2nd PTGTE Int'l confab & "unwelcoming" President Rajapakse

by Luxman-Arvind

(September 11, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) While indisputably the Rajapakses won the war against the LTTE, the widely held belief both within and outside the country that GoSL appears to continue to lose the peace and the goodwill of the Ilangai Tamil people by its own lack of finesse is plain to see. The victory on the ground should have been, many Lankan watchers feel, followed by a diplomatic blitzkrieg overseas to win over those governments and the international community that held the Rajapakses and GoSL accountable for “excessive civilian collateral damage” and related HR and War crime allegations. President Rajapakse and his highly focussed brother Gothabaya Rajapakse cannot be entirely held responsible for the diplomatic debacle. The fault lies more with a flawed strategy and campaign that was mishandled by a profligate Foreign Ministerial VIP with very little experience – either ministerial or political.

If at all it can be described as “ achievement” what he did was to totally wreck the ministry under his charge and fill positions in our missions in various capitals in the world with his immediate members of the family and cronies – from outside the diplomatic and administrative service. The perceived Battle against the Tamil diaspora and “remnants of the LTTE overseas” was lost in consequence. In this comedy of errors was an official from outside the Foreign Service sent to Toronto “to break the backbone of the Tamil struggle in Canada” All this one-time lower-level journalist achieved was to send a mountain of highly exaggerated reports of “his victories in Canada against the LTTE s” The man was finally removed from Toronto and sent to New York. He is now back in Colombo after a salacious sex scandal there and is now in the Foreign Ministry. His secret of survival? – connections within the Rajapakse extended family. As to his sojourn in Canada with the LTTE and most of its leadership and structure gone , the more activist elements of the diaspora are capable of creating frther havoc than before.

London, yet another important city where the Tamil diaspora is strong and influential with the UK government and politicians across the Parliamentary divide, there have been several changes of our mission chief in recent times. Some serving only for a few months. The able former Supreme Court Judge Nihal Jayasinghe is due to make way for the Navy’s Karanaggoda - the latter with no diplomatic experience. Jayasinghe came up with a convincing and able performance when pitted against Nik Gowing of BBC’s globally-watched “The Hub” last week where the 17th and 18th amendments were under critical scrutiny. Jayasinghe’s repartee was a refreshingly welcome change – in excellent, unhalting English, convincing arguments – compared to the rot of a former Foreign Minister . The earlier man is said to be an English educated lawyer but brought discredit to the country messing up “captivate” - for captive and “subjugated” - for forcibly held - when discussing the civilians held by the LTTE in the months prior to May 2009. Dr. Palitha Kohona, the affable and able former Aussie diplomat was thrown hither and thither in the political dog-fighting – Secretary/Foreign Ministry, Peace Secretariat and then to the UN office in New York. It is understood he is to be moved to Colombo soon. The cumulative result of the lack of consistency in the management of our foreign affairs and diplomatic thrust results in the forces lined up to pressurize the global community against the Sri Lanka government gaining ground. Two important events have taken place in North America this week that needs to be viewed with all seriousness by GoSL and those who shape its policies.

2nd International Congress of the Provisional Govt of Tamil Eelam

US lawyer Visuvanathan Rudrakumaran, with established connections in the UN and the US Congress, is now the elected interim head of the Trans National Government of Tamil Eelam (in exile) The TGTE has been going through its process of formation for many years – allowing sufficient time for the Lankan Government to weaken or dismantle it lawfully. The main weapon for this is an efficient and professional series of diplomatic and media counter-moves. But it failed and the TGTE has scored several stunning victories since then. It held its high-profile inaugural Global Congress in the historic city of Philadelphia at the very spot where the American Declaration of Independence was signed on July 04, 1776. Prior to that the TGTE held “elections” in the many countries in which Ilangai Tamils who fled the island are domiciled. 135 were elected by popular ballot" for a Parliament o the TGTE" in several countries in the diaspora in readiness for the formation of its Govt-in-Exile. Among one of the successful candidates was a former Parliamentarian from Sri Lanka. In a Statement issued last week Rudrakumaran announced the 2nd Confab will be held by the end of September 2010. He did not say where. Among the more important tasks listed are the formation of important Committees to move on to the next stage of political action. Among them will be - the Political Affairs Committee, International-Support and Affairs, Media, Womens-Children- Elders Welfare, Trade and Commerce, Environmental Affairs, IDP Affairs, Education and Culture, Health, Sports and Recreational activities. The more significant are Committees relating to Genocide against Tamils, War and HR Crimes, Release of Political Prisons and Rehabilitation of PoWs. The September Congress has high in its Agenda the formation of various Sub-Committees consisting of academics and experts in the different fields. This is expected to include, significantly, several who are not Ilangai Thamils.

In the Statement Rudrakumaran also makes a personal explanation there are false rumours floated “by our enemies to the effect I have recently conceded “Eelam is a lost cause” and “that I have been working with sources closes to the Sri Lankan Government" He denies these as part of a disinformation campaign designed to weaken the fledgling PGTE. He mentions one Surendran from London telephoned him introducing him as one supportive of the PGTE. This Surendran is supposed to have surreptitiously taped the conversation and has doctored it "cutting a piece here and pasting a piece there totally fabricating the conversation to suit the fancies of his own handlers" Warning “our enemies within and without” will make efforts to harm TGTE" Rudrakumaran insists Eelam is not a lost cause although May 2009 was the loss of a of battle. He states “while the doors of Mullaivaikkal are closed” he points to his followers “more important doors like the more important one in Philadelphia are being opened for our just cause” He calls upon the membership to remember those who committed War Crimes in history have always been brought to justice and points the examples of Hitler’s massive genocide against the Jews, the Turkish massacre of the Armenians, the Southern Sudan crimes where Al-Bashir is now wanted by the ICJ; the Biafra and the Serbian mass killings where those at the top were either punished or are on the run.

Curiously, the long Statement does not refer to KP either directly by name or obliquely.

President Rajapakse’s visit to the UN in New York on September 23

While the regime shares hardly any information with the local media of this visit, the diaspora appears to be well briefed on many of the details. Already, calls have gone out to the various Ilangai Thamil Organizations both in the USA and Canada to “demonstrate your feelings against the butcher of 300,000 innocent Tamils when he comes to New York” They will be joined in this by various non-Tamil activists and organizations to make matters quite ugly for the Lankan President. Demonstrations of 50,000 to 100,000 in any weather is quite within the reach of the Thamils there. Noisy demonstrations, stinging placards, night vigils, traffic blockages are all part of the plan. If one is to go by past performance the Rajapakse delegation can expect more than noisy receptions. It is very unlikely Rajapakse may not subject himself to the rigours of a direct Press interview. But to avoid such an event, which is routine for visiting Heads of State, will be tacit admission of “running away” – an angle that should also be studied carefully. It is known GoSL now uses the servics of costly Lobbyistswho might help cushion matters.

The Way out

There is still space for the government to come out well on both matters. The way out is to engage the other side immediately. Lobbyists now in the pay of the Govt can play an important role here. There are sufficient contacts and persons of goodwill on both sides who can set up a gradual line of communication where, through a strategy of give and take, both sides can achieve a win-win situation. There is room to believe several governments will be pleased to do what they can to bring both sides together. What is necessary is to bring professional diplomats into the Lankan teams. This is no time to go into the technicalities whether a State should negotiate with a non-State actor and other legalities. It is such trivialities that brought us many losses in the past. As I write this today, the Israelis are in animated discussion with the Palestinians – non-State actors until a few years ago. And so it was when the Phillipines negotiated with the Mindanao rebels in – of all the places – in far away Libya. Some concessions are worth making in the pursuit of sustainable peace among feuding foes of long years and are far more preferable to war or conditions thereto as obtaining today in Sri Lanka.