Midweek Review

Genocide charge reiterated

Published

4 years ago

2020/08/26

Sahan Weerasooriya

August 20, 2020, parliament: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa delivers his policy statement.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Lawmaker Gajendrakumar Ponnanbalam, 46, on August 21, in Parliament, alleged that the Tamil community, in the North-East, had been subjected to genocide, Sri Lanka committed war crimes during phase IV of the war and that they wanted international accountability.

Ponnambalam deviated from the Geneva Accountability Resolution, co-sponsored by the previous UNP-SLFP/UPFA coalition, in Oct 2015. That resolution was meant to set up hybrid war crimes courts, comprising local and foreign judges, in terms of a tripartite agreement, involving Sri Lanka, the US and the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

Having represented the LTTE mouthpiece, the TNA twice, in Parliament, in 2001 and 2004, Ponnambalam addressed Parliament, last week, as the leader of the Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress (AITC), a constituent of the Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF). The TNPF, established in 2010, had never been previously represented in Parliament, though it contested both the 2010 April and 2015 August parliamentary polls. In addition to Ponnanbalam, the TNPF secured one National List slot. Ponnambalam accommodated Selvarasa Gajenthiran, who quit TNA, along with him in 2010, on the National List.

Angajan Ramanathan, elected to Parliament on the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) ticket, from the Jaffna electoral district, was in the chair at the time Ponnambalam delivered his explosive statement. Former UPFA National List member Ramanathan is the Deputy Chairman of Committees.

Gajendrakumar dismissed an attempt made by the State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, retired Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, to intervene. In fact, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna member Weerasekera was the only one to make an attempt to challenge Ponnambalam, in Parliament, on that day. The former Navy Chief of Staff was not successful. On the previous day, Weerasekera wanted to respond to C.V. Wigneswaran, leader of the Thamizh Makkal Kootani (TMK), though was asked by his party not to, as only party leaders addressed Parliament, during the inaugural session.

GP, Wiggy mount frontal assault

Both Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran represented the R. Sampanthan-led TNA earlier. Ponnambalam quit the TNA, in March 2010, having successfully contested the Jaffna district twice, in 2001 and 2004, with the blessings of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). At that time, TNA nominations, as well as the National List, were subjected to the LTTE’s approval. Former Supreme Court Judge Wigneswaran functioned as the first Chief Minister of the TNA-run Northern Province, during Mahinda Rajapaksa’s tenure as the President.

The TNA stood solidly with the LTTE as it declared Eelam War IV, in August 2006, with simultaneous attacks on the Army, both in the Northern and Eastern Provinces.

Ponnambalam attacked President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s policy statement. The lawmaker targeted the following section in particular: “It is equally important to precisely interpret the mandate given by the people. We respect the trust that the people have placed in me and the Prime Minister and the newly elected people’s representatives. We have a clear understanding of the expectations with which the people gave such a powerful mandate to the government. We will leave no room for such expectations to be dashed for any reason. It should always be remembered that the prime responsibility of a people’s representative is to serve the public. We will be sensitive to fulfilling the needs of the people, keeping in mind that all these positions are responsibilities and not privileges.”

Ponnanmalam declared that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s mandate (2019 November presidential and 2020 August parliamentary polls) did not extend to the North-East region. Ponnambalam depicted the vote received by all Tamils, including SLFP’s Ramanathan and the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) Douglas Devananda, elected to the new Parliament, as one that overwhelmingly endorsed self-determination of the Tamil speaking people. Ponnambalam justified international intervention on the basis of the Tamil community being deprived of the security it deserved.

Declaring them (Tamil lawmakers) received a mandate for Tamil rights to be recognized, Ponnambalam declared: “two nations exist in this country.”

Int’l intervention justified

“Sovereignty can never be a defence. This country has gone through a war and the whole world says that heinous crimes have been committed and the state is the number one accused party,” Ponnambalam declared, adding “Under no circumstances can any President, or any country, for that matter, try to hide behind the concept of sovereignty, to prevent accountability for heinous crimes. The victims of these heinous crimes stand as Tamils… the major victims stand as Tamils and they have consistently said that genocide has been committed and that they want international accountability.”

When Ponnambalam went on and on repeating war crimes allegations, in Parliament, former Presidents and Commanders-in-Chief, Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena, as well as war-winning Army Chief Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, were present. Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, too, was present.

It would be pertinent to ask lawmaker Ponnambalam whether, as a member of the TNA, he endorsed the party’s decision to vote for the then common presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka at the January 26, 2010 presidential election. Did the TNA decision to join the UNP-led coalition, comprising the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) et al unanimously approved by all constituents of the TNA?

Why North, East endorsed Fonseka?

Now that Ponnambalam reiterated genocide allegations, he owed an explanation why the Tamil community overwhelmingly endorsed Fonseka at the presidential election. Fonseka comfortably won all electoral districts, in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, though the South ensured Mahinda Rajapaksa secured a second term, with a staggering 1.8 mn majority. Mahinda Rajapaksa polled 6,015,934 votes (57.88%) whereas Fonseka received 4,173,185 votes (40.15%). Fonseka comfortably won the predominantly Tamil electoral districts of Jaffna, Vanni, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Digamadulla and Nuwara-Eliya.

The 2010 presidential election was held less than a year after the armed forces eradicated the LTTE. Blindly accusing Sri Lanka of war crimes, and genocide, seemed ridiculous, after having voted for the very man who conducted the ground offensive that brought the LTTE to its knees, in May 2009.

Accusing the Sri Lankan state of attacking Tamils, Ponnambalam justified international intervention here. But not so much as even a word about many Tamils, including so many moderates who were butchered by the terrorists in cold blood like internationally respected jurist and TULFer Dr Neelan Thiruchelvam or even a person like TULF Leader Appapillai Amirthalingam for merely ruffling the feathers of the LTTE. Both Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran conveniently forgot how India transformed a low level insurgency, in the North, to an unprecedented terrorist campaign.

Interpreting ‘own citizens’

Ponnambalam advised President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who, during his 20-year service as a frontline combat officer of the Sri Lanka Army, fought Indian-sponsored terrorist groups. “What the President must also realize is that when it comes to international relations, sovereignty comes with a certain baggage, one of the most cornerstone principles on which sovereignty will be compromised is if within the country the state does not protect its own citizens, or, even worse, if, within the country, the state attacks its own citizens,” Ponnambalam declared.

Perhaps, other members of Parliament should remind Ponnambalam that the LTTE, as well as half a dozen other Tamil groups, that consisted of Tamils who waged war on the State. Fighting among Tamil groups claimed the lives of hundreds before they all, except the LTTE, renounced violence, in 1990. Those who had been categorized as ‘own citizens’ also killed over 1,300 Indian servicemen and wounded over 2,500 (Oct 1987-January 1990) and blew up one-time Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Former Indian High Commissioner in Colombo J.N. Dixit, didn’t mince his words when he admitted direct Indian involvement in destabilizing Sri Lanka in ‘Makers of India’s Foreign Policy: Raja Ram Mohun to Yashwant Sinha.’ India paid a terrible price for destabilizing Sri Lanka. Indian-trained Sri Lankan terrorists tried to capture power, in the Maldives, in Nov 1988. The Tamil community cannot absolve itself of the culpability for the mass killings perpetrated in the name of ‘Eelam.’ Where were those elected representatives of the Tamil people when the LTTE used the Vanni population as human shield in its last bastion Mullaitivu?

Perhaps, those propagating war crimes allegations, in Parliament, should peruse Australia-based ex-terrorist Niromi de Soyza’s ‘Tamil Tigress’, first published in 2011, two years after Sri Lankan military finished off the LTTE on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon. S. Attanayake of Kottawa, Pannipitiya, sent the writer ‘Tamil Tigress’ having read the Midweek piece, titled ‘Chargie’s predicament inspires novel, highlights Lanka’s pathetic response to external threats,’ published on March 18, 2020. It was a comment on award-winning author Sena Thoradeniya’s ‘Nimala Mala-Miya Giya Soldaduwekuge Nomiyena Kathawa’ (Immortal Story of a Dead Soldier). Attanayake quite rightly guessed the writer hadn’t read ‘Tamil Tigress’ hence sending it by post soon after the government lifted the ‘Covid lockdown.’

GP’s entry into TNA politics

Qualified as a barrister-at-law, in the UK, in 1997, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam received Sri Lanka qualification as an attorney-at-law, two years later, before entering active politics, in the wake of his father Kumar Ponnambalam’s assassination, in early January 2000.

Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam’s All Ceylon Tamil Congress/Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress. Its roots can be traced to his legendary grandfather G.G. Ponnambalam QC, who was a colossus as a lawyer and politician. ACTC had been among the four parties which formed the TNA, in Oct, 2001, at the behest of the LTTE. Constituents included, in addition to Ahila Illankai Tamil Congress, the TULF (Tamil United Liberation Front) and two former terrorist groups TELO (Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization) and the PLOTE (People’s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam). The TNA functioned as the political wing of the LTTE. The TNA had been subservient to the LTTE to such an extent; it recognized Prabhakaran as the sole representative of the Tamils.

The TNA remained mum when the sole representative quit the negotiating table, in April 2003, to pave the way for the presidential takeover of ministries and, subsequently, the sacking of the UNP government. Kumaratunga called for early general election, in April 2004. The LTTE unleashed violence against those who dared to challenge the TNA in the then temporarily merged North-East region. Thanks to the LTTE intervention, the TNA secured 22 seats. Having won the lion’s share of seats in the North-East region, the TNA-LTTE combine, in Nov 2005, ordered Tamils to boycott the presidential election. The move was meant to ensure UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe’s defeat. The UNPer lost by 186,000 votes. Those who allege the Rajapaksa Camp bribed the LTTE to disrupt election in the North and East to Mahinda Rajapaksa’s advantage should explain whether the LTTE received money from them. As the TNA announced the polls boycott, on behalf of the LTTE, it owed an explanation to the public. Did the LTTE receive money from the Rajapaksa Camp?

The truth is that the LTTE and the TNA really believed they could take care of Mahinda Rajapaksa far more easily than Wickremesinghe. Having dug its own grave, the LTTE faced a relentless three-year military onslaught, once it initiated a military offensive in the second week of August 2006.

The armed forces eradicated the LTTE, in May 2009. In the following year, the TNA backed the very man who led the campaign against the LTTE at the presidential poll.

Accusations pertaining to war crimes and genocide, in Parliament, should be examined against the backdrop of the TNA losing political clout, following the poor performance at the general election. The TNA parliamentary group now comprises 10 lawmakers. In the last Parliament, the TNA group consisted of 16. The TNA won 16 seats when it contested the general election, for the very first time, in 2001. At the 2004 general election, the LTTE threw its full weight behind the TNA to enable the coalition to win 22 seats, 14 seats in 2010 and 16 in 2015. In spite of the setback suffered by the TNA, Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran are likely to go flat out against the government.

In the wake of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa presenting his policy statement, a section of the much-depleted TNA met the Indian High Commissioner. The meeting took place on Friday, August 21. The TNA, in a brief statement issued on the same day, quoted Indian High Commissioner Gopal Bagley as having assured India’s continuing commitments to finding a resolution to the Tamil national question in Sri Lanka. The TNA delegation consisted of R. Sampanthan Mavai Senathirajah, Dharmalingam Siddarthan, Selvam Adaikalanathan and M.A. Sumanthiran. ITAK (Illankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi) leader Mavai Senathirajah is no longer an MP having been defeated at the August 05 general election.

It would be interesting to see whether Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam and Wigneswaran received invitations from the Indian High Commission.

Over 100 LTTE cadres in

custody poisoned

Let me finish this piece by reminding how the likes of Wigneswaran propagated lies. Minister Vasudeva Nanayakkara’s brother-in-law, Wigneswaran, chided the government over the July1983 violence, while insisting the need to consult India, if the government wanted to do away with the 13th Amendment, introduced in line with the Indo-Lanka Accord. Wigneswaran should know that the July 1983 violence wouldn’t have happened if not for India providing the LTTE expertise to wipe out a mobile military patrol. India sponsored terrorism here to create the conditions required for direct military intervention. The incumbent government should set the record straight, at least now.

Sri Lanka never took tangible measures against those who propagated lies as part of an overall strategy to ruin the country. Some cannot stomach the LTTE’s annihilation, on the Vanni east front, over a decade ago. Wigneswaran is one such person. Wigneswaran, and a section of the Tamil media, in August 2016, accused the military of killing over 100 LTTE combatants, in custody, by poisoning them. The PTI and NDTV were among the international media which reported unsubstantiated allegations.

Accusers placed the number of such deaths at 104. Accusations were made while the U.S. Pacific Command’s ‘Pacific Angel’ exercise was underway, in the Jaffna peninsula.

Wigneswaran brashly declared that the U.S. Air Force’s medical team, in Jaffna, would examine the former rehabilitated LTTE cadres, who, he alleged, had fallen sick because they were injected with poisonous substances, at government detention, or rehabilitation camps.

The then State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene and Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne dismissed the vicious accusations. Wijewardene offered the international community access to rehabilitation facilities. What the Minister didn’t realize was that by August 2016, the vast majority of ex-LTTE combatants had been released.

The US conveniently refrained from making its position clear on Wigneswaran’s claim when the writer raised the issue with the US Embassy in Colombo. There had never been such a claim, before Wigneswaran sought to humiliate Sri Lanka with it. It would be pertinent to mention that one-time LTTE subordinate, the TNA, backed common candidate Maithripala Sirisena, at the 2015 presidential poll, having earlier supported Gen. Sarath Fonseka at the previous poll. On both occasions, the TNA delivered all northern and eastern electoral districts to Fonseka and Sirisena, who contested on the New Democratic Front (NDF) ticket with the ‘Swan’ as its symbol. The TNA did the same for Sajith Premadasa, in the North and the East at the last presidential poll, though the South overwhelmingly defeated the UNPer.

In answer to several questions The Island posed, regarding ex-LTTE cadres being poisoned, the US Embassy said: “Operation Pacific Angel is providing assistance, based on the specific needs of the local communities. Among the nearly 70 members of this multilateral assistance programme – including some medical staff and engineers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and the Maldives, as well as the United States – are over 40 doctors, providing basic medical services: dental procedures; physical therapy; general medical assistance; and optometry. These are the only services being provided.”

The writer asked the US Embassy whether it could confirm that US Pacific Command personnel, conducting medical tests on ex-LTTE cadres, allegedly poisoned by the previous government; whether they would be moved to overseas medical facility for further tests; whether the GoSL had been informed of the development; when did the TNA request the US intervention and whether the US military had conducted similar tests in other countries. For obvious reasons, the US refrained from responding to The Island queries.

The five-day ‘Operation Pacific Angle’ was launched, in Jaffna, by the then US Ambassador in Colombo Atul Keshap.

The New Indian Express quoted Wigneswaran as having said that the US Air Force’s medical team would examine ex-LTTE cadres who had been sick because they were injected with poisonous substances by the Sri Lankan armed military while they were undergoing detention, or rehabilitation. Wigneswaran, according to the New Indian Express, had told the NPC (Northern Provincial Council) that he had mentioned the plight of the former combatants in his conversation with the US Ambassador, Atul Keshap, and asked if the USAF team could examine them and give an independent report.

Wigneswaran’s allegations died a natural death. The TNA, or the US, never discussed the issue publicly. But, such calculated lies caused massive damage.

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ICRC on genocide accusation

A leaked cable, dated July 15, 2009, signed by the then Geneva-based US Ambassador, Clint Williamson, cleared the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) of crimes against humanity during the Vanni offensive. The cable addressed to the US State Department, was based on a confidential conversation Ambassador Williamson had with the then ICRC head of operations for South Asia, Jacque de Maio, on July 9, 2009. Ambassador Williamson wrote: “The army was determined not to let the LTTE escape from its shrinking territory, even though this meant the civilians being kept hostage by the LTTE were at an increasing risk. So, de Maio said, while one could safely say that there were ‘serious, widespread violations of international humanitarian law,’ by the Sri Lankan forces, it didn’t amount to genocide. He (Maio) could cite examples of where the army had stopped shelling when the ICRC informed them it was killing civilians. In fact, the army actually could have won the military battle faster with higher civilian casualties, yet chose a slower approach which led to a greater number of Sri Lankan military deaths. He concluded, however, by asserting that the GoSL failed to recognize its obligation to protect civilians, in spite of its approach resulting in higher military casualties.” Sri Lanka never properly used available information, including Wikileaks revelations, pertaining to Sri Lanka and Lord Naseby’s disclosure to counter lies. The travel ban slapped on Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, as well as Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, by the US is evidence of Sri Lanka’s continuing failure to set the record straight.

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Midweek Review

US funding for Colombo port project involving Adani group and JKH in the balance

Published

23 hours ago

2024/12/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) CEO Scott Nathan and US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung at West Container Terminal site in early Nov. 2023. The visit took place in the wake of the US announcement of a $553 mn loan to Colombo West International Terminal Private Limited (CWIT). Adani group partly owns CWIT (pic courtesy US embassy)

Gautam Adani

In response to US indictment, Adani has declared that his conglomerate is committed to “world-class regulatory compliance.” The international media quoted one of the world’s richest as having said: “This is not the first time we have faced such challenges. What I can tell you is that every attack makes us stronger. And every obstacle becomes a stepping stone for a more resilient Adani Group.”

Adani said so at an awards ceremony in Jaipur.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Dr. Ganeshan Wignarajah, in his capacity as an advisor to the Sri Lankan President, and member of the Geopolitical Cartographer board, as mentioned in the latest Indo-Pacific Defence Forum, dealt with the ongoing economic-political-social crisis here.

Dr. Wignarajah, who had served as the Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI) during the Yahapalana administration, quite confidently asserted (i) economic mismanagement (ii) Chinese loans and (iii) Covid-19 and other external shocks caused the unprecedented crisis.

The quarterly, published by the Commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is meant to promote their overall political-military and social strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Sri Lankan-born academic, in his article titled ‘Partners for Progress: Sri Lanka works with India, U.S. to bolster economy, stability,’ examined the developing situation here against the backdrop of, what he called, Chinese debt trap diplomacy. China has strongly refuted such accusations over the years. We haven’t forgotten the verbal battle between Yahapalana Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and the then Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang over the former’s disparaging remarks on interest rates on loans provided by China. This was in late 2016, several months after the second mega Treasury bonds scam, perpetrated by the Premier Ranil Wickremesinghe-led government.

Dr. Wignarajah conveniently refrained from making reference to over USD 10,000 million in new International Sovereign Bonds that had been taken between 2015 and 2019, following the change of government. Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is on record as having declared procurement of USD 10,000 million, by the Yahapalana leaders, broke the back of the Sri Lankan economy. Instead, the academic cleverly hid the Yahapalana borrowings. Dr. Wignarajah declared (in verbatim): “Sri Lanka’s default demonstrates the risk of imprudent foreign borrowing, with relying on sovereign bonds with high interest rates to finance development projects or high-interest, low return Chinese loans.’’

As the article had been formulated before the presidential election that was held on Sept. 21, 2024, the professorial fellow in economics and trade at Gateway House, Mumbai, missed an opportunity to examine post-national poll developments.

The unexpected emergence of the National People’s Power (NPP), as the dominant political power, at the expense of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the United National Party (UNP), according to some, may change the dynamics of Sri Lanka’s relations with the US-led grouping that includes India. However, others assert that bankrupt Sri Lanka has no other option but to continue with the IMF agenda and an agreement on economic partnership, signed in July 2023, by Premier Narendra Modi and the then President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe, who suffered a humiliating defeat in the presidential poll on September 21, and then at the parliamentary elections on Nov. 14, 2024, emphasized the responsibility on the part of his successor Anura Kumara Dissanayake to fully implement, what he called, the ‘Vision document’ with India.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) quoted Wickremesinghe as having said so on the sidelines of an event he attended at the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar school recently.

The SLPP-led Parliament that elected Wickremesinghe as the President in July 2022 to complete the remainder of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s five-year term, owed the country an explanation whether the former received the approval of the Cabinet to finalize the so-called ‘vision document.’ The latest Indo-Lanka agreement dealt with strengthening maritime, air and energy ties, as well as land connectivity between the two countries. There hadn’t been a proper discourse, at any level, regarding the ‘Vision document,’ though various interested parties promoted the controversial ‘Vision document’ in the run-up to the presidential election.

On behalf of India, Pathfinder Foundation requested the leading candidates at the presidential election, namely Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, to go ahead with the ‘vision document.’

It would be pertinent to mention that Dr. Wignarajah has ceased to be an advisor to the Sri Lankan President in the wake of Wickremesinghe’s defeat. The advisor had been also involved with Pathfinder Foundation as a senior visiting fellow at the Foundation.

He has had the audacity to even deal in cavalier fashion with India’s intervention in 2022 to save Sri Lanka with reference to the Adani Group’s investments here as well as longstanding US projects, such as the Millennium Challenge Corporation that was rejected by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government.

Essentially, the expert addressed the issues at hand from the point of view of the US-India response to the Sri Lanka crisis.

New developments

The killing of Canada-based Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside his Vancouver temple in June 2023 has caused an unprecedented diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa. The killing that Canada had blamed on India without whatsoever hesitation led to tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomatic staff. Among those who had been expelled were the top most Indian and Canadian intelligence officials based in the respective capitals.

But what really upset New Delhi was the US and the UK throwing their collective weight behind Canadian accusations, thereby undermining the Modi government’s international standing. Perhaps, the harm that had been caused to the relations between Canada and India can never be restored.

International news agencies in Oct, 2024 quoted the spokesperson of the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as having said: “We are in contact with our Canadian partners about the serious developments outlined in the independent investigations in Canada. The UK has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system. Respect for sovereignty and the rule of law is essential.”

“The Government of India’s cooperation with Canada’s legal process is the right next step,” the official added.

On top of the simmering diplomatic row with Ottawa, the US has filed charges against an Indian government employee over his alleged involvement in a failed plot to kill an American citizen of Indian origin. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has identified a New York-based targeted person as a prominent advocate for Sikh separatism.

The US Attorney’s Office for New York declared in Oct, 2024 that it filed “murder-for-hire and money laundering charges” against Vikash Yadav.

Another suspect in the case, Nikhil Gupta, was extradited to the US earlier, in 2024, to face charges, while Yadav remains at large. There hadn’t been such high profile previous cases involving Indian government agents conducting clandestine operations in the West.

Canadian and US investigations have placed India in an utterly embarrassing position. In spite of strong Indian denials, both Canada and the US have maintained that India is under investigation.

The possibility of Canada and the US trying to establish a connection between those who had been involved in operations in their respective territories cannot be ruled out.

The state of crisis of Indian foreign relations with the West has to be discussed, taking into consideration the shocking Canadian declaration that no less than Home Minister Amit Shah, widely believed to be the second most powerful person in the country, sanctioned the Vancouver hit.

Regardless of Indian denial, Canada has refused to change its stand with regards to Shah’s direct involvement in targeting those India considered as a threat. There seems to be no way forward for India on the matter, especially in the West as both Canada and the US pursued investigations.

How could the Canadian and US common stand in respect of clandestine operations undertaken by India undermine India’s once robust relations with the West? Can the West jeopardize their relations with India, at a time they are in conflict with China and Russia?

The Modi’s government obviously has ended up with egg on its face and is struggling to cope up with extremely harmful media coverage. Shah is the chief aide to Premier Modi.

Against the backdrop of Canadian accusations directed at Shah, the US is also likely to probe the possibility of the powerful Home Minister having a hand in the New York operation. Whatever the outcome of Canadian and US investigations, New Delhi will have to address the collective responsibility on the part of the Indian Cabinet in authorizing clandestine operations overseas.

The Adani factor

Dr. Ganeshan Wignarajah

When Wickremesinghe recently demanded that his successor President Dissanayake goes ahead with the ‘Vision document’ with India, he was probably turning a blind eye to the US indictment of Gautam Adani over high profile accusations regarding the USD 265 mn alleged bribery scam to benefit Indian government officials.

Perhaps, the US move against Adani, one of the closest associates of Modi, may destabilize Indo-US relations. Adani and seven others had been charged over, what the US called, the corrupt solar project. They have been accused of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and wire fraud.

Dr. Wignarajah, in his piece to the US military magazine, praised the Adani projects here to the high heavens. Obviously, as the US indictment hadn’t been announced at the time the academic submitted his piece to the Indo-Pacific command, he couldn’t be faulted for the omission. However, the new Sri Lanka government shouldn’t try to side-step the issue by engaging in delaying tactics.

Unexpected bribery accusations that had been directed at the Indian conglomerate placed a major US funded project here under an extremely difficult situation, particularly because the US was to provide funding to the tune of over half a billion USD. The West Container Terminal at the Colombo port involved Sri Lankan blue chip John Keells and the Adani Group. Other participants are Special Economic Zone Limited and Sri Lanka Ports Authority in the USD 700 mn project.

The NPP government never expected the US to move legal action against the Adani group and may find it difficult to explain Sri Lanka’s continuing partnership with the Indian conglomerate. Unless of course, proper reassessment was made in respect of the Port project as well as other investments, particularly investment of U.S. 1.4 bn for wind power plants.

The US recently disclosed that though they promised over half a billion USD for the Colombo port project, the funding hadn’t been made available so far. Would denial of US funding undermine the implementation of the Port project. Construction began in Nov. 2022, five months after Parliament elected Wickremesinghe as the President.

The US stepped in during Ranil Wickremesinghe tenure as the President after previous plans for the East Container Terminal, involving Japan and India, had to be shelved due to protests. Sri Lanka had no other option but to offer the Colombo West Terminal project to appease New Delhi, furious about unilateral cancellation. The country paid a huge price for such cancellations, having announced mega projects without proper evaluation and consensus with stakeholders. There can be no better example than the idiotic cancellation of the Japanese-funded Colombo light rail project soon after the 2020 general election.

Japan reacted angrily to the unilateral announcement of the cancellation of USD 1.4 bn project funded by Japan through a soft loan.

What would be the fate of the West Container Terminal project in case Adani and JKH had to fund it in the absence of US financial backing? How could the US and India intend to maintain close links as desired by both powers against China in the backdrop of continuing bad press over attacks on Sikhs living overseas and the Adani fiasco.

The Congress-led Indian Opposition disrupted both Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament demanding a joint committee to investigate Adani’s companies in the agriculture, renewable energy, coal and infrastructure sectors. Unless India addresses accusations against Adani in a transparent manner, they can have long term repercussions, both domestically and internationally.

In the wake of the US indictment, Kenya cancelled multimillion-dollar deals with the Adani Group for airport modernization and energy projects. The mega company will also face scrutiny in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The damage to US-India ties would be much more with legal action against Adani compelling India to play it safe. While the government remained silent on the issue at hand, Amit Malviya, the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT head, declared in a post on the social media platform X that the US charges were “allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.” Critics asserted that this was nothing but a show of support by the Modi government for the Adani Group.

It would be interesting to see how the much weakened Opposition in Sri Lanka Parliament takes up the Adani issue. Parliament meets this week, though the issue is not on the agenda, an Opposition member may take the opportunity to comment on the politically sensitive matter.

Adani is the major Indian investor here. According to available data, Adani’s projects account for nearly 70% of overall Indian investments during the 2005-2019 period.

A story from the past

Undue Indian government intervention on behalf of Adani group was disclosed amidst unprecedented political turmoil here with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa under tremendous pressure in June 2022 with the country unable to finance basic needs with covert groups even having blocked worker remittances through official channels.

The revelation was made by then head of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) M.C.C. Ferdinando during an open hearing of the Committee of Public Enterprises (COPE) that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa told him that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had insisted that a 500-megawatt wind power project be directly given to the Adani group.

Embattled President Rajapaksa denied the disclosure. Within two days after the shocking declaration in Parliament, Ferdinando claimed that he lied after being overwhelmed by emotion. Of course no one took Ferdinando’s denial seriously for obvious reasons.

“On November 24, 2021, the President summoned me after a meeting and said, India’s Prime Minister Modi is pressuring him to hand over the project to the Adani group,” Ferdinando said, according to a video clip of his testimony made available by Parliament. According to the CEB head, he had received instructions from President Rajapaksa in this regard in Nov. 2021, just weeks after Adani visited Colombo.

Ferdinando was responding to questions posed by the then head of COPE Prof. Charitha Herath and another member about the circumstances the Adani group had chosen to construct a 500 MW wind power plant on the northern coast.

Ferdinando told the committee that he informed the President that the matter didn’t concern the CEB, but the Board of Investments. “The President insisted that I look into it. I then sent a letter mentioning that the President has instructed me and the Finance Secretary should do the needful. I pointed out that this is a government-to-government deal,” Ferdinando said.

During the heated hearings, Prof. Herath asked whether the wind power deal would be considered “unsolicited”. “Yes, this is a government-to-government deal, but the negotiations should take place according to the least cost policy mentioned in the act,” said Ferdinando.

On the following day, President Rajapaksa contradicted the CEB Chief. “Re a statement made by the #lka CEB Chairman at a COPE committee hearing regarding the award of a Wind Power Project in Mannar, I categorically deny authorization to award this project to any specific person or entity,” he tweeted.

“I have withdrawn that statement,” Ferdinando said. The media quoted the CEB Chief as having said that he only realized that he mistakenly made such a comment, when the Minister inquired from him about the matter on Saturday (June 11) morning.

Thereafter, Ferdinando issued a statement to Prof. Hearth on Saturday in which he tendered an apology, saying that due to “unexpected pressures and emotions”, he was compelled to name the Indian Prime Minister.

The public hearing took place on a Friday, a day after Parliament passed an amendment to the 1989 Electricity Act that removed competitive bidding. The main opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), alleged that the primary reason for bringing forward the amendment was to accommodate the “unsolicited” Adani deal. The SJB demanded that projects beyond 10 MW capacity should go through a competitive bidding process.

The amendments to the Sri Lanka Electricity Act were passed with 120 votes in favour of the amendments with 36 voting against in the 225-member Parliament amid strong resistance from power sector trade unions in the state-run Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB). Thirteen MPs abstained in the voting.

The story should be examined taking into consideration Adani’s pow vows with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Premier Mahinda Rajapaksa in late Oct. 2021 in Colombo.

Midweek Review

Agnotology and ethnic relations

Published

23 hours ago

2024/12/4

Sahan Weerasooriya

by Geewananda Gunawardana,
Ph.D.

The scientific study of culturally induced ignorance and its effects on society is referred to as agnotology. Regardless of the catchy name, this discipline gives credence to the phenomenon and helps the systematic investigation of this sensitive subject. Ignorance is not a demeaning term, but it is a condition that must be acknowledged and dealt with, just as a sickness needs to be treated. Sri Lankans have another reason to do so: Buddhism teaches it as the root cause of all human problems, even though it refers to a different kind of ignorance. Culturally induced ignorance is becoming more prevalent, particularly with the rise of Artificial Intelligence; for example, the country that has the best education system in the world is not free from it as shown by its recent election of a convicted felon to lead them. In that sense, we the Sri Lankans should be enormously proud of our accomplishment; we have proven our wisdom as a nation. But the job is not complete, there are more dark corners that need illumination.

This type of ignorance results from the intentional dissemination of inaccurate or misleading information for the benefit of an individual, organisation, or a movement (Iain Boal 1992). That does not mean the facts are not available, but they are overridden, hidden, and muddied: “We live in a world of radical ignorance, and the marvel is that any kind of truth cuts through the noise. Even though knowledge is ‘accessible,’ it does not mean it is accessed” (Robert Proctor 1988). Therefore, ignorance is not the lack of education itself, it is the inability to separate fact from fiction. A good example is tobacco use: health hazards of tobacco had been known for a century, but it took that long to overcome the mega industry’s advertising campaign and convince the authorities and public to curtail it.

Myths or misinformation

We have myths or misinformation that are millennia old and are entrenched in our collective memory. It is the practices based on such beliefs that have brought us to where we are. The way we elected our leaders is the prime example. Monarchs ruled us for millennia followed by colonial rulers for another few centuries. After that, the country’s elite took over. This long history has drilled into the nation’s psyche the fallacy that the elite must be venerated. The elite took advantage of this vulnerability: voters were manipulated by using their culturally induced beliefs to fabricate threats so the elites could stay in power and enrich themselves. Our past elections have been fought based on the interests of this elite, and not that of society or the nation. The use of chicanery, violence, all manner of vulgarities, and bribery by the elite had become the norm. We voted according to their wishes and not ours.

We the people owe it to ourselves, and to the future generations, to eliminate this ignorance for good. First, we must stop our habit of venerating our leaders and turning them into a new elite. As mentioned before, challenging the tradition, or culture is not easy; difficult and unpleasant it may be, but change is necessary, and our survival depends on it. This responsibility rests on all of us: adults, teachers, clergy of all faiths, and most importantly the media. As a country with a long history, it has no shortage of culturally inherited misinformation. The most damaging one among them is the myths surrounding ethnicity.

The narration in the great chronicle Mahawamsa on populating the island is accepted as historical facts by the majority. Minorities have countered that with their own versions. The question we must ask is, did the authors on both sides present facts or wrote things that were favourable to a cause that each was pursuing. On the Vijaya episode in the Mahavamsa, a historian has argued that it is not a story about the origins of the Sinhala people, but about the origins of a political elite. Indeed, he suggested, a fully-fledged Sinhala ethnic consciousness only arrived in the British period (Gunawardana 1995). Note that he used the term political elite.

Another historian describes the presence of similar accounts in the mythology of many other countries including Greece and Rome. He sums up the essence of these stories as follows. It is interesting to note that this historian was not aware of the Sri Lankan version.

“The king is an outsider, often an immigrant warrior prince whose father is a god or a king of his native land. But, exiled by his own love of power or banished for murder, the hero is unable to succeed there. Instead, he takes power in another place, and through a woman: princess of the native people whom he gains by a miraculous exploit involving feats of strength, ruse, rape, athletic prowess, and/or the murder of his predecessor.” (Sahlins 1985).

Science unheeded

Unfortunately, both sides of this debate do not pay attention to what science has to say on this matter. What follows is a survey of scientific information available on this topic, but to get closer to reality, one must remove the coloured glasses put on us at birth. The first archaic human species (Homo erectus), evolved in East Africa about two million years ago. Fossil records show that they emigrated out of Africa and populated most of Asia and Europe. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared, also in East Africa, about 300,000 years ago. Sapiens have migrated out of Africa in two waves: the first around 130 to 100 thousand years ago taking a northern route and the second around 70 to 60 thousand years ago taking a southern route, hugging the coastline. These later migrants have both interbred with and or displaced the earlier arrivals while settling in different corners of the globe. There have been several other Homo species, like Neanderthals and Denisovans; while none of them exists today, some human populations carry their genes.

Peopling of the Indian subcontinent, the meeting ground of settlers from several adjoining regions, has been a complex one. Following are the four main population groups involved in this process: a) Aboriginal Indians. These are the members of the second wave of humans that left Africa and settled around fifty thousand years ago; b) Iranian farmers; c) Farmers from Central Asian Steppes; and d) East Asian rice farmers. The farmers from Iran and steppes were wheat and barley growers, and their East- Southeast migration had been slowed for some time as their crops were not ideally suited for tropical climate. While rice farming was adopted by all populations, the East Asian farmers have not made much of an impact in populating the country, except in the Northeast corner.

The accepted migration pattern of these populations is as follows. Iranian farmers who have arrived in the Indus valley around nine- to seven thousand years ago had crossed into India, mixed with the Aboriginal Indians, and moved southward around four thousand years ago. The resulting population is referred to as Ancestral South Indians. Farmers from the steppes moved to Indus valley, mixed with the Iranian farmers. These Steppes farmers, referred to as Europeans but differ from the Germanic Europeans, introduced horses and wheels. This Iranian-Steppes mix moved Eastwards towards the Gangetic valley and mixed with the earlier arrivals. This population is referred to as Indo-Europeans. Their southward migration has been slowed for several reasons. It is accepted that it was this latest group that introduced the precursor to Sanskrit language, Vedic literature, and the four-tier caste system.

Some argue that it was the strict caste system that prevented further mixing and southward spread of this Indo-European group. These classifications and nomenclature have created much controversy and debate. The use of terms like Ancient Northan Indians and Ancient Southern Indians are disputed as their origins are outside of India. The use of Aryans and Dravidians is equally controversial, and arbitrary. And specifically in our case, dangerously misleading.

Now, let us see what happened in Sri Lanka. The maximum depth of the 48 km long Adams Bridge is about ten metres while most of the shoals are less than 1 metre underwater. During the height of the ice age, between 80 to 20 thousand years ago, the sea levels stood about 120 metres below the current level. Therefore, Sri Lanka had been part of the Indian landmass, allowing for the southward migrations to reach the island, until the sea level rose about six thousand years ago.

Archaeological evidence shows that some of the early migrations reached the island as early as 125,000 years ago. Modern human fossils found in Sri Lanka has been dated back to 36,000 years (Deraniyagala 1992). Remarkably, these are the only reports of that antiquity in Southeast Asia. They were hunter gatherers using tools belonging to the middle stone age. They thrived until people skilled in agriculture and cattle breeding arrived around 2,800 years ago.

Narration of chronicles

How does the narration of the great chronicles match with this version? The arrival of North Indian prince Vijaya, with his retinue of seven hundred men, and ruling the country from 543 to 505 BCE is the cornerstone of this narration. There are many associated legends that cannot be verified. Vijaya’s campaign to eliminate the natives, who belonged to Yaksha and Naga tribes, is one. Some report Vijaya being from the Northeast coast of India while the others suggest a Northwest origin. However, linguists and historians see a connection between Sinhala and the languages spoken along the Konkani coast, favouring a Northwest origin. Realistically, there is no reasons to rule out continuous exchanges between India and Sri Lanka along the east and west maritime routes as well as through the shallow seas in the Palk Straits throughout the history. Vijay’s arrival had stood out in the chronicler’s mind as he was a notable person, but he cannot be the first to arrive from India.

Now, let us turn to genetic studies of Sri Lankans. Humans are a genetically homogeneous species; this suggests a population collapse in recent times, leaving a small number of females of reproductive age. Modern technologies developed in the field of genetics can use a type of markers known as mutations to track the genealogy of an individual or a population despite this homogeneity. When a cell divides, its genetic material or DNA is duplicated and distributed equally among the two daughter cells. During this copying process some errors are made. Genes or DNA is a set of instructions written in a language that has five letters: A, T, G, C, and U. The words in this language are made up of three letters. Most of the copying errors are misspellings, typos as we say. The type of errors known as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) are the most common markers used in genetic studies to trace genetic history.

There are several small-scale genetic studies conducted on Sri Lankans. The most recent open access publication by Singh and others in 2008 provides references to these studies. I am using the set of data reported by Ranaweera (2014) and graphically represented by Chaubey (2014) for this discussion, as these data are representative of the overall findings (Figure 1: Mitochondrial DNA analyses of Sri Lankans).

These are the most striking facts that emerge from these data: the major ancestral share of all Sri Lankans, i.e. those identify as upcountry, low country, and mixed Sinhala; Sri Lankan and Indian Tamil; and Adivasi population, is the Ancient South Indian genotype, which is considered as consisting of 75% Ancient Ancestral South Indian and 25% Iranian Farmer genotypes. All Sri Lankans have over 60% of this type. At the same time, all Sri Lankans, except the Indian Tamils, also carry more than 20% Indo-European genotype. Not surprisingly, considering the island’s geographical location in the East-West maritime route and five hundred years of European occupation, Sri Lankans also carry anywhere from 6 to 14% of other genotypes, which are not identified in this study. Sri Lankan Moors are not included in this data set, but they too carry a high percentage of Ancient South Indian genotype indicating mixing with the other types (Perera 2021).

Baseless proposition

Considering these data, to assign an ethnicity and suggest that one or the other group arrived on the island first is an utterly baseless proposition. This allegiance to one or the other camp had to have happened within the island. For example, Indian mercenaries brought into the country in more recent times have settled down in the south and assimilated without trace after the wars ended; in fact, some of the prominent Sinhala leaders belong to this category. Similarly, just because one group follows a distinct set of customs or speaks a particular language is also not related to their arrival chronology. Such divisions could have easily happened after their arrival. Our ancestors have been living on this island for over three millennia through war, peace, and famine. As can be seen all over the world, interbreeding can happen under any condition, for better or for worse. Not only genes, but words, customs, beliefs, and food were exchanged. The boundaries between so-called Adivasis, Aryans, Dravidians, Moors, or others are porous and have no meaning in the big picture. Genetic studies show without doubt that if one assumes that they belong to the pure Ancient Soth Indian genotype or the pure Indo-European genotype, it would be not only a preposterous idea, but it would be a comical one as well. The bottom line is that we all have lived on this small island for so long, we have become near homogenous genetically. Who knows what languages were spoken or what beliefs were practiced by our predecessors four or five generations ago. What matters is that we all are citizens of this land with the same rights, and we should not leave any opportunity for the wicked elite to divide us and fatten themselves ever again.

Unfortunately, the government policies or the failure to implement “successful, sustainable development projects” over the years has strengthened the divisions based on culturally induced ignorance leading to conflicts and economic disasters (Richardson 2005). If we were to succeed as a nation, there are two things the country must do: the government must have policies for sustainable economic development and give equal access to all, and the people must do their part to reduce the culturally induced ignorance among themselves. Myths surrounding ethnicity is only one issue; there are many others that will have to be addressed at another time. All parties that genuinely care about the nation’s future must engage in this civic discourse and prevent the future generations from inheriting our ignorance. The younger generations must be trained to be critical thinkers and not mere followers. This is an excellent opportunity to do so and missing that will be a grave mistake.