Echo chamber symphonies

August 28, 2014

With repeated reassurances by side players in the international arena, it is no wonder the Government was
surprised by the TNAs visit to New Delhi and its audience with the Indian Premier

The TNA delegation with Prime Minister Modi at his office in New Delhi
Subramanian Swamy
Subramanian Swamy is the new celebrity in Sri Lanka.
In the capital, he travels in tinted jeeps with a security detail, presumably because he has been a
vocal critic of the LTTE. Swamy is mobbed by reporters eager to hear his views on IndoLanka
relations and the Tamil issue. !e is afforded lengthy television and print interviews, in which
he never minces his words. !e is vociferously antiTamil "adu and Tamil diaspora, purports to
be an e#pert on the "arendra $odi %overnment&s positions on the Sri Lankan issue and using
silky tones, criticises the Tamil "ational 'lliance and its continuing struggle for ma#imum
devolution and a permanent political solution to the ethnic issue. "aturally, everything he says
is music to the Sri Lankan %overnment&s ears.
The election of (haratha )anatha *arty +()*, strongman "arendra $odi in India was met with
jubilation in %overnment circles in -olombo. The ()* was so antithetical to the -ongress *arty
in ideology and policy that the .ajapaksa %overnment believed its relations with India /
faltering over the past few years under the $anmohan Singh administration / would finally
turn a corner. It was perhaps prematurely concluded that the $odi %overnment&s heartbeat
would resonate with the .ajapaksa administration in -olombo0 The former %ujarat -hief
$inister was not only a strong nationalist, but a political leader who pri1ed development and
economic growth above all else.
2or nearly 34 years, the .ajapaksa administration had been dealing with the Sonia %andhiled
-ongress *arty as it navigated the crucial relationship with "ew 5elhi. The relationship had
been fruitful at first. The %andhi family&s personal tragedy at the hands of LTTE brutality
ensured the -ongress would strongly back the %overnment&s military push to defeat the Tigers.
It was postwar that all the trouble started.

Hope of repair
's the years progressed, -ongress *arty leaders grew increasingly frustrated
with -olombo&s intransigence on the issue of devolution for the Tamil people,
a key understanding upon which "ew 5elhi cleared the way for the .ajapaksa
'dministration to finish the war in 6447. ' series of broken promises to
-ongress $inisters and *rime $inister $anmohan Singh himself on the
devolution issues, created a chasm between the two %overnments. The Sri
Lankan %overnment had suffered a major loss of credibility with -ongress
*arty seniors. Then, when it felt betrayed by "ew 5elhi&s positions at the 8"
!uman .ights -ouncil where India voted for the 8S sponsored resolutions on
Sri Lanka for two consecutive years, the .ajapaksa 'dministration stopped
playing nice. The relationship was at an alltime low earlier this year, but one
of the -ongress regime&s final acts was to abstain on the most serious 8"
resolution on Sri Lanka yet, adopted in %eneva in $arch this year. The
abstention repaired a little damage, but it was the advent of $odi that the
%overnment believed would bring the real change in policy towards Sri Lanka.
The toughtalking %ujarati politician proved the regime wrong at the very outset, when he
reinforced the former Indian %overnment&s call for a political solution that went beyond the
devolution offered in the 39th 'mendment. *resident $ahinda .ajapaksa&s first bilateral
meeting with the new Indian *remier did not go the %overnment&s way. *rime $inister $odi is
reported to have brought the conversation back to the :uestion of
devolution when the Sri Lankan delegation was wa#ing elo:uent
about reconstruction efforts and infrastructure development in
the wartorn "orthern *rovince. ;hen the official *residential
statement failed to make mention of the talks between the two
leaders on the 39th 'mendment and a political solution, Indian
2oreign Secretary Sujatha Singh repaired the omission by
highlighting the contours of that discussion to the press corps in
"ew 5elhi. (y all accounts, it was an unhappy airplane ride
back to -olombo from "ew 5elhi for the Sri Lankan delegation
following the Indian swearing in ceremony in $ay.

Persisting hope
(ut in spite of the early disappointment, the %overnment
persisted in believing it had turned a page with "ew 5elhi.
.epeatedly and using the strangest e#cuses, *resident .ajapaksa
released batches of Indian fishermen detained in Sri Lanka for
poaching. India&s consistent repudiation of the 8" investigation
into allegations of war crimes committed in Sri Lanka, bolstered
hopes that the new regime in India would be a staunch supporter
of the ruling administration in -olombo. .hetoric by Indian
politicians like Swamy, who the Sri Lankan %overnment has
been cultivating for years, actively reinforced these notions.
In -olombo, Swamy has become an unofficial spokesperson of
sorts for the ()* led alliance, even though the former Indian Lok
Sabha $* has only been a member of the ruling alliance since
6439. <ther ()* leaders also travelling to -olombo with Swamy
recently e#pressed different opinions. =et it is Swamy whose
statements have received the greatest play as an authority on how
the $odi %overnment will frame its Sri Lanka policy, on
%overnment websites and the Statecontrolled media.
The Indian politician, whose remarks have grown increasingly
shrill in -olombo, outdid himself last week at the annual
5efence Seminar organised by the military. Swamy intimated in
his usual authoritarian tones that the T"' would have to obtain
*resident .ajapaksa&s permission before it undertook a mission
to "ew 5elhi to meet with the $odi %overnment officials. In an
interview on the sidelines of the seminar, Swamy e#pressed
similar views, saying the Indian *remier would not grant
appointments freely. >!e +$odi, will be very choosy, and we are
also now in the process of rebuilding our relations with Sri
Lanka. Things won&t be the same as the last time when the T"'
met the prime minister / at the time they met him when they felt
like doing so,? Swamy scoffed in the interview with a local
weekend newspaper during the 5efence Seminar.

Misleading statements
The 5efence Seminar concluded on 64 'ugust. The same day, news broke that the T"' would
travel to "ew 5elhi on Thursday +63, for meetings with top Indian %overnment officials. '
meeting with *rime $inister $odi was also on the agenda. The T"' visit was being scheduled
over a period of time, but e#act dates were left ambiguous by both the Tamil *arty and the
Indian mission in -olombo until the very last minute.
Indian diplomats both in -olombo and $E' officials in "ew 5elhi are reportedly irked by the
tenor and content of Swamy&s repeated statements in -olombo, in which he appears to be
articulating Indian %overnment policy. The timing of the T"' visit, while accidental, e#posed
Swamy&s actual position within the Indian %overnment, since he appears to have had not the
slightest inkling of the $odi regime&s true plans with regard to its engagement on the Sri
Lankan Tamil issue.
<n 2riday +66,, the fivemember T"' delegation, led by *arty Leader .. Sampanthan met with
Indian 2oreign $inister Sushma Swaraj at South (lock, and even held discussions with former
*rime $inister Singh. <n Saturday, the T"' delegation met with *rime $inister $odi at his
office in "ew 5elhi. Sampanthan&s delegation was strongly urged by the Indian !igh
-ommission in -olombo and by the Indian $inistry of E#ternal 'ffairs in 5elhi during its pre
$odi discussions to avoid the subject of the 8" investigation and human rights issues during
the crucial meeting. Issues pertaining to the smooth functioning of the "orthern *rovincial
-ouncil were also left untouched during the $odiT"' meet, with the Indian *remier
scheduled to meet separately with "orthern -hief $inister -.@. ;igneswaran to discuss those
matters, sources said. Last week&s meeting between *rime $inister $odi and the T"' was to
focus almost entirely on devolution issues, the sources added.
!owever, the T"' delegation did raise the issue of heavy militarisation of the Tamil majority
"orthern *rovince and also touched on issues of se#ual violence and the vulnerability of
women in the former war 1one.

Modi reinforces 13+
$odi&s take on the T"' meeting was no different to the positions articulated previously by the
Indian -ongress %overnment, which also called for a political solution in Sri Lanka that built
on the framework of the 39th 'mendment. This will not sit well with the %overnment in
-olombo, whose relations with the -ongress government were also marred by repeated calls
for 39 *lus by Indian leaders. =et several other interesting things during the T"' visit will
have an e:ually discomfiting effect on the .ajapaksa administration.
Indian !igh -ommissioner to -olombo =.A. Sinha also travelled to "ew 5elhi to attend the
highlevel meetings during the T"' visit. Envoys to foreign countries traditionally travel back
to their home countries for consultations prior to major bilateral visits by a head of state,
foreign minister or ministerial delegations of the capitals to which they are posted. !igh
-ommissioner Sinha&s presence at the discussions between $inister Swaraj and *rime $inister
$odi indicates the weight and significance "ew 5elhi proffered to the T"' delegation&s visit.
Sinha would have been recalled to "ew 5elhi for consultations prior to the meetings with the
T"', to brief Indian officials on the current situation on the ground in -olombo.
The $odi %overnment&s decision to grant the T"' delegation an appointment, second only to
the bilateral with *resident .ajapaksa which was the new Indian *remier&s only interaction
with Sri Lankan %overnment representatives thus far, may imply that the same level of
engagement with the T"' as a major stakeholder in the search for a political solution in Sri
Lanka, will continue.
Thirdly, T"' Leader Sampanthan who is still in Tamil "adu visiting family, held a press
briefing in the ()* office in -hennai yesterday. <n either side of the Sri Lankan Tamil
politician as he spoke to the press corps in the southern Indian city was the recentlyappointed
Tamil "adu *resident of the ()*, Tamilisai Soundararajan and *on .adhakrishnan, $inister of
State and ()* heavyweight in Tamil "adu.
The message to -olombo is loud and clear, that despite Subramanian Swamy&s assertions,
sections of the Indian %overnment remain firmly committed to engagement on the Tamil issue
in Sri Lanka. This is in fact an accurate portrayal, despite the centre&s independence from Tamil
"adu politics as a result of an outright majority in the parliamentary election earlier this year.
5uring the tenure of the -ongress government, the ()* as the country&s main opposition,
advocated strongly for a much tougher position against the Sri Lankan %overnment over its
human rights record and refusal to strike a postwar power sharing deal with the Tamils.

i!ing in a b"bble
That the T"' visit startled the Sri Lankan %overnment is not in the least bit surprising. (owled
over by the likes of Swamy, whose statements and ideology resonate so strongly with the
highest echelons of the .ajapaksa administration, the %overnment believed the bubble it had
constructed about the Bnew& "ew 5elhi was something real.
2aced with debilitating international challenges, the %overnment is increasingly seeking refuge
in echo chambers, forging alliances with random stakeholders and minor actors, whose
hypotheses it is desperately determined to believe are true. The regime has made similar
mistakes with 8Sbased public relations agencies and lobby groups to which hundreds of
millions are being paid in Sri Lankan ta#payer monies. The %overnment believes strategic
assessments by these paid firms to be accurate reflections of 8S policy towards -olombo. In
reality, these are mirages created by *. agencies such as Thompson 'dvisory %roup, which
successfully convinced the regime that several 94 minute informercials portraying Sri Lanka as
a peaceful, united country recovering from war and a resolution by 3C random 8S senators
would alter the way ;ashington approaches the human rights situation in Sri Lanka.
It defies logic on every level that the %overnment pays 77 million rupees to a *. agency to
build its image in the 8S and alter attitudes in ;ashington and yet goes so stridently out of its
way to antagonise ;ashington&s own official envoys in -olombo. !ow does the regime fail to
understand that constructive engagement with these -olombobased officials, whose reports
land directly at the State 5epartment in ;ashington, would save millions of dollars in public
relations e#ercisesD Instead it vilifies and talks down to diplomats in -olombo, in pseudo
shows of prowess and bravado.
Silk suits and silken accents, reinforcing what the Sri Lankan %overnment most desperately
wants to hear0 that it can do nothing and e#cept international attitudes to change, that everyone
has a price, that everyone is pliable and can be won over with platitudes, vacations and royal
treatment in -olombo, are the %overnment&s preferred weapons of war in its international
battles. "ew faces are things to rejoice over, for they afford new opportunities to engage with
the same old arguments about Sri Lanka&s postwar successes. The tactics have replaced
credible efforts to engage with the international community. !onesty and credibility in its
dealings with international partners, as opposed to increasing belligerence and targeted personal
attacks from -olombo would work miracles that multimillion dollar *. deals cannot.
Subramanian Swamy, in one of his televised interviews while in -olombo, told a local channel
that the 8" investigation would be of no more conse:uence to Sri Lanka than a swarm of
pesky mos:uitoes. >Simply swat them away,? he advised the %overnment. If there is any lesson
the %overnment has to learn from the coup that was pulled off by the T"' last week, it is the
danger of lending too much credence to his claims.