Shenali Waduge
India says:- LTTE emerged because of discriminations to Sri Lankan Tamils by Sri Lanka
- India secretly planned to destabilize Sri Lanka and extend its sphere of influence in Sri Lanka and watching LTTE terrorize Sri Lanka for 30 years – though India would never allow LTTE to create an Eelaam.
- LTTE and other militant groups first obtained training inside India, given arms and financial support from India – with July 1983 giving an “ethnic” dimension to gain international sympathy and facilitate influx of refugees to developing nations.
- India allowed LTTE to use India’s Tamil Nadu as a hub
- 495 LTTE cadres (including 90 female) trained in 6 camps in Anna, Thanjavur West, Thanjavur East, Kumbarapatti in Salem, Madurai, Ramnad in Tamil Nadu. Training given on arms, swimming, boat driving, physical training.
- 233 TELO cadres trained in 5 camps in Ramnad and Salem
- EROS training in 2 camps in Ramnad and Pasumpon Muthuramalingam districts.
- 74 EPRLF trained in 7 training camps in Thanjavur, South Arcot, Trichy, Ramnad.
- 2236 PLOT cadres (including 94 females) trained in 18 camps in Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tirunelvei, Thanjavur East.
- Tamil Eelam Army – 2 camps (31 cadres), TELA-Kanthan group -3 camps (117 cadres), TELA-Rajan – 1 camp (10 cadres), TENA – 1 camp (25 cadres), RELO – 1 camp (13 cadres), NLFT -1 camp (2 cadres), ECRP – 1 camp (4 cadres), TMPP – 1 camp (6 cadres)
- Indian intelligence aware that LTTE cadres including Prabakaran came over to Tamil Nadu leaving the leadership to Kittu in Jaffna, Mathiasri in Vavuniya and Santhosham in Trincomalee. Prabakaran returned in January 1987 – (EX 158 (B), Annexure M-2)
Creation of an “Eelaam”
- Sri Lanka is aware that India was only using Eelaam as a strategic tool to exert influence over Sri Lanka (though other nations linked to LTTE had different intentions)
- This has been confirmed by India sternly informing DMK head not to go ahead with the TESO conference.
- India squashed the “We Tamil Movement” that emerged in India demanding a separate Tamil Nadu state – the Sri Lankan Eelaam was an offshoot of this attempt.
- If Sri Lanka has never posed a security threat to India why should it want to destabilize Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lankans feel that India should be grateful to Sri Lanka for eliminating LTTE which would have become a threat to India
- Sri Lanka majority feel that India was unnecessarily showing its bullying nature in the manner it forced Sri Lanka’s leaders to report on the war situation making Sri Lanka’s leaders travel to India to appraise Indian leaders.
- India demanded Sri Lanka cease the Vadamarachchi operation in 1987 when Sri Lanka’s armed forces had cornered Prabakaran threatening to attack Sri Lanka if it does not do so.
- India did nothing when India’s former Prime Minister was assassinated in India by LTTE. Moreover Rajiv Gandhi’s widow is even seeking clemency for the assassins of Rajiv Gandhi!
- Sri Lankans opine that much of the terrorism in Sri Lanka was steered by Indian intelligence operatives some of whom worked without the explicit instructions of the Indian Government.
- Sri Lankan majority believes that the Indo-Lanka Accord and subsequent amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution introducing the Provincial Council system was only to allow India to take advantage of devolution for its own geopolitical advantage – emphasis on one day annexing Sri Lanka’s North to India
- Sri Lankans are puzzled why India continuously insists on 13th amendment when it is aware that the provincial councils have given little benefit to the people.
- Majority of Sri Lankans WANT the Government to repeal the 13th amendment, do away with the Provincial Council system which has not served the public. It is only after proper systems are in place that any consideration towards delegating powers should be adopted.
- Sri Lankan majority feel India should apologize in particular to the Sri Lankan Tamil people who suffered from IPKF atrocities – rape, indiscriminate civilian killing, destruction of civilian property
- Orders are said to have been given to kill Prabakaran by India
India says:
- It is concerned about the welfare of the Sri Lankan Tamils : Indian PM on 19 March 2012 – our objective, namely, the achievement of the future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect.”
- It has sent billions towards the development of roads, railways, civil infrastructure, promises to build 50,000 homes, investments in fields of steel, rubber, cement, power and energy, oil exploration, production, telecom, real estate, tourism, computer software, IT training and other professional services
- Sri Lankan majority wish to ask India to name all rights that Sri Lankan Tamils are denied legally and constitutionally and to declare what discriminations Sri Lankan Tamils exclusively suffer from which other ethnic groups do not.
- Sri Lankan majority asks India if it claims to be concerned about Tamils why it stood silently while LTTE killed thousands of Tamil civilians and all the moderate Tamil leaders numbering over 250 Tamil politicians, academics, public service and religious leaders.
- Sri Lankan majority asks India if it is so concerned about Tamils why it clamped down on the We Tamil Movement for a separate Tamil Eelaam state in Tamil Nadu – since the homeland of the Tamil people is undeniably and undoubtedly in Tamil Nadu.
- Majority of Sri Lankan people feel that India is flooding Sri Lanka’s market with cheap Indian goods whereas there is an imbalance in Sri Lanka’s trade to India.
- Majority of Sri Lankan people opine that India is economically attempting to acquire key stakes in Sri Lanka and forging deals likely to result in an influx of Indians into Sri Lanka since large numbers of Indians are already overstaying illegally.
- Majority of Sri Lankan people are cautious of the fact that Indian labor into Sri Lanka will affect the livelihoods of its own people
- Sri Lankan majority is skeptical of India’s investment drives especially when it shows interest in Sri Lanka’s natural resources (ex: phosphate) for fear that Sri Lanka is compromising its agricultural sustainance.
- Sri Lankan majority is questioning its own leaders on giving in to India’s bullying and allowing India to walk off with key stakes in Sri Lanka when India has never proven a friend.
- Sri Lankan majority questions the logic of economic agreements with India on the grounds of its size.
Ideally India should be looking after its own. 650 million people (53.7% of population) living in poverty in India, of which 340 million people (28.6% of the population) were living in severe poverty. 77% of Indians live on less than 20 a day (about $0.50 per day). 8 Indian states have more poor than 26 poorest African nations (more than 410m people) 42% of India’s children are malnourished. 1.72 million children die annually before celebrating their 1st birthday. More than 122 million households have no toilets. 33% of Indians lack access to latrines; over 50% of the population (638 million) defecates in the open. 11% of the Indian rural families dispose of stools safely whereas 80% of the population leave their stools in the open or throw them in the garbage. Over 700,000 of our people are involved in the cleaning of toilets using their bare hands. Only 25% of the total population has drinking water on their premises. From 2008-2010 over 100,000 acts of violence were committed against (Dalits), such as murder, rape, or (forcing women) to parade naked, particularly women asserting their rights. 8200 ultra rich India’s combined wealth is USD945billion which is equivalent to 70% of India’s total economy.
- There are over 165 separatist movements in India – India should find “political solutions” to these without interfering in sovereign Sri Lanka. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INSStMLUsSg. There are said to be about 3000 castes and more than 25,000 sub-castes in India.
- Sri Lankans see no reason why India should have resorted to arming terrorists for allowing Pakistan civilian ships to refuel in Colombo during the Indo-Pak war.
- Majority Sri Lankans are now confirmed in the opinion that India was never a friend when India voted against Sri Lanka at the US-backed Resolution at the UN Human Rights Council. Moreover, Sri Lankans are angered by the fact that India declared it would vote against Sri Lanka ahead of going to Geneva to send a word to other countries to vote against Sri Lanka. Indian Prime Minister on 19 March 2012 : I may assure the House that we(India) are inclined to vote in favour of a Resolution, that, we hope, will advance our objective, namely, the achievement of the future for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka that is marked by equality, dignity, justice and self-respect.”
- India has been encouraging illegal Indian migration to Sri Lanka
- Sri Lankans accuse India of falsely creating tense situations regarding fishermen to exert political pressure.
- Sri Lankans accuse India of using the Tamil National Alliance and steering their every action.
- TNA’s calls for reduction of military presence clearly depicts India’s desire while its maintains over 700,000 soldiers in Jammu/Kashmir with one Indian soldier for every 7 Kashmiris and 400,000 Indian jawans in Punjab.
- Majority of Sri Lankans also accuse India of inciting ordinary Tamils in a bid to demand that Sri Lanka moves its military out from the North and relocate its bases throughout the coastal areas round Sri Lanka.
- Sri Lanka is curious why India through TNA continues to demand police and land powers when it should be more interested in further welfare measures for the Tamil people.
- Sri Lankan majority continues to believe that former-LTTE cadres have secretly being smuggled out of Sri Lanka by vested forces to India and undergoing training for continue terrorism in Sri Lanka.
