India’s message couched in Misri’s diplomatese

Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, during a short trip to Colombo, has been urging the Sri Lankan government to hold the long-overdue Provincial Council (PC) elections as soon as possible. He is essentially telling them to hurry up with the elections, using diplomatic language. This is India's way of applying pressure on the government led by President Dissanayake to hold the PC elections.

Misri has also advised President Dissanayake to fully implement the constitutional provisions, specifically the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, to address the needs of the Tamil people. The irony here is that an Indian Foreign Secretary is asking a government led by a JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna) to expedite the PC elections.

The JVP, during its terror campaign in the late 1980s, killed thousands and destroyed billions worth of public property. They even killed traders who sold Indian products. The damage caused by recent riots in Negombo and Mahara prisons is nothing compared to the extensive destruction caused by the JVP during its second uprising.

Interestingly, India has turned the JVP leaders into its puppets. It did this by extending a landmark official invitation to JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake in early 2024, which gave them international legitimacy. The 13th Amendment, which provides for devolution at the provincial level, is a sore point for Sri Lanka. It has been left embedded in the Constitution, and the country has chosen to live with it.

This constitutional amendment, which came about due to India's intervention in 1987, is sometimes referred to as a child born of rape. It is now an integral part of Sri Lanka's Constitution, and it needs to be implemented. The PC system should function under elected representatives, and no one should be allowed to violate the Constitution by postponing the elections.