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TN’s anti-SL mood continues despite lull in related protests
View(s):Significant drop in bilateral trade and travel to Chennai
By Namini Wijedasa
Tamil Nadu (TN) police continue to maintain round-the-clock security at key Sri Lankan offices, despite a lull in politically-motivated protests, Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Ameer Ajwad said.
Arts and Science colleges throughout TN remain closed. On Wednesday, there was another bout of student protests in Chennai. “There are some protests going on here and there,” Mr. Ajwad admitted. “The last few weeks were highly tense, but we do see a lull now. Nevertheless, we are closely monitoring the situation.”
Because of the intensity of demonstrations in TN, the Sri Lankan defence establishment had proposed that the mission in Chennai be shifted to another Indian capital. This no longer seems likely.
“I don’t think we have taken a decision to withdraw,” said External Affairs Ministry’s Monitoring MP Sajin de Vass Gunawardena. “However, how can we tolerate violence and sheer brutality against innocent people who are travelling or destroying and vandalising any office or premises connected to Sri Lanka, such as the Mihin Lanka office?”
In a statement, Ashok K. Kantha, India’s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka called such incidents “isolated.” Whether or not they were isolated incidents, innocent people were brutally assaulted, Mr Gunawardena countered.
“Relationships between two nations are a very complicated and sensitive matter,” he emphasised. “There are many aspects that have to be taken into consideration, when decisions are made,” he said.
The unpleasantness in TN has not disrupted the bilateral relationship between India and Sri Lanka, diplomats said. The National Thermal Power Corporation of India has said it is close to finalising the Sampur Coal Power Plant agreement, following discussions in New Delhi last week, with the Ceylon Electricity Board.
Treasury Secretary P.B. Jayasundera is due in New Delhi for discussions on April 3, while Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe will land there on April 1.
On Wednesday, the Indian Government announced that it has relaxed certain restrictions on garment and meat imports from Sri Lanka. On Friday, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said that, while his Government was sensitive to the concerns in TN, it would not necessarily “accept everything they say”. He rejected demands from the TN Assembly for, among other things, economic sanctions on Sri Lanka.
In TN, however, continued closure of colleges has forced many Sri Lankan students to return home. One reason for the exodus is that the TN Government has not said when the institutions will reopen. Another is that, Sri Lankan students—shut out of college hostels—have difficulty finding alternate accommodation in Indian homes.
One student who had opted to stay back in Anna Nagar, Chennai, with her Indian guardians, said she was confined to the house. “Everyone fears that it is not safe for me to go out, because of the Sri Lankan problem,” she told the Sunday Times, via telephone. “There have been protests in the past, but the TN Government never declared the colleges closed. Now they have given us an indefinite holiday,” she said.
This student has lived in India for the past eight years. But it was the first time she had experienced demonstrations against the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) on such a large scale. “My other Sri Lankan friends have all returned home,” she said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ironically, she is an Indian origin Tamil from Sri Lanka.
Several Sri Lankans refused to comment, saying the situation in Chennai was “too tense”. One student said she had stopped looking for accommodation outside college. She returned to the hostel, as she was “not entirely sure if it was safe outside”. She also said, one Indian family she approached had claimed the police were asking for lists of occupants.
Mr. Ajwad said the mission continues to counsel Sri Lankans to postpone their visits to TN. Travel industry representatives in Colombo said the same. “We still advise people to avoid TN as much as possible,” said Sri Lanka Travel Agents Association President Saman Premakumara. “Transiting in TN is not a problem, so long as you don’t go out of the airport,” he said.
SriLankan Airlines reduced its flights on the Colombo-Chennai route by 50%, following attacks on two Buddhist monks in TN. This was combined with a warning from the GoSL, for citizens to exercise caution when travelling to the State.
SriLankan’s CEO Kapila Chandrasekera, said they were evaluating traffic demand on a continuous basis. “If the situation improves, we will re-introduce the flights,” he said. SriLankan has estimated a 20% loss in traffic due to flight reductions.
A spokesman for the Indian travel industry said tourism has taken a hit. Indian Association of Tour Operators Executive Director Gour Kanjilal said Sri Lanka is fourth on the list of countries generating visitors to India, after Britain, USA and France/Germany. Around 300,000 Sri Lankans travel to India every year.
“Also, Sri Lanka provides a continuous supply of tourists to India, unlike other markets in Western Europe, where visits are mostly seasonal,” he told the Sunday Times by telephone. “And Sri Lankan tourists tend to travel all over India and stay much longer,
between 21 and 30 days. Now they are avoiding TN due to apprehensions caused by the negative things that have happened,” he said.
Mr. Kanjilal said Chennai tourism will additionally suffer when Sri Lankan cricket fans stay away during the Indian Premier League season. Sri Lankan cricketers are avoiding all matches in TN, following Chief Minister Jayalalitha Jeyaram’s refusal to host any of them.
“IPL matches take place at a crucial period, April to June, when tourists don’t come to India,” Mr Kanjilal explained. “The weather is so hot. But cricket enthusiasts come because they liked to follow their heroes,” he said.
Local trade between Sri Lanka and TN is also affected. “There are a lot of textiles going from TN to Sri Lanka,” pointed out C.S. Muthu Subramaniyan, head of the India-ASEAN-Sri Lanka Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “From Sri Lanka, we get perfumes, cosmetics, alcohol, spices and so on. Traders are saying there is an impact on these sectors even now,” he said.
One reason for this is that the frequency of travel between TN and Sri Lanka has dramatically reduced. “However, both countries are mature democracies,” Mr. Subramaniyan told the Sunday Times. “Both know that, in today’s global scenario, trade and related economy is of great importance. Earlier too, there had been issues between the two countries. Nevertheless, trade went on,” he said.
“In the current situation, too, I’m sure the governments will resolve the issues at the earliest to protect trade and economy,” he concluded.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials here predicted that the “competitive chauvinism in TN against Sri Lanka” will not cease till after the Indian Parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2014. They said the campaign will spike again as the date of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled in Sri Lanka from November 15-17, this year, draws near.
The biggest problem both New Delhi and Colombo face, however, is that the British Tamil Forum and Global Tamil Forum that are driving the campaign in TN, will stay put.
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