing persons and the redressal of humanitarian concerns of the affected families.
Addressing the Foreign Correspondents Association in Colombo Friday, the Indian envoy said India's view is that the end of the armed conflict in Sri Lanka provided a unique opportunity to pursue a lasting political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, and acceptable to all the communities in the island, including the Tamils.
Welcoming the successful elections held for the Northern Provincial Council last year, the envoy urged both the government and the major Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) to engage constructively, "in a spirit of partnership and mutual accommodation", so that the urgent needs of the people of the Northern Province are addressed with a sense of urgency and purpose.
"Only such a cooperative approach will pave the way for genuine reconciliation amongst the communities involved," Mr. Sinha said.
Speaking about the trade between the two countries and the number of development projects India has funded in Sri Lanka, the envoy expressed confidence that India-Sri Lanka relations will expand exponentially in the coming years.
"It is our hope that the Government of Sri Lanka, recognizing the critical importance of genuine reconciliation, acts with vision and sagacity. We will remain engaged and offer our support in a spirit of partnership and cooperation," the High Commissioner noted.
