JOIN USAs Sri Lanka drifts closer to China, India likely to raise pitch for equality, justice for Tamils
As Sri Lanka drifts towards China, India is likely to raise its pitch for full implementation of the 13th amendment to the constitution of the island nation to ensure devolution of power to the local governments in its Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern Provinces.
New Delhi’s envoy to Colombo, Gopal Baglay, of late had a meeting with a delegation of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), a coalition of political parties representing minority Tamils of Sri Lanka.
He reiterated to the TNA leaders New Delhi's support for devolution of power to local governments in Northern and Eastern provinces “within the framework of a united Sri Lanka on the basis of full implementation of the 13A (13th amendment of the country’s Constitution), which would be in line with Tamil aspirations for equality, justice, peace and reconciliation” and would strengthen the island nation, according to a press release issued by the High Commission of India in Colombo.
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The TNA delegation was led by its president R Sampanthan.
The 13th amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka was an outcome of the July 29, 1987 accord between New Delhi and Colombo. It was passed by the Sri Lankan Parliament in November 1987 resulting in the creation of the provincial councils. The process of devolution of power to the local governments as envisaged by it remained incomplete though.
Since the Rajapaksa clan returned to power riding on a Sinhala-Buddhist nationalist wave, a section within the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party started opposing the full implementation of the 13th amendment of the Constitution of the Indian Ocean island.
Baglay met the TNA leaders even as New Delhi sent out a message to Colombo, tacitly indicating that it was keeping watch on the growing role of China in infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka and its implications for the security of India.
Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told journalists in New Delhi that India expected Sri Lanka to remain mindful of excellent bilateral cooperation between the two South Asian neighbours, including for mutual security in the shared environment, including the maritime domain. He was responding to a query on India’s view on China’s role in the Colombo Port City project. “We have been closely following recent developments from our security perspective. We have also noted the concerns that have been raised in Sri Lanka regarding several aspects of the framework for the Colombo port city project.”
New Delhi, according to the sources, is particularly concerned over the CHEC (China Harbour Engineering Company) Port City Colombo project. It anticipates that the Port City Colombo could eventually be turned into an overseas colony of China – less than 300 kilometres away from the southern tip of India. China’s debt-trap diplomacy earlier made Sri Lanka giving it the Hambantota Port on lease for 99 years.