MR tells India: Chinese presence under control I Promise
September 12, 2014
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in an exclusive interview with India's Hindu Newspaper, assured that India had nothing to worry about Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, as long as he held office.
He rejected concerns in India about growing Chinese investments in Sri Lanka, even as he prepares for the visit of President Xi Jinping on 16 September, when both countries are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement.
"India has nothing to worry about China, in Sri Lanka," Rajapaksa said in response to a question about a contract on air force maintenance that was recently awarded to the Chinese company CATIC. "Until I am
here, I can promise that." Rajapaksa also said that he was open for a dialogue with the TNA on the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which devolves more powers to Provinces. The President denied reports that he was upset about the meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with six leaders of the Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern Provinces. "It was their right in a democracy to meet anyone," he said.
He hoped to meet Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, if their schedules permitted, later this month. According to officials, Rajapaksa and Modi's schedules would overlap for a day and efforts were on to find time for a meeting.
Implementation of the 13th Amendment was one of India's key demands, and Modi had told a TNA delegation that "he was dismayed by reports that the Sri Lankan Government proposed to dilute the 13th Amendment," officials said. In the interview, Rajapaksa said he was grateful for India's stand on the U.N. Human Rights Council vote, where New Delhi refused to endorse the demand for an inquiry by an international agency into allegations of 'war crimes' by the Sri Lankan Army against the LTTE in 2009. "Our government is conducting local investigations, but we won't allow them to internationalize it," Rajapaksa said. "The next time it (the UNHRC) will say that there must be an international inquiry into Kashmir. What would be our position? Whether it is against India or Sri Lanka, we will not allow an external inquiry."
He conceded that the inquiry into nearly 20,000 'disappearances' during the war was pending, and they still had not concluded who was responsible for the death of Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
In photographs published in The Hindu dating back to May 2009, the boy was seen being guarded by men in uniform, suggesting it was a custodial killing. "We are investigating it still ... I don't believe that (it was carried out by the military). But if it is true, I must know. That is why we are inquiring. In a war, when both sides are fighting, how can you say who shot at whom?" he said.
Significantly, the Sri Lankan President said he would not rule out early presidential elections, as reports suggest, in January 2015.
September 12, 2014 President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in an exclusive interview with India's Hindu Newspaper, assured that India had nothing to worry about Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, as long as he held office.
He rejected concerns in India about growing Chinese investments in Sri Lanka, even as he prepares for the visit of President Xi Jinping on 16 September, when both countries are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement.
"India has nothing to worry about China, in Sri Lanka," Rajapaksa said in response to a question about a contract on air force maintenance that was recently awarded to the Chinese company CATIC. "Until I am
here, I can promise that." Rajapaksa also said that he was open for a dialogue with the TNA on the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which devolves more powers to Provinces. The President denied reports that he was upset about the meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with six leaders of the Tamil-majority Northern and Eastern Provinces. "It was their right in a democracy to meet anyone," he said.
He hoped to meet Modi on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, if their schedules permitted, later this month. According to officials, Rajapaksa and Modi's schedules would overlap for a day and efforts were on to find time for a meeting.
Implementation of the 13th Amendment was one of India's key demands, and Modi had told a TNA delegation that "he was dismayed by reports that the Sri Lankan Government proposed to dilute the 13th Amendment," officials said. In the interview, Rajapaksa said he was grateful for India's stand on the U.N. Human Rights Council vote, where New Delhi refused to endorse the demand for an inquiry by an international agency into allegations of 'war crimes' by the Sri Lankan Army against the LTTE in 2009. "Our government is conducting local investigations, but we won't allow them to internationalize it," Rajapaksa said. "The next time it (the UNHRC) will say that there must be an international inquiry into Kashmir. What would be our position? Whether it is against India or Sri Lanka, we will not allow an external inquiry."
He conceded that the inquiry into nearly 20,000 'disappearances' during the war was pending, and they still had not concluded who was responsible for the death of Balachandran Prabhakaran, son of LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
In photographs published in The Hindu dating back to May 2009, the boy was seen being guarded by men in uniform, suggesting it was a custodial killing. "We are investigating it still ... I don't believe that (it was carried out by the military). But if it is true, I must know. That is why we are inquiring. In a war, when both sides are fighting, how can you say who shot at whom?" he said.
Significantly, the Sri Lankan President said he would not rule out early presidential elections, as reports suggest, in January 2015.
