Manmohan Singh opting out of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting won’t help the Tamil cause
Domestic compulsions seem to be playing a big role in the neighborhood foreignpolicy of both India and Sri lanka. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be hosted by Sri lanka in November has become a test case, with a question mark about Prime Minister Manmohan Singh participating in it. Prince Charles will represent Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the Commonwealth at the Colombo meet.
The summit meeting, which is a matter of prestige for Sri lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, is clouded by controversy. Of the 55 Commonwealth members except Canada, almost all the others are attending the summit. Bowing to the pressure from the Tamil diaspora, Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper is boycotting. Even Britain is facing pressure to boycott. There has been an active campaign against the human rights violations in Sri lanka by several bodies including Amnesty International. Ms Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has called for an inquiry after her recent visit to Sri lanka, claiming that the island country was becoming increasingly authoritarian.
But Mr Singh is yet to take a call and there is debate within the Government whether he should go to Colombo. Some of his Cabinet colleagues including P Chidambaram, V Narayanaswamy and GK Vasan, who hail from Tamil Nadu, are opposed to Mr Singh’s visit. Playing competitive politics, almost all Tamil Nadu political parties including the Congress, the ruling AIADMK and the main opposition DMK demand a boycott of the CHOGM. Although the Sri lankan Tamil issue has never won them votes, they continue to make it an issue. The continuing disputes over fishing rights between fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Sri lanka also has become an irritant.
Mr Singh cannot ignore this domestic pressure ahead of 2014 lok Sabha poll although foreign policy is the prerogative of the Centre in a federal system. Tamil Nadu has 39 seats while Pondicherry has one. Since 1967, when the Congress lost power, it has always been riding piggyback on one Dravidian party or the other.
The other factor is the apprehension whether Mr Rajapaksa will amend the Constitution removing land and police from the purview of the Tamil-ruled Provinces. This would damage the India-Sri lanka accord of 1987. New Delhi believes that Mr Rajapaksa is playing politics and might amend the Constitution after the CHOGM or after the UNHRC meeting in March. India’s primary commitment to Sri lankan Tamils is implementation of the 1987 Accord, under which Provincial Councils were established and empowered under the 13th Amendment of the Sri lankan Constitution. Sri lanka has not empowered the Provincial Government to administer key areas such as law and Order and lands.
Above all, with the assessment that the trajectory of Indo-Sri lanka relations is declining with domestic pressure overtaking foreign policy concerns in both Delhi and Colombo, the argument is: What is the use of Mr Singh’s participation in CHOGM.
On the other hand there is a strong case for Mr Singh’s participation. The relationship with Sri lanka will sour if the Prime Minister does not attend CHOGM, as Mr Rajapaksa will take it as an insult, since he claims that he has been doing all he can and has ensured a successful election in the Northern Province where a new regime has taken over.
Bilateral concerns should not prevent Mr Singh from attending a multilateral meeting. Mr Singh has not stayed away from any multilateral fora so far because of domestic concerns. If irritations between the two neighbours should stop him from attending multilateral meetings, then there is a case for his not attending the SAARC.
Opting out of CHOGM will not help the Tamil cause as Mr Singh could use the Colombo meet to put pressure on Mr Rajapaksa to fulfill his commitments with the support of the international community. The Sri lankan President should be cornered on the human rights violations, which the international community is agitated about.