A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Thursday, March 3, 2016
Will ETCA hit Ranil the way ’87 Accord hits JRJ
J.R. Jayewardene
signed the Indo-Lanka Accord in 1987 using his intelligence in a
farsighted manner. He viewed the northern war as cancer. He knew that
the war was a creation of India.
( March 2, 2016, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) The
Editor of the Indian Express newspaper Shekar Gupta interviewed then the
President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2008 in which Mahinda made very
interesting observations. Mahinda claimed the Indo-Lanka Agreement
signed in 1987 was the best solution to the ethnic crisis and praised
the introduction of the 13th Amendment as also the best solution and
noted that former Indian Premier Rajiv Gandhi had thought wise in 1987 (
two decades before that interview) to propose a viable solution. This
is what Mahinda told Shekar in brief about the IPKF presence in Sri
Lanka following the signing of the Indo-Lanka Accord: “President
Premadasa committed a grave error by demanding the withdrawal of the
IPKF. It soured Indo-Lanka relations. The Sri Lankan community should
have been thankful for the services rendered by the IPKF. They
sacrificed their lives for the unity of Sri Lanka. If the IPKF was
permitted to stay a bit longer, we would have gained the victory? But
Premadasa succumbed to the pressure mounted by southern extremists and
sent the IPKF away”.
The same Mahinda Rajapaksa attacked and criticized the Indo-Lanka Accord
of 1987 and the IPKF as an Opposition MP on 26 May 1989 in Parliament
in the following manner; “The IPKF had been brought here. The country
has experienced many problems as a result of its presence. The IPKF was
brought to suppress the Northern people, kill the Tamils and Muslims,
violate their fundamental rights and that scenario had spread to the
South (interruptions by the government benches). Read this Amnesty
International report. It says…’ In late 1987 there were increasing
allegations that members of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF)
deployed in the North and East as part of the July peace accord were
responsible for rape and other acts of brutality against Tamil
civilians'”.
Continuing his speech Mahinda charged that the IPKF which was brought
here as a peacekeeping force was raping innocent women in those areas.
Opposition Member (in support of Mahinda): Not a peace force but a sex force…
Mahinda Rajapaksa: Yes, the IPKF had turned an Indian
Sex Force. They are raping women there. They must be indulging in rape
for women to give birth to Indian nationals in the North in the future.
People are killed and women are raped in the North. See what’s happening
in the South? When the southern youth rise against such brutality in
the North, they are being burnt on tyres.
‘ETCA drawn up in a manner similar to CEPA is harmful to the interests
of Sri Lanka. Even 15 years after signing the Free Trade Agreement with
India, the main commodity Sri Lanka exports to India is areca nut’,–
Prof. G.L. Peiris (08.02.2016 Mawbima).