Rajapakse wins key election. Sri Lanka becomes politically unstable.

[nongaddarliberal]

But, Sinhalese are much more skeptical about Indian intentions specially after Modi's fiasco in Hatton.

What happened in hatton? And what are the specific complaints against India that has turned sinhalese against India at this point?

 

[HeinzGud]

@HeinzGud A crash course in Sri Lanka's system of governance and politics would be much appreciated.

The article above was Greek to me.

Well here goes. Hope this would clarify the situation.

Sri Lanka initially had two main political parties. The UNP and SLFP. UNP being center right and SLFP being center left. UNP ruled the island from 1948-1956 then 1965-1970 then 1977-1994. SLFP ruled the gaps with coalition parties. This time around a new far left political party was created called JVP (PLF) which aimed to gain power through armed rebellion. They orchestrated two clandestine coup in 1971 and 1988 which was severely crushed by the then governments with iron fist. Many people died during those purges specially youngsters. JVP later absorbed into the democratic political stream with rehabilitated former rebels and shape them selves with leftist ideologies.

It was the UNP which introduced open economic model back in 1977 and went closer to US sphere of influence triggering India to intervene in Sri Lankan affairs. Amid the chaos of war and destruction UNP was finally defeated in 1994 under the leadership SLFP promising end to the war and abolition of presidency.

However, after series of let downs by the SLFP leadership UNP were able to garner back power in 2002 but only in the parliament. (Presidency was under the SLFP). It was this time that the Norwegian backed ceasefire was signed and the destructive war was halted for the time being.

This uneasy ceasefire led Sinhalese people rally behind SLFP and JVP which by now was seen as viable bulwark against rampant corruption and nationalist ideologies. 2004 they contested under the UPFA badge and won the majority seats in the parliament. The victory of the UPFA paved the way for the rise of Rajapakse and his illustrious 10 year tenure. By this time JVP had left UPFA under various differences and acted as independent pressure group in the parliament.

In 2010 just after the war victory Rajapakse had called for a fresh presidential election (under UPFA banner) and UNP now severely weakened by their political agendas seeked a coalition to counter Rajapakse. UNP and JVP joined together to present a common candidate in 2010. However, Rajapaksa won that election resoundingly.

In 2015 amid the escalating living costs and international pressure in UNHR, Rajapakse again called for an presidential election to secure his political position. UNP again seeked JVP's support to field a common candidate to face Rajapakse. The common candidate was turned out to be UPFA's general secretary. This time the gamble paid off and the Rajapakse was defeated.

This presented a unique political situation and the winning candidate the former UPFA general secretary tried to hijack UPFA leadership from Rajapakse. With the new found political leverage he formed a new government with UNP and part of UPFA members. The rest of UPFA MPs remained with Rajapakse forming a opposition group. JVP didn't partake in the new government as they sought their own mandate in the political field now had left directionless.

In 2015, the new president called for parliament election to form a secure and stable government. This time UNP and JVP contested alone while the UPFA amid political crisis joined hands to prevent their voter base from dividing though the president actively objected to Rajapakse becoming prime minister. After backstabbings and political infighting UPFA could muster considerable number of seats in the parliament which left UNP with unstable majority.

However, this time the president intervened again and forcibly joined UPFA and UNP together to form a unity government with 2/3 majority. Though Rajapakse loyalists had protested and formed their own opposition group which unfortunately was not officially recognized by the UNP elected speaker of the parliament.

This political quagmire led to the down trodden Rajapakse loyalists to from a break a away political party called SLPP to challenge the combined strength of both UNP and UPFA. That is what happened few days back with a landslide victory to the SLPP.

 

[Bornubus]

Modi's fiasco in Hatton.

What's that ?


=====================

 

[HeinzGud]

What happened in hatton? And what are the specific complaints against India that has turned sinhalese against India at this point?

Well Modi referred to the state Tamils as they are Indians. That should not have being done. Those Tamil people might have come from India recently but they should be given a chance to integrate into Sri Lankan society. Sinhalese people will not tolerate Indian minded Tamils residing in the historic central highlands. Furthermore, Modi acted as he was the boss. Just look at that picture he was leading the show. Sinhalese people do not like those kind of show offs.

@Bornubus

 

[nongaddarliberal]

Well Modi referred to the state Tamils as they are Indians. That should not have being done. Those Tamil people might have come from India recently but they should be given a chance to integrate into Sri Lankan society. Sinhalese people will not tolerate Indian minded Tamils residing in the historic central highlands. Furthermore, Modi acted as he was the boss. Just look at that picture he was leading the show. Sinhalese people do not like those kind of show offs.

@Bornubus

Well these things are easy to reverse.

 

[captscooby81]

Well there is still the fringe groups like simon s NTK, Daniel Gandhi May 17th and few more who are keep on using the Eelam issue every stage they get ..But they are fringe so far but remember they will turn into mainstream in matter of no time if those backers of LTTE all regroup again ..The Norwegian,German and the Canadian connections the funding will surely come from there only mostly from the christian groups ..Its upto these govt to cut these fringe groups ..With M karunanidhi in death bed there is no tallest figure to talk about it Eelam in TN today ..But he also lost his credentials in 2009 being part of UPA and didn't raised a voice at the peak of the Civil war ..Well i always want to treat the srilankan tamils are srilankans and not as indian s as the same reasons why singapore and malaysian tamilians consider themselves Singaporean and Malaysian and not as tamilian from some lost land..

I didnt know there was still an issue regarding Tamils in Sri Lanka. Im a Tamil living in Chennai now. There is hardly any talk of Tamil Eelam here anymore, and the issue has all but died down, since the end of your civil war. It's a far cry from the earlier situation when there used to be Prabhakaran posters everywhere here. Now no one even talks about it, there are no more rallies and all the old posters and street art have been removed (mostly). Perhaps it is more a matter of perception due to your media rather than reality that India is raking the Tamil issue, since we in Tamil Nadu itself have forgotten about it, and the central government barely listens to us as it is.

 

[nongaddarliberal]

Well there is still the fringe groups like simon s NTK, Daniel Gandhi May 17th and few more who are keep on using the Eelam issue every stage they get ..But they are fringe so far but remember they will turn into mainstream in matter of no time if those backers of LTTE all regroup again ..The Norwegian,German and the Canadian connections the funding will surely come from there only mostly from the christian groups ..Its upto these govt to cut these fringe groups ..With M karunanidhi in death bed there is no tallest figure to talk about it Eelam in TN today ..But he also lost his credentials in 2009 being part of UPA and didn't raised a voice at the peak of the Civil war ..Well i always want to treat the srilankan tamils are srilankans and not as indian s as the same reasons why singapore and malaysian tamilians consider themselves Singaporean and Malaysian and not as tamilian from some lost land..

The funny thing is, Malaysian and Singaporean Tamil peoples way of speaking Tamil is far closer to Indian Tamils even though they are thousands of km away, than Sri Lankan Tamils who live just across the strait to us. Sometimes I can barely understand Sri Lankan Tamils. But no, singaporean and malaysian tamils still have a very strong Tamil identity. I have lots of friends in both groups.

Anyway, I never really cared about the situation in Sri Lanka, even though I am a Tamil. We have far too many problems at home to be bothered about someone else's business. Yes, there were times during the civil war that outrageous massacres against Tamils used to take place. But that's not relevent today. Tamil Nadu should concentrate on controlling its debt and preventing all the big manufacturers from moving away to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

 

[aarav]

Sri Lankan Tamils not to be treated differently like others ,if that was the case many sri Lankan refudgees would have been deported from india ,Tamil bonded labourers were taken forcefully to work in Tea fields in sri lanka they are not their on their own will ,we are building houses and hospitals from them in the hill country ,they are our strategic assets in Sri Lanka ,our govt already have disappointed them decades ago with their flawed policy, can't do that again ,Sinhala are not very receptive of indian interests in the region ,the chinese nuclear submarine port of call is just one example ,refueling of pakistan ships in 71 war another ,sri lanka Tamils are of indian origin after all hence ,India can let go UNHRC support of resolution against sri lanka as sri lanka has defence relationship with pakistan and china

 

[Bornubus]

Well Modi referred to the state Tamils as they are Indians. That should not have being done. Those Tamil people might have come from India recently but they should be given a chance to integrate into Sri Lankan society. Sinhalese people will not tolerate Indian minded Tamils residing in the historic central highlands. Furthermore, Modi acted as he was the boss. Just look at that picture he was leading the show. Sinhalese people do not like those kind of show offs.

@Bornubus

Agree, although I'm least intended in them or their politics for that mater

 

[aarav]

India is now investing in Tamils who were largely ignored by Sinhala ,it will naturally create affiliation with india and to counter Elam propaganda that india hasn't done much for tamils here by Periyar activists in tamil nadu

 

[captscooby81]

You have no clue Eelam propoganda was a church funded movement all the top cadres of LTTE were crypto fuckers ..and they are not so innocent ..If they are so much about tamil why did they put a bomb in chennai airport and kill tamils why did they killed 10 plus tamilians along with Rajiv and why the fuck they used children and woman as human shields in the final stage of the war ..bunch of cowards these fuckers were and today my ass burns when i see this coward pig is considered bigger than veerapandiya kattaboman and other brave tamil kings ...

@nongaddarliberal Yes the tamils in Malaysia and Singapore has strong tamil identity but ask them to bash the singpore govt or the malaysian govt for not supporting tamil cause in SL they will just change the stance they are singaporeans..What ever your ethnic identity its best to support the rule of the land where you born rather than behaving like jihadi fuckers who across the world owe their alliance to mecca and destroy the country they live ..and the few fringe groups want to do this they want TN to burn for the sake of Eelam cause isn't it fucking stupid why should destroy my land for a land which is not at all existing ...

India is now investing in Tamils who were largely ignored by Sinhala ,it will naturally create affiliation with india and to counter Elam propaganda that india hasn't done much for tamils here by Periyar activists in tamil nadu

 

[aarav]

These are different Tamils from Elam ,they are pro indian as they were bought as bonded labourers in 19th century by British ,they are in east hill country of sri lanka not in north states near Jaffna ,they are not a prosperous as Jaffna ones are ,pretty much still labourers in Tea estate ,sinhala have intrinsic hatred for us as they were ruled by many kings from the Peninsula ,cholas ,pandyans ,kind of all of them ,it was given when a king controlled the indian Peninsula, lanka will fall itself ,but now they have largely ignored our interest even the india-sri lanka friendship treaty when they hosted chinese nuclear submarine without informing us

 

[HeinzGud]

Well these things are easy to reverse.

how? explain please

 

[nongaddarliberal]

@aarav and @captscooby81 both of you have a point. We should not alienate a group that is already pro India in our neighbourhood, i.e Sri Lankan Tamils. Helping Sri Lankan Tamils also helps the Sri Lankan economy as a whole, and produces a lot of goodwill for India at least from that group.

On the other hand, India should not support destabilizing elements in Sri Lanka either. The LTTE often employed very brutal methods in the war which cannot be justified, and they are not the innocent do goody movement that we think. As @captscooby81 pointed out, they were funded by various western countries with ulterior motivations of their own.

In my view we must keep the Sri Lankan Tamils close, but also make efforts to improve relations with Sinhalese. And if China can invest in Sinhalese dominated areas, then why cant India invest in Tamil dominated areas?

 

[nongaddarliberal]

how? explain please

The examples you brought up have more to do with bad messaging from the Indian side. So all we need to do is change the way we communicate regarding Sri Lanka. Be more diplomatic and balanced. As far as I can see, sinhalese resentment comes from their perception of India rather than any real actions India is doing. Perceptions can be changed.

 

[HeinzGud]

The examples you brought up have more to do with bad messaging from the Indian side. So all we need to do is change the way we communicate regarding Sri Lanka. Be more diplomatic and balanced. As far as I can see, sinhalese resentment comes from their perception of India rather than any real actions India is doing. Perceptions can be changed.

It is mostly not about the communications but about the actions. Sri Lankan people are fed up with Indian arrogance since 1980s. It will take considerable time for that bad rap to disappear even if India changed their policy towards Sri Lanka completely. So India needs to act wisely here. The more India antagonize Sri Lanka the more it will drift towards China until it practically becomes part of it.

 

[aarav]

If Rajpaksha backed govt came ,then naturally China would again come at forefront,Rajpaksha was quiet annoyed when the gobbled Alliance won,he did not anticipated that,he kept giving interviews like he was ousted by indian govt or this Alliance was pushed by us,that it was a kind a coup by R&AW

 

[nongaddarliberal]

It is mostly not about the communications but about the actions. Sri Lankan people are fed up with Indian arrogance since 1980s. It will take considerable time for that bad rap to disappear even if India changed their policy towards Sri Lanka completely. So India needs to act wisely here. The more India antagonize Sri Lanka the more it will drift towards China until it practically becomes part of it.

Again, India today isn't taking any real actions regarding Sri Lanka, either positive or negative. And as you yourself said, SL will practically become a part of China. So which country is a bigger threat to your sovereignty and independence? Remember, its not India which has taken over your port after you couldnt pay back your loan. So I would advise rethinking which country to be wary of.

 

[HeinzGud]

@aarav and @captscooby81 both of you have a point. We should not alienate a group that is already pro India in our neighbourhood, i.e Sri Lankan Tamils. Helping Sri Lankan Tamils also helps the Sri Lankan economy as a whole, and produces a lot of goodwill for India at least from that group.

On the other hand, India should not support destabilizing elements in Sri Lanka either. The LTTE often employed very brutal methods in the war which cannot be justified, and they are not the innocent do goody movement that we think. As @captscooby81 pointed out, they were funded by various western countries with ulterior motivations of their own.

In my view we must keep the Sri Lankan Tamils close, but also make efforts to improve relations with Sinhalese. And if China can invest in Sinhalese dominated areas, then why cant India invest in Tamil dominated areas?

The more India help Sri Lankan Tamils the more Sinhalese view it as an act of aggression. Sri Lanka had a wonderful relationship with India back in 1970s during Indira's time. Sri Lanka needs a friend like her now.

Any country will respond to terrorism the very same way which Sri Lanka had done it. India also had done like that during operation Blue Star and in Kashmir. What really matter is to destroy the terrorist elements from the society which Sri Lanka had done commendably. Sri Lanka should support Sri Lanka to face International criticism as a fellow South Asian nation.

India needs to view the situation as a whole rather than through the view point of Tamilnadu. Moreover, it may be so that India might view Sri Lanka as a potential economic competitor in the region. It is therefore highly necessary that India should find the balance between these two extremes.

 

[HeinzGud]

If Rajpaksha backed govt came ,then naturally China would again come at forefront,Rajpaksha was quiet annoyed when the gobbled Alliance won,he did not anticipated that,he kept giving interviews like he was ousted by indian govt or this Alliance was pushed by us,that it was a kind a coup by R&AW

It is widely speculated the RAW had some hand in the defection of Rajapakse's key loyalist to run for the presidency. We should not discount the fact that RAW is operating in Sri Lanka under different aliases.