Author: TELO Admin

Two Fundamental Rights petitions filed seeking an order to invalidate the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) recently signed between Sri Lanka and India, were today dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court two-judge-bench comprising Justice Achala Wengappuli and Justice Priyantha Fernando decided to dismiss the two petitions citing that there is no prima facie case to proceed with the applications.

Seven MoUs between India and Sri Lanka, including defence cooperation, sharing successful digital solutions and MoU on Multi-sectoral Grant Assistance to the Eastern Province, were exchanged on April 5 at the Presidential Secretariat in the presence of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President’s Counsel Manohara de Silva and Senior Counsel Canishka Witharana appeared for the petitioners. Deputy Solicitor General Nirmalan Wignashwaran appeared for the Attorney General.

Even after thirty-eight years, the Indo-Lanka Accord, signed on July 29, 1987, stands out as a remarkable event in Sri Lanka’s history. After much struggle, the accord led to the 13th Amendment to the constitution, which introduced a provincial council structure in an attempt to resolve the island’s protracted ethnic conflict. From the outset, hardliners on both sides rejected the 13th Amendment as a comprehensive solution: Tamil hardliners argued it was insufficient, while some Sinhalese hardliners believed it gave too much to the Tamils.

To this day, Sri Lanka’s ethnic question remains unresolved, stubbornly echoing those same old arguments—even though the bloody civil war ended with the loss of thousands of lives. History remains our only teacher, reminding us of what we failed to understand in the past. Despite India’s hard-footed Cold War approach, she put her best efforts into helping Sri Lanka move forward, but both factions failed to engage constructively.

If we examine the post-Indo-Lanka Accord era, it is clear that successive governments of Sri Lanka have failed to show even a little progress. Sixteen years after the end of the war, the nation still struggles to move an inch toward resolving the national question beyond the 13th Amendment.

Throughout my political journey as an opinion maker, I have often observed—especially on the Tamil side—a tendency to blame India, a sentiment that persists even today. Whenever I hear such statements, I am reminded of the African proverb: “He who spits against the sky, it falls on his face.” Blaming powerful countries will not affect them; it always rebounds on those who blame.

Amidst a world entangled in Cold War tensions, India inevitably took a tough stand on Sri Lanka after President JR Jayewardene shifted away from the non-aligned orbit. Had Jayewardene acted in accordance with India’s concerns, India would never have decided to train Tamil militants. At that time, as a nation within the Soviet sphere of influence, India faced difficult choices to maintain its regional power status.

In Sri Lanka, many still cling to old hatreds, missing the reality: if India had truly wanted to break up Sri Lanka, it could have done so through Tamil militants, just as it did in East Pakistan. However, from the beginning, India had a firm policy not to support a separate Tamil state. Gopalaswami Parthasarathi, then special envoy of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to Sri Lanka, made it clear to all militant leaders that India would not support a separate state—and would never allow it.

When I interviewed the late R Sampanthan, leader of the Tamil National Alliance, in 2010 about the Vattukottai Declaration of 1976—why SJV Chelvanayakam made that decision and whether it was wise to call for a separate state without knowing how to achieve it—Sampanthan replied boldly, “If it was needed by India, it would have happened.” Even today, some manipulate the same narrative, suggesting India supports Tamil separatists or controls the north and east when it comes to investments in those provinces. But the reality is far from that.

India devoted maximum effort to move the nation forward, but both the LTTE and the Premadasa-led UNP missed the bus. Both Premadasa and Prabhakaran wanted India out for their own political survival. Later, LTTE ideologue Anton Balasingham admitted the truth: the LTTE compromised with Premadasa because, as he stated, “We were on the brink of destruction; the IPKF had taken the entire north and east—so we entered into an understanding with Premadasa to escape total annihilation.”

If we are truly committed to learning from history, a crucial question arises: who was ultimately responsible for empowering the LTTE as a powerful non-state actor—Premadasa’s UNP or India?

Premadasa and Prabhakaran invested in each other against India. As a consequence of this dangerous game, Premadasa lost his life within a few years, and Prabhakaran and his entire force were destroyed at Mullivaikkal. What was achieved by antagonizing the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord? Nothing.

The reality is that the ethnic question remains unresolved. If we truly saw it as a domestic issue, why have we not found a solution better than the 13th Amendment? If it is not the optimal solution, successive Sri Lankan governments could have proposed another—but this has not happened. What does this teach us? The answer is that the provincial councils introduced by the Indo-Lanka Accord remain the best option for Sri Lanka to close its internal ethnic gap and move forward.

Looking through the lens of history, India’s involvement in Sri Lanka has been that of a “bridge, not a battering ram”—from the infamous “Parippu Drop” of June 1987 to providing $4 billion in aid during Sri Lanka’s recent economic crisis. In this context, this essay argues that we all missed the bus—and, worryingly, we are still in danger of missing it again. There were historic opportunities during the so-called government of good governance led by Maithripala Sirisena, but they missed the bus. Now, with the National People’s Power government holding a rare majority in parliament, the opportunity is here again.

*A. Jathindra is a Sri Lankan-based independent political analyst and head of a think tank, Centre for Strategic Studies -Trincomalee (CSST).

The review committee for the proposed Anti-Terror Bill is on track to complete its work in the next two weeks, paving the way for the bill to be released for public consultations.

This timeline was confirmed by Committee Chairman Rienzie Arsecularatne, PC, who stated that the team was currently reviewing the final two chapters of the legislation.

“We are down to the last two chapters, so we plan to invest the next two weeks into completing the necessary work,” Arsecularatne said.

“We will be making any necessary additions, and thereafter we will also be making the bill available for public consultations.”

The new bill is intended to replace the country’s longstanding Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a controversial piece of legislation that has faced widespread criticism from human rights organisations for its broad provisions that have been used to arbitrarily detain and prosecute critics, journalists, and members of minority communities. The new legislation incorporates amendments based on recommendations from the Supreme Court.

Arsecularatne noted that there had been considerable interest from various stakeholders, including the European Union and the British High Commission, as well as civil society and religious organisations.

However, the period for public input will be brief. “The public consultations cannot be extended for a long period of time because there is urgency in enacting the bill,” he said.

The committee’s goal is to finalise the entire process by September, a deadline that aligns with previous statements from the Foreign and Justice Ministers.

The government is inquiring into a major racket by Chinese nationals to claim a considerable portion of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product in the same manner they acquired the golden triangle of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

‘Silumina’ reports that they had been aided by top officials of the police, immigration and emigration department and other state institutions.

Chinese nationals, barred from their own country over computer fraud, have been issued with resident permits here.

In Cambodia, they have acquired around 60 percent of that country’s GDP.

Experts on international relations say that country has been unable to take action against the fraudsters.

If the situation persists in Sri Lanka, the immigration and emigration permits as well as the GSP plus concession would be adversely impacted, they said.

China has cracked down on them, and a man who carried a red warrant and entered Sri Lanka on a Guinean permit, but deported home, has been sentenced to death.

Some of the Chinese who had been nabbed with fake resident visas had all permits issued by the state.

The boundary observation unit of the department notified the state intelligence service about them, who had entered the country on tourist visa.

Holders of tourist visa cannot engage in any income-earning activity.

They have invested heavily in the Colombo port city with the intention of claiming a majority stake, state intelligence believes.

IT firms set up by them recruit Sri Lankans at high salaries and are given specific targets to fulfil.

Questions have been raised over their telephone numbers and email addresses.

A detailed report about them is to be handed over to the president and other government authorities in the coming week.

Clothing and other items that have been unearthed along with human skeletal remains from the mass grave site at Sittupatti in Chemmani, Jaffna will go on public display for identification to facilitate the investigation.

Such a display happens for the very first time, on 05 August from 1.30 pm to 5.00 pm at the site, and Jaffna magistrate A.A. Anandaraja has issued an order for the public to inform courts or the CID if they identify the items.

Among the around 50 items retrieved are infant feeding bottles, toys, children’s footwear and schoolbags, correspondents report.

By the end of the 27th day of second stage excavations at Chemmani, skeletal remains of 112 persons, including children, were retrieved, with another 10 having surfaced, said lawyer for the victims V.S. Niranjan.

Ranitha Gnanaraja, another lawyer, said that since no Defence Ministry permission had come by 29 July, the Sri Jayewardenepura University will carry out a scanning of the area for any more human remains buried at the site.

Excavations began on 15 May under the supervision of forensic archaeologist Prof. Raj Somadeva and Jaffna JMO Selliah Pranawan.

Sri Lanka must urgently draw lessons from the recently concluded UK–India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to revitalise its trade and investment ties with India, the Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry said, calling for the swift implementation of a similar bilateral pact.

Citing the UK–India FTA, which is projected to add £4.8 billion annually to the British economy while opening doors for deeper market access and investments between the two countries, the chamber said Sri Lanka stands to gain even more due to its geographic proximity and existing ties with India.

“This is a powerful example of what can be achieved through a well-structured bilateral agreement. Sri Lanka is far better positioned geographically than the UK to engage with India. We share close cultural, historical, and economic ties, and India remains our largest trading partner,” the chamber said.

The chamber stressed that the long-pending Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) with India could unlock similar benefits for Sri Lanka, including preferential access to Indian markets, investment inflows, enhanced regional value chain participation, and much-needed job creation, elements that would directly aid the island’s post-crisis economic recovery.

“India is not just a strategic partner – it is our immediate neighbour and one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. As nations like the UK begin to see tangible benefits from deeper engagement with India through instruments such as FTAs, the Indo-Lanka Chamber of Commerce & Industry firmly encourages Sri Lanka to chart a similar course,” the Chamber noted.

The chamber’s call comes at a time when progress on the ETCA has been stalled for years amid domestic political sensitivities. Despite resistance, the agreement has long been viewed by trade experts and sections of the private sector as a strategic extension of the existing Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA), with the potential to reposition Sri Lanka more firmly within regional economic frameworks.