By Our Political Editor
A week after the summit of South Asian leaders in Colombo, post mortems on the many omissions and commissions during the event continue.
One of them is the faux pas over the Government of India's National Security Advisor, M.K. Narayanan, being stranded at the BMICH after the summit with no transport and no security. In a terse statement issued on Thursday, the Indian High Commission in Colombo confirmed the contents of the exclusive The Sunday Times report on the episode last week as the summit was in progress. It said, "There was a serious lapse in that some arrangements discussed and agreed to in advance, did not get implemented on the ground." It said Sri Lankan "security authorities have apologised to Mr. Narayanan."
The statement said, "It is not the practice of this High Commission to comment on security issues in details" and added, "we now consider the matter closed." The statement following what the High Commission called "various media reports" did send shock waves through the defence and security establishment. The fact that the Indian authorities were livid about the episode was clear. India's High Commissioner Alok Prasad told a Government official that the treatment meted out to Narayanan was "simply unacceptable."
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| Among those who met Singh: From left Rishard Bathiutheen, Douglas Devananda, P. Devaraj, Rauff Hakeem and P. Sampanthan. |
His discomfort and even anger is understandable. More details of the Narayanan episode have now emerged. The start of the summit of leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) had been fixed at the auspicious hour of 10.34 a.m. This was after astrologers had opined that there was a malefic period from 9.00 a.m. to 9.34 a.m. on Saturdays.
It had been agreed that Foreign Secretaries of the SAARC member countries should arrive at the summit venue, the BMICH, between 9.00 a.m. and 9.30 a.m. They were to be followed by Foreign Ministers from 9.30 a.m. till 10.am followed by the SAARC leaders from 10.00 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. In terms of arrangements previously made, Narayanan who would travel in a separate car would be included in the motorcade of Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. As National Security Advisor Narayanan enjoyed Cabinet rank in accordance with the Indian Precedence Table and hence this move.
When Mukherjee's motorcade arrived at the BMICH, the Police diverted the security vehicle and allowed the Indian Foreign Minister's vehicle to drive up the ramp to the dais in front of the BMICH entrance. Only the visiting Heads of state or Government, and their Foreign Ministers could take their cars up the ramp. Thus, Narayanan's vehicle could not be driven along the ramp. He had alighted from his car and walked to the BMICH entrance from where he had been ushered in. The Indian Foreign Minister's motorcade was parked thereafter in the allotted area. However, it is alleged that Narayanan's vehicle was not allowed into the same lot and had to be parked elsewhere.
When the inaugural sessions ended, Narayanan had seen Mukherjee waiting to depart. He had then walked down the ramp and waited there for his car to turn up. It never arrived. Meanwhile, Mukherjee's motorcade had driven away with the Minister. An Indian High Commission official had noticed Narayanan waiting for his vehicle and urged that his car be allowed to join the motorcade. It had reportedly been refused on grounds of security. Narayanan's predicament was made worse by the fact that he had not carried his mobile telephone with him.
Three Indian officials, two of them ladies, had learnt of Narayanan's predicament of being unable to get back to his hotel. They offered their vehicle, a taxi bearing the Hotel Taj Samudra logo on the two front doors and urged the National Security Advisor to travel in that. At first he had refused saying the trio would then be stranded. Later, he had agreed if the three would also join. The four of them travelled in the car thereafter. When the driver reached the Bauddhaloka Mawatha (opposite the BMICH entrance), security personnel had directed the vehicle to immediately avoid travelling along the route meant for the SAARC leaders.
The driver, now debarred from taking the route reserved for the leaders had to take an alternative route to the Taj Hotel. With some difficulty, he managed to drive to Kompannaveediya (Slave Island) nearby the rear entrance of the hotel. There, at a sentry point, the vehicle was refused further entry. The driver tried to explain who was in the car, but the soldier was having none of that. His orders were to prevent any vehicular traffic beyond his guard point. Narayanan had then alighted from the car and walked. In the hot sun, Narayanan had made it to the Holiday Inn when SAARC spokesman and one time Sri Lanka's Ambassador to United Nations, Prasad Kariyawasam spotted him trudging it. He must have known that Narayanan was not going for a stroll, what in his full suite. Kariyawasam beckoned Narayanan to come in his car and dropped him off at the Hotel Taj Samudra, safe but shaken.
Security at the BMICH and arrangements for motorcades were the responsibility of the Presidential Security Division. This was why its head, S.M. Wickremasinghe, DIG, extended an apology to Narayanan. The Indian National Security Advisor was to later complain that since his departure from the hotel for the summit opening until his return to his hotel well past noon, he had been without any food or drink.
The Narayanan episode apart, there were many issues on which the Indian delegation to SAARC treaded cautiously. No doubt, their actions did cause serious concerns in the dovecotes of power. One was plans by Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to meet with Eastern Provincial Council Chief Minister, Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan. He is also the leader of the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal together with renegade LTTE Eastern Commander, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan.
Premier Singh was originally listed to meet Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan. However, later Indian High Commission officials urged the TMVP to meet with Narayanan, a request that they turned down. No official reasons were given for the last minute change. However, the story doing the rounds in political circles is that the Government of India moved away for reasons of being cautious. "India did not want to be seen as endorsing the actions of the Sri Lanka Government and its tie up with TMVP by meeting a delegation," a well-informed political source said. "This is particularly in the light of delays by the Government to enforce provisions of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which India says is a "welcome first step" to resolve the ethnic conflict.
Another more visible 'distancing away' came when a monument built to remember troops of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Kotte was not declared open when Premier Singh and his entourage were in Colombo for the SAARC summit. A memorial has been built and the plaques were installed for the opening ceremony at a site near Parliament. It overlooks the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Headquarters in Battaramulla. The plaque remains covered by black polythene.
In July, when a high powered team of Indian officials - National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh - visited Sri Lanka, authorities arranged for the trio to make special visit to the memorial site. At that time it was hoped that the memorial would be declared open when Premier Singh and his entourage were in Sri Lanka for SAARC. The Indian side says that an opening was not even scheduled in the Indian PM's itinerary. The Government is now examining the possibility of inviting senior officers who then served in the IPKF to come to Colombo for the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, Opposition UNP Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe met the visiting Indian Premier before the Indian leader met President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Foreign Minister Mukherjee attended this meeting. Later, Tamil and Muslim political leaders also had 'photo opportunities' with Premier Singh at his suite at the Taj Samudra Hotel. Mukherjee didn’t stay for these.
Significant among those who queued up to meet Premier Singh were Tamil National Alliance (led by R. Sampanthan), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) leader Rauf Hakeem, Ceylon Workers Congress leader Arumugam Thondaman, Eelam People's Democratic Party leader Douglas Devananda and V. Anandasangaree of the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF).
P.P. Devaraj got the opportunity to represent the Indian community in what was a courtesy call that lasted less than five minutes. All of them were permitted to bring three members with them for the 'photo-op'.
Sampanthan was to raise issues relating to "hardships faced by Tamil people" and that earned him an invitation to New Delhi to complain further. He had also urged Premier Singh to ensure that the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is "fully implemented."
Devananda told Singh that India should support the Security Forces to rescue the people of Wanni and ensure the safety of civilians there. One could say that Singh got a balanced view of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
India also should assist in getting essential food items to those in the Jaffna peninsula, Devananda went on. He said it was cheaper to bring food items from South India than from southern Sri Lanka to the Tamils of the Northern Province.
In his talks with Dharmalingam Siddarthan (PLOTE leader), Premier Singh had raised the ongoing war in the Wanni and the recently concluded Eastern Provincial Council elections. Siddarthan told the Indian Premier that the Security Forces had the upper hand in the fighting that is now under way. Siddhartan said there were malpractices during the Eastern Provincial Council elections. However, he said his party wanted to see the smoother functioning of the Council.
The only party that was conspicuous by its absence during this line-up of Sri Lankan political leaders calling on the visiting Indian Prime Minister was the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Its leader Somawansa Amerasinghe said he had told an Indian High Commission official not to invite the JVP.
Later, Amerasinghe told The Sunday Times: "India is dictating terms to us. Before SAARC, there was an Indian delegation of senior officials. There was no joint statement after their visit. They said there would be no Indian military presence during SAARC. We saw large numbers, some of them in civil clothes. There were warships outside Colombo.
"They don't seem to be trusting the Sri Lankan security forces. They are not going to prevent this kind of thing happening again. This shows India's hegemonic intentions. There are rules and accepted norms. We cannot accept warship diplomacy.
"There are many other reasons. They have taken large extents of land to build a power plant in Sampur. There is a lot of secret activity there. JVP Parliamentarian Jayantha Wijesekera tried to visit the area. He was denied entry. They have now acquired rights to drill for oil in Mannar coast. They want 675 hectares to start an economic region. This is whilst people are languishing in refugee camps in those areas. They have worked a deal to mine limonite at
Pulmoddai.
"They have now acquired the cement factory at Kankesanthurai. There are reports of 100 megawatts of power coming from Tamil Nadu. They have not even received Parliamentary approval for this.
"There is another conspiracy. The Lanka Indian Oil Company has acquired fuel stations. One of these days, they may not want to sell fuel from their stations. This is a cunning way of forcing the closure of the Oil Refinery. There is also Indian dominance in the south. They are going to undertake work on the southern railway. They will open their own shops in the southern railway stations.
"Any responsible government will have to take these aspects into consideration. At present our national security is in jeopardy. India can at any time cripple many of our vital sectors like transport, industries, petroleum, electricity etc.
"The Indian economic expansionism in Sri Lanka should stop. Unfortunately those who represent Sri Lanka at talks in India are only interested in sarees. We are not against India investing in Sri Lanka on win-win basis. It should be for the mutual benefit of both countries. But what is happening today? We will continue our actions to make the people of Sri Lanka aware of the dangers they face. We will also stage strikes if it helps the national interest."
If in 1954, and to some extent 1981, local political leaders lined up to have an audience with Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of England when she arrived in Colombo, the new trend seems to be to want to tell the Indian PM what their grievances were. Some of the political leaders had taken thick files with them to hand-over to the Indian PM, which he graciously accepted, with both hands.
It must have been a satisfying visit for the Indian political hierarchy; but what might have spoilt it all would have been the Sri Lankan President taking wing to Beijing for official talks with the Chinese leadership no sooner the SAARC summit concluded and he bid 'Ayubowan' to the South Asian leaders.
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