Are the Indians Framing Lankans to Cover Up Indian War Crimes During the Final Stages of the War?

“If an independent local and international investigation is launched into the matter, Sri Lankan military leaders must break ranks with politicians and implicate India in horrendous war crimes it has committed in Sri Lanka on three counts (by its own troops 1987-90), through financing the LTTE (1977 to 2009) and by the clandestine troop involvement in the final stages of the war (2009). Sri Lankan politicians better not cover it up as such a move will also implicate them in war crimes.Truth or otherwise of the Indian involvement of the final stages of the war must be investigated.”

Credible accounts of the last stages of the war indicate the presence of Indian troops in Mulaitivu area. Did they eliminate the LTTE hierarchy to cover up their involvement with the terrorist outfit?

Quoted from the Times of India

A PIL filed in the Supreme Court has said Indian military personnel took direct part in the war, and that some were even injured in the battle. A Sikh officer was commanding the forces, it said, citing eyewitness evidence and international probe. Noting that deploying Indian military without parliamentary or presidential nod is illegal, it sought a special tribunal to probe and prosecute persons who were behind the “illegal war”, besides compensation to the immediate families of the victims.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The petition was filed by Delhi-based advocate Ram Sankar, secretary of Delhi Tamil Advocates Association. The petition said Indian Army, Navy and Air Force personnel “were unlawfully sent to Sri Lanka in 2008 and 2009, without declaring an open war or without the sanction of the President of India, who is the supreme commander of the armed forces, and without parliamentary sanction required under Article 246 of the Constitution.Unquote.

He claimed he visited Sri Lanka several times as part of international humanitarian efforts, talked to asylum seekers who said they have seen a “turbaned Indian officer commanding the armed forces that were attacking Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu”.

If true, Indian troops had the opportunity to eliminate the LTTE leadership. As it was operating outside its territory, it would have showed scant disregard of civilian life and property. It is nothing new for Indian troops. When the Indian army was in Sri Lanka (1987-90), it committed horrendous war crimes against (Tamil) civilians. Infrastructure damage caused by Indian troops was unprecedented. Hindu temples, hospitals and even parts of the Jaffna university was subject to bombing. If Indian troops were deployed in the north in 2009, its conduct would not have been different.Why would India want the LTTE leadership eliminated?

There are many credible reasons. Firstly, it was India that nurtured the LTTE since 1970s. LTTE cadres were trained in Madurai and other places in India before deploying them to Sri Lanka. India provided them weapons and finance too. If LTTE leaders were captured alive, all these would come to the open leading to a UN war crimes investigation on India. Financing (or having financed) terrorism is also an offence under UN resolution 1373. India stood exposed.

Had this come to light India would have lost its purported moral high ground against its biggest rivals – Pakistan (which India accuses of funding terrorism) and Maoist rebels (for which India blames China and Nepal for financing them).It will also disrupt India’s desire to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Secondly, the elimination of Rajiv Gandhi (1991) stirred up much controversy. Although the LTTE carried out the attack, there is evidence to implicate powerful Indian agencies behind it. Rajiv was instrumental in changing India’s closed economic policies and realigning its Cold War stand to a more pro-US one. Decades of pro-SU (Soviet Union) stance has be ingrained in the Indian defence establishment which resisted against changing it. Chances are that this movement eliminated Rajiv through the LTTE. Interestingly, India rehashed its powerful and independent secret service soon after Rajiv was killed.

Thirdly, as India secretly and unconstitutionally sent troops to Sri Lanka in 2008 to eliminate the LTTE leadership, it was in a mighty hurry to complete the job as delay would have leaked the matter to Tamil Nadu media. Tamils (90% living in Tamil Nadu, India) consider the LTTE to be heroes. If they came to know India’s troop deployment to fight the LTTE, that would have caused a major upheaval in India. To make matters worse, 2009 was an election year in India.

Corroborating Evidence

Indian military officers were deployed since 2007 in Sri Lanka to operate Indian 2D Indra radars. Although these outdated radar failed to detect LTTE light aircraft, Sri Lanka had to rely on them as India blocked Lanka’s attempts to buy a modern 3D Chinese ground and air monitoring radar. Given this low level deployment, there is the possibility of increasing it in 2008 and 2009.

There is evidence India despatched weapons in April 2009 to Sri Lanka. As India was reluctant to provide weapons to Sri Lankan troops, did these weapons go to Indian troops deployed in Sri Lanka?

In 1987, India imposed 13A to the constitution of Sri Lanka. However, 13A could not be implemented in any meaningful way until the LTTE was eliminated. LTTE outright rejected 13A. India was very keen for its implementation as it is tied to Indian hegemonic interests in the region. This was a powerful driving force behind India’s urgency to eliminate the LTTE leadership.

India planned to operationalise its largest nuclear power plant in South India by 2010. With LTTE operating a well resourced sea borne terror outfit (Sea Tigers), India had legitimate concerns about its safety. An attack on the Koodankulam nuclear power plant would have been cataclysmic to India and LTTE possessed the capability to do so. In 1997 and 2009, LTTE attacked power stations in Sri Lanka.

Strangely, Vijay Nambier (a former Deputy National Security Advisor to the Government of India and later the Head of the National Security Council Secretariat) was appointed to coordinate the surrender of LTTE leaders by the Indian government. Colombo consented. If India eliminated surrendered LTTE leaders to cover up its act, this arrangement made it easy.

The OHCHR report blamed Sri Lanka for not sending a sufficient amount of food to civilians trapped under LTTE control and disrupting relief supplies. Sri Lanka in part relied on Indian intelligence reports that estimated the number of people under LTTE control to be less than 300,000. Food, water and medicine sufficient to that number were sent. LTTE’s claim of 800,000 persons was disregarded and was later found to be false. A relief supply ship sponsored by the LTTE Rump in Europe was sailing with supplies to LTTE controlled regions. MV Captain Ali was intercepted by Indian troops and moored to an Indian port. If it amounts to disrupting relief supplies, India must take the responsibility.

A US Move into India’s Backyard? 

With the Diego Garcia lease expiring in 2016 and wide public disgust over the military base, rising sea levels threatening the base (the atol rises a mere 1 metre of sea level and deploys $25 billion worth aircraft) and a huge distance to shipping lanes, USA was desirous of a closer-to-action base. Northern Sri Lanka is the perfect basing for US military if India didn’t object. By using the Indian troop involvement in Sri Lanka as a bargaining tool, did USA get India to toe the US line?

India had to break from the past to vote against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. Until then India maintained a principled stand of not voting for country specific resolutions.

India Always Evaded War Crimes Charges 

India drafted all four UNHRC resolutions against Sri Lanka (2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016) and USA sponsored them. India is reacting to the Panel of Expert report (2011) and trying to save its troops from war crimes by pushing them to Lankan troops. Fear and loyalty towards India kept Lankan politicians silent on the matter. However, as the war crimes matter has reached a heightened level of interest, it is time Sri Lanka took a bold step to reveal the Indian involvement in the war on both sides of warring parties.

India committed horrendous war crimes in Sri Lanka directly by own troops (1987 to 1990) and indirectly by financing the LTTE (1977 to 2009); Kashmir (1947 to date), Bangladesh (1971) and elsewhere. It always managed to evade its responsibility by pinning blame on others and using its clout in international bodies.

Should Sri Lankan military and political leaders sacrifice themselves to save India from war crimes charges?

If an independent local and international investigation is launched into the matter, Sri Lankan military leaders must break ranks with politicians and implicate India in horrendous war crimes it has committed in Sri Lanka on three counts (by its own troops 1987-90), through financing the LTTE (1977 to 2009) and by the clandestine troop involvement in the final stages of the war (2009). Sri Lankan politicians better not cover it up as such a move will also implicate them in war crimes.Truth or otherwise of the Indian involvement of the final stages of the war must be investigated.