Jilted Sri Lanka ups the hate-speak against India

Proxy-speak is a unique feature in Sri Lanka’s propaganda machinery, particularly during the present Rajapaksa regime. Whether it is to defend its “war against terror” or cover up allegations of large-scale Tamil civilian casualty, or to take cheap potshots at countries that do not buy its line, the regime lets loose its proxies. [caption id=“attachment_270222” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“While the government has remained silent the proxies have upped the ante against India. Reuters.”]  [/caption] The favourites of the proxies, both at home and abroad, have been the UK, Norway and western Europe; the vocal Tamil diaspora, human rights activists at home and abroad and the imperialist West. The latest to join the hit-list of the proxies is India, a close buddy till the March United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution. Seemingly, Sri Lanka has not been able to stomach India’s stand to go with the resolution. The all-powerful Rajapaksas haven’t spoken a word against India, but the proxies are actively looking for chinks in India’s armour and bizarre conspiracy theories. The proxies are mostly outrightly nationalistic newspaper columnists in Sri Lanka, cabinet ministers, religious leaders and handpicked politicians. The first salvo against India was a Pakistan inspired news-report that Sri Lanka will target India for its human rights record in Kashmir (as reported by The Nation in Pakistan), followed by allegations that there were 150 LTTE training camps in Tamil Nadu. The latest is the most amusing: the Kudankulam nuclear plant. Chinese news agency Xinhua as well as Sri Lankan newspapers quoted hawkish power and energy minister Champika Ranawaka, saying that the country was at risk of a possible nuclear disaster in Kudankulam. The minister reportedly said that the issue would be raised at the next International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting in September. It is not just coincidental that the same power minister also criticised India for its stand on the UNHRC resolution in an article in the Nation newspaper in Sri Lanka on Sunday. He said India’s stand affected its own interests and Indo-Sri Lankan relations. Ranawaka was earlier slammed by the TNA for fanning communal unrest through his statements on the UNHRC resolution. Other prominent proxy voices are against the 13th amendment for devolution of power as promised (to India) and retracted by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. An article published in Lankaweb raised fears of an India-supported UNHRC resolution for referendum in the north and the east on the 13th amendment. The article shockingly advocated for changing the demography of the north and eastern parts of the island by “aggressive, state sponsored colonization with new non-Tamil settlements”. Incidentally, this has been a major charge by the international community against the Sri Lankan regime which the latter has been denying. Another columnist termed the 13th amendment as the “introduction to Sri Lanka of the policy of communal representation implemented in India by the Government of India Act of 1935.” The column also said the issue in Sri Lanka was not “racial inequity” but “spacial inequality” connoting the need for changing the demography of north and north eastern areas. The same proxies were also at work, taking on the UN and western nations during the height of the war against the LTTE. They constantly took out processions against embassies, the UN, human rights groups and attacked TV stations. Post the UNHRC vote, the regime and its proxies have also taken Sri Lanka’s reciprocal diplomacy to absurd levels when it decided to shut down some of its outposts in Europe while opening new ones in African and East Asian countries that voted in its favour. Nigeria, Uganda, Congo and Senegal are among the countries on its radar. The countries that Sri Lanka has made diplomatic ties this year are Rwanda, South Sudan, Congo and Mali! India has so far chosen to ignore the provocation. There had been reports of covert and overt overtures from India to appease Sri Lanka. However, the proxies upping the ante now is probably because India has gone lukewarm to a sulking and noisy Sri Lanka. If not, that should be India’s attitude towards a country that has been shunned by the international community for its alleged human rights violations and possible war crimes until it takes credible action against the allegations.