The Government of Sri lanka on Friday extended an “unqualified apology” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa for an objectionable article which was posted earlier in the day on the website of the island nation’s Defence Ministry. The article was removed from the website following massive protests by the AIADMK cadre, who also got support from bitter rival DMK and others.
“An article titled, “How meaningful are Jayalalithaa’s love letters to Narendra Modi” had appeared on our website along with graphical portrayal of Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The article, which had been published without appropriate authorization and not reflecting any official position of the Government of Sri lanka or Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, has since been removed. We extend an unqualified apology to Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” said the posting on the Sri lankan Defence Ministry website.
Jayalalithaa herself wrote a letter to Modi expressing her anguish over the article and asked him to direct the Ministry of External Affairs “to summon the Sri lankan High Comm-issioner and clearly express India’s displeasure at the manner in which the article was hosted on the official website of the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, Government of Sri lanka, and seek an unconditional apology from the Government of Sri lanka.”
In a rare gesture, TKS Elangovan, spokesman of the DMK, the traditional rival of the AIADMK, described the article posted on the Sri lankan Defence Ministry’s website as “cheap”. “A Chief Minister cannot be depicted in such a manner,” said Elangovan.
Dr Subramanian Swamy, senior BJP leader, condemned the article. “The article posted without authorisation on the Defence Ministry of Sri lanka website was deplorable, especially since it was referring to letters written albeit officially by lady Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to a gentleman Prime Minister. I therefore called the Sri lanka High Commission and expressed my concern,” Dr Swamy said in a statement.
The Chief Minister is upset that the article contained materials which are derogatory not only to her but the Prime Minister. “The added visual image on the website is clearly aimed at denigrating the elected leaders of India, the world’s largest democracy, and particularly a 66-year-old woman political leader of many years’ standing. These are affronts to India which cannot be ignored or lightly brushed aside,” Jayalalithaa said in the letter to the PM, excerpts of which were released to the media on Friday.
The article by Shenali Waduge, a leading commentator, had criticised Jayalalithaa for her series of letters to Modi asking him to take stern action against Sri lanka for the frequent arrests of fishermen from the State by the lankan Navy and her demand for the retrieval of the controversial Katchatheevu Island.
The author described Jayalalithaa’s letters to the Prime Minister as tantrums and threats. “These tantrums are dampening the otherwise popular outlook of the Modi-led BJP Government,” Waduge had written in the article.
Waduge quoted Dr Swamy, declaring that Tamil Nadu would not come between Indo-lanka relations and also thanking the Sri lankan President for arresting but releasing Indian fishermen. “It was the boat owners that forced the Indian fishermen to poach into Sri lankan waters because the Indian side had no fish. These are some realities that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu cannot ignore. She should be advised to stop her tantrums and start looking at how the Indian fishermen can be absorbed into a new avenue of livelihood if there are no fish in Indian waters,” Waduge had said.
Jayalalithaa, in one of her routine letters to the Prime Minister, had declared that Tamil Nadu does not recognise the International Maritime Border line (IMBl) as it was a disputed issue. But Waduge said in her article that the IMBl, drawn up in 1974 and 1976 is a bilateral agreement between India and Sri lanka and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister can “cry and hoot” but she cannot change the legality of this agreement honored by two sovereign nations.
“Katchatheevu came under the jurisdiction of Sri lanka following the IMBl and Sri lanka’s claim to the islet was made in 1924 while as far back as 1876 the island was referred to as belonging to Sri lanka. Even the colonial invaders regarded the island as belonging to Sri lanka,” says Waduge.
The author accused Tamil Nadu fishermen of stealing marine wealth which truly belongs to the Sri lankan fishermen. Referring to Jayalalithaa’s latest letter urging the Prime Minister to make lanka release the boats seized by it, Waduge asks Jayalalithaa to be aware of the fact that the Tamil Nadu fishermen are violating internationally demarcated waters and poaching while also using internationally-banned bottom trawlers. “Obviously Jayalalithaa is attempting to dent the popularity of the Indian Prime Minister while also disturbing the amity that is being built between the two nations,” she said.
A letter Of Apology
An article titled, “How meaningful are Jayalalithaa’s love letters to Narendra Modi” had appeared on our website along with graphical portrayal of Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The article, which had been published without appropriate authorization and not reflecting
any official position of the Government of Sri lanka or Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, has since been removed. We extend an unqualified apology to Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” said the posting on the Sri lankan Defence Ministry website (http://www.defence.lk/english.asp)