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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

cupied by members of the Rajapaksa opinion on various issues came into on a nearest possible date, which has
clan with Mahinda Rajapaksa as the the open disparaging the image of the been made public as November 29.
President, Gotabaya as Defence Sec- government. Earlier, Modi had telephonically
retary, Basil as in-charge of economic This explains why Gotabaya could congratulated Gotabaya on his elec-
departments and Chamal as Speaker of defeat his opponents without much toral victory, when the later expressed
Parliament. The country’s power struc- difficulty. Mahinda Rajapksa, who has his desire to work with India for better
ture was entirely under the tight grip taken over as new Prime Minister, may a security environment in the region
of the Rajapaksas. The same situation again run the country with an iron as also for ensuring faster develop-
may prevail again with slight varia- hand as he did in the past as President. ment in the two countries.
tions. But today people seem to have no His previous decade-long-rule till 2015 There is no point in digging the past
interest in such things. Through their allowed China to make deeper inroads when the two brothers ran a regime
verdict they have shown that security in that country. China found an op- which inflicted indescribable atrocities
is their major concern. portunity to invest in different areas on Tamils on suspicion of being LTTE
The Rajapaksas, despite all kinds there liberally. India was treated in a supporters. It is alleged that around
of allegations against them, never love-hate manner. 40,000 Tamil civilians were eliminated
expected to lose power when the 2015 This time, however, when Mahi- by Sri Lank’s security forces in their
drive to destroy the LTTE root and
branch. It is wiser to keep the bitter
memories aside and move on.
Improved India-Sri Lanka relations
would work as a deterrent to make the
new regime in Colombo not to repeat
its past mistakes in the interest of secu-
rity and development in the island-na-
tion. Sri Lanka’s renewed confidence in
building new bridges of understanding
with India may also decrease its inter-
est in China, which has been working
for a few years to encircle India with
its massive military presence in the
region as its well-known policy of
creating a string of pearls.
China’s latest gift to Sri Lanka, a
2300-tonne warship delivered in July,
shows how deeply Beijing has been
involved in strengthening its military
and other kinds of relations with
Colombo. The strategically located
country has been according greater
importance to increasing the fighting
presidential election was held. They nda’s younger brother Gotabaya is in capability of its navy as Colombo’s na-
had tasted unexpected defeat and the commanding position, Sri Lanka val forces played the most crucial role
accused India of intervention in the is unlikely to be governed as was seen in making the LTTE a thing of the past.
polls when the two principal political in the past. The new political dispensa- India, too, last year gifted an offshore
parties, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party tion is expected to give India its due as patrol vassel (OPVs) to Colombo in ad-
and the United National Party, came Sri Lanka’s neighbour having historical dition to supplying it two OPVs in 2006
together to wrest power from the then relations. and 2008 free of cost.
President, Mahinda Rajapaksa and his Till now India has been playing The Sri Lankan navy has around
camp followers. its card quite pragmatically. External 50 combat support ships and inshore
However, Maithripala Sirisena, Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar visited patrol craft mostly supplied by the US,
then sworn in as the President, and Colombo as the first foreign dignitary India, China and Israel. The time has
Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became to greet Gotabaya as Sri Lanka’s new come for India to see that it remains
the Prime Minister, could not pro- President soon after he took the oath ahead of other nations in taking care of
vide a government which could win of office. He happily accepted Prime military and other needs of Colombo.
them the confidence of all sections of Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation,
the population. Their differences of delivered by Jaishankar, to visit India LETTERS@TEHELKA.COM

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