A China-Loving Terminator’
Editorial
Gotabaya Rajapaksa has won the Sri Lankan Presidential election. This is worrying news for India. Rajapaksa was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Sri Lanka Army. He then took over as Secretary of Defence for some time. However, his true identity is of a barbarian who killed 1 lakh Tamil Hindus.
In the Year 2009, Rajapaksa over saw the destruction of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that was fighting for the rights of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s forte is, ‘Once a task is undertaken, he finishes it completely. This is why the Sinhalese Buddhist-majority in Sri Lanka consider him a ‘hero’. People close to him call him ‘Terminator’. However, the brutal manner in which the Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus were killed after labelling them supporters of the LTTE is enraging. Many videos of this cruelty were aired in those days. The soldiers tortured not only men but also children and women. Rajapaksa was the brain behind it. Therefore, when the UN Human Rights Commission ordered an inquiry into the matter, Rajapaksa said that it was not necessary. This shows his mentality. Moreover, Rajapaksa is known as a supporter of China. It would not be surprising if Sri Lanka is now dancing to the tune of China after his election. The electoral victory of Rajapaksa is a danger bell for India.
Rajapaksa family is under the control of China !
The 4 siblings of the Rajapaksa family are active in politics. Mahinda Rajapaksa was the Sri Lankan President from 2005 to 2015. At that time, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was the Secretary of Defence; Basil Rajapaksa used to take financial decisions while Chamal was the Speaker of the Parliament. The Rajapaksa family enjoyed full powers in Sri Lanka in this period. Corruption was rampant in the country in this period, and democratic values were also infringed upon. As a result, the Sri Lankan people removed the Rajapaksa family from power.
The Rajapaksa family is completely in favour of China, which obliged it in many ways. During the reign of Mahinda Rajapaksa, China succeeded in making Sri Lanka its subsidiary kingdom. China poured billions of Rupees into Sri Lanka in the name of transforming it. The motive was never pure. China’s intention was to achieve what it wanted by holding Sri Lanka to ransom after it raised a mountain of insurmountable debt. This happened due to Mahinda Rajapaksa and family.
After China tightened the noose, Sri Lanka had to give Hambantota Port on lease to China. This port was important for Sri Lanka from the viewpoint of defence. China had challenged India’s security by halting warships at this port. After Mahinda Rajapaksa stepped down from power, he openly blamed India for his downfall. Given this family’s proximity to China, it is likely that Sri Lanka becomes a haven for anti-India activists.
Security is more important than development !
While Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s opponent, Sajith Premadasa, contested on the issues of development and women’s empowerment, Gotabaya Rajapaksa assured the people that he would give priority to national security. Recently, the Sri Lankan atmosphere was vitiated after a bombing by Islamic terrorists in Colombo.
The Sinhalese were convinced that the way Rajapaksa ended the LTTE, so would he end Islamic terrorism in the country. Hence, people voted for Rajapaksa, forgetting the scams and the monopoly carried out by the Rajapaksa family. Rajapaksa received votes of the Sinhalese Buddhist community, while Premadasa got votes of Tamils and the minority Muslims.
The fear and mistrust that the Tamil Hindus still feel about Rajapaksa is evident. Although Rajapaksa has said ‘we will work together’, one will have to see how he can erase the stigma attached to him due the mass-killing of Tamil Hindus.
When Rajapaksa was elected, he called India a ‘close friend’; However, who would believe this statement of those who are mere puppets of China ? China has increased its activities in Pakistan, Nepal and now Sri Lanka. It has a plan for throttling India by turning India’s neighbouring countries on its side. It has also succeeded to a great extent in this regard. In such a situation, India cannot afford to be careless. India will have to take care on two fronts when implementing its foreign policy on Sri Lanka. India would have to make efforts to protect the Tamil Hindus in Sri Lanka and it would have to take care that China does not act against it by making use of Sri Lanka.
This is certainly not easy because it is difficult to loosen the noose that the Chinese dragon has fastened around Sri Lanka’s neck. Overall, it will be India’s test to deal with Gotabaya Rajapaksa. How the Government of India would deal with this crisis in the coming years will have to be watched.