Had Manmohan come, he would have run the show: Basil
While the Sri Lankan government has so far given the impression that it does not take offence to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh skipping the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Sri Lanka’s Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said on Sunday that he was disappointed with Dr. Singh’s absence.
“Unfortunately, the Indian Prime Minister was not here; that is my only concern,” Mr. Rajapaksa, brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, told The Hindu on the sidelines of the final day of the CHOGM. “He [Dr. Singh] is the closest friend we have. Had he come here, he would have run the show,” Mr. Rajapaksa said.
“We are Asians, we like Indians. He (Dr. Singh) should have been here,” he said.
Given that Mr. Basil Rajapaksa has been a key player in Sri Lanka’s diplomacy with India, his comments could reflect the thinking in the Sri Lankan government, though Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa had said he was satisfied with India’s level of representation.
Early July, Mr. Rajapaksa was in New Delhi, for high-level talks, focussing on the 13th Amendment which followed the India-Sri Lanka Accord of 1987 and the fisheries conflict that has been posing a challenge to bilateral relations.
Asked whether the CHOGM spotlight and some critical remarks by certain world leaders pressured Sri Lanka in any way, Mr. Rajapaksa said: “No… What about the positive comments from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore?” (The Hindu)
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WHAT A DUMB THING TO SAY… WHY SHOULD THIS INDIAN SIKH TAKE AWAY THE LIMELIGHT FROM SRI LANKA’S PRESIDENT?
AS HEAD OF SRI LANKA AND CHAIR OF CHOGM THE LIMELIGHT HAS TO BE ON SRI LANKA NOT INDIA OR ITS PM.
THANK GOD HE DID NOT COME – OTHERWISE HE WOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING STUPID OR BEHAVED LIKE CAMERON
I am totally surprised that Basil Rajapaksa uttered such stupid comments. This shows his mentality of being servile to India. This is the wrong mentality which had existed for a long time. We need to free ourselves from it.
INDIA IS OUR NO: 1 ENEMY. INDIA USES US FOR THIER BENEFIT. THEY OFF-LOAD TO US THEIR SHODDY GOODS AT HIGH RATES. NO WONDER THEY CONTINUE TO DO SO AS LONG AS IDIOTS LIKE BR MAKE SUCH STUPID SERVILT UTTERENCES.
OUR BEST FRIEND IS CHINA, WHO WILL HELP IS DEVELOP ON FAST TRACK. WE NEED TO HAVE MORE TRADE AGREEMENTS WITH CHINA AND REDUCE DRASTICALLY TRADE WITH INDIA.
WE NEED ALSO TO HAVE A DEFENCE AGREEMENT WITH CHINA TO PROVIDE US WITH SECURITY AGAINST INVASION BY INDIA AS IT DID WHEN JR WAS PRESIDENT TO IMPOSE THEIR 13TH AMMENDEMENT ON US AND THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL SYSTEM WHICH IS A WHITE ELEPHANT OF NO ABSOLUTE USE FOR US. LET US GET RID OF IT NOW THAT CHOGM IS OVER. LET US GIVE TRINCO TO CHINA TO BUILD A BASE ON A 99 YEAR LEASE FOR OUR SECURITY IN RETURN AND TO HELP US DEVELOP.
Don’t invite India for anything hereafter. Being as a neighbor they have done enough troubles for us.
And our media should not highlight any news for them anymore.
India has stripped himself and stands fully exposed in front of the whole world. The sikh leader has only to remove his turban and wrap it round his face to save him from the ignominy of being labelled as a backboneless henpecked leader. WE SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS SHAMELESS NEIGHBOUR.
I fully agree with Dev, Dias, Auj and AUJ. It is high time to understand that India’s domestic politics is more important than their foreign policy. Besides, Sri Lanka
has become a football for India.
India looks upon SL as their ‘colony’ or another ‘State’. It is morons like BR, by their stupid utterances that make India trample us all the more, as the Western colonial powers did earlier. Where the British left, India has now taken over.
Now that CHOGM is over, we should be focused on getting rid of the India militarily imposed 13th Amendment and the PC system, which drains our sparse resources. We should do this in stages in the following manner:
1. Apply to Supreme Court for a directive that 13th A was imposed on SL illegally by military threat and is therefore void.
2. Hold a nation-wide Referendum for people’s verdict on 13th A and the PC system.
3. Ratify both these through Parliament and make them null-and-void.
India will be furious and threaten SL with military intervention on the pretext of coming to the aid of Tamils in the N and E, to make these regions autonomous.
To prevent this SL should urgently have a Defence Agreement with China to:
1. To lease Trinco harbour to China over a 99 year period to build their military/naval/AF base.
2. To provide security to SL against an Indian invasion.
3. To improve Sri Lanka’s defence capabilities with conventional weapons, fighter jets/bombers and naval ships and training.
We should also have new trade agreements with China, reduce trade with India, seek China’s aid to develop our economy on fast-track and to build our infra-structure further.
President should remove BR from his role in improving relations with India, as he is so servile, like the Sinhala natives of yore in front of the Suddas, who kept us trampled down.
Yes, most certainly we should have a defense agreement with China and should allow to use our sea and land the same way Japan, Singapore, Taiwan do. We are small, that is the way we should survive bulling. China had been our friend for hundreds of years and haven’t betrayed or back stabbed us.