Indo-Lanka Accord does not exist & never did

Sri Lankans are being psychologically trapped into believing the Indo-Lanka Accord is still valid. It is not. It never was. It is not because it violated international norms by being signed under duress thus violating Article 51 & 52 of Vienna Convention. The Accord was never valid because India failed to fulfil the 5 obligations that bound its validity. The Citizens MUST REJECT any claims that Indo-Lanka Accord is valid.

How can the nation that trained & armed Sri Lankan Tamil militants since late 1970s draft a peace accord & be genuine about disarming the groups they created & funded?

This is the same nation that was toying about invading Sri Lanka in 1984 and could not pursue this objective ONLY BECAUSE its PM was assassinated in October 1984.

However, her son Rajiv who forced Sri Lanka to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord  3 years later in 1987 assuring to disarm the militants his mother created but he was assassinated by them 4 years after signing the Accord.

This same nation after forcing Sri Lanka to sign Accord, began training another militant group in Sri Lanka headed by their stooge Varatharaja Perumal & decided to assassinate Prabakaran, with orders given on 15 September & IPKF declarign war on LTTE on 8 Oct 1987.

This is the same nation that prevented the capture of Prabakaran in Vadamarachchi in May 1987 & violated Sri Lanka’s airspace on 4 June 1987 & threatened Sri Lanka if action was taken against Indian jets.

Had Prabakaran been caught in May 1987 all of the innocent people LTTE killed since May 1987 would have still been alive.

1. The main architect of the Accord is dead – Rajiv Gandhi assassinated by LTTE in May 1991
2. The 2 signatories of the Accord are also dead
3. Indo-Lanka Accord was signed under Coercion/ Duress violating Artciel 52 of Vienna Convention. A treaty is void if its conclusion has been procured by the threat or use of force in violation of the principles of international law embodied in the Charter of the United Nations. Indo Lanka Accord violated Article 52 of Vienna Convention & is not valid.
4. India threatened Sri Lanka via its Foreign Minister – India gave Sri Lanka just 30 minutes notice before violating Sri Lanka’s territory & Indian Airforce dropped 25 tons of food
5. India protected terrorists – demanded Sri Lanka cease hostilities against LTTE
6. India prevented the capture of a terrorist in May 1987 in Vadamarachchi
7. India safeguarded a terrorist – Prabakaran whisked to India by helicopter – this was a crime of aggression & crime of flouting international norms & diplomatic protocols
8. India gave safe haven to a terrorist – Prabakaran & family taken in Indian planes & kept in Delhi & made to watch signing of Accord on 29 July & arrival of Indian troops on 30 July & Prabakaran & family flown back only on 2^nd
9. Indo Lanka Accord draft not shown to Parliament or Cabinet – UNP MP Gamini Jayasuriya resigned in protest / PM R Premadasa did not attend signing
10. Indo Lanka Accord signed under Emergency Law
11. Indo Lanka Accord signed under curfew
12. Indo Lanka Accord signed without presence of media
13. Cessation of hostilities did not happen within 48 hours of signing agreement
14. LTTE & other militants did not surrender weapons within 72 hours
15. Accord resulted in only Sri Lanka Armed Forces confined to barracks
16. The Indo-Lanka Accord does not mention amending the Constitution
17. The Indo-Lanka Accord not mention Provincial Councils for other Provinces
18. The Indo-Lanka Accord only mentions North & East Provinces & an adminstrative system for them. If the Dutch & even the British kept Sri Lanka separate from India – why do our locals want to continue with 13^th amendment?
19. India that created LTTE, provided it refuge & logistics, used LTTE to force Sri Lanka to sign Accord under duress, next orders IPKF to assassinate Prabakaran on 15 Sept because India was training ENDLF / Tamil National Army to replace LTTE
20. India training & arming a militant group INSIDE SRI LANKA led by Varatharaja Perumal & India even armed this group. IPKF declares war on LTTE on 8 October
21. Indo-Lanka Accord factually incorrect – North & East provinces are NOT and NEVER WAS “areas of historical habitation of Sri Lankan Tamil speaking people” – the term Sri Lanka came after 1971 – the term Ceylon Tamils came in 1911 and before that Tamils were referred to as Malabars coming from South Indian coast.
22. India cannot decide via an Accord the official language of a sovereign country – the 1978 Constitution states that Sinhala is the Official Language of Sri Lanka, while Sinhala & Tamil are the National languages (thus protecting the national identity)
23. Indo Lanka Accord assured PEACE – it did not. Peace came in May2009 by Sri Lanka’s war heroes
24. India sent Peace Keeping Force – but IPKF went on to kill Tamils, Muslims & Sinhalese even raping Tamil women. IPKF was asked to leave Sri Lanka in 1989 & last batch left in March1990.
25. The key reason Indo-Lanka is VOID clearly states that Sri Lanka’s obligation to the Accord was CONDITIONAL to India committing to 5 obligations. India FAILED TO OBLIGE ALL 5 CONDITIONS.

1. India assured Indian terroritory was not used for activities prejudicial to Sri Lanka – Tamil Nadu was LTTE’s logistics hub
2. India assured Indian Navy would cooperate with Sri Lanka’s Navy to prevent Tamil militant activity – LTTE freely travelled to India for supplies, medical treatment & even had offices in Tamil Nadu
3. India assured to provide mitliary assistance to implement Accord on request of Sri Lanka – IPKF was ordered to kill Prabakaran only to replace him with an other Indian trained military group
4. India assured to repatriate Indian citizens living in Sri Lanka – long overdue but was never done
5. India assured physical security & safety of all communities in the North & Eastern provinces – IPKF killed Tamils, Muslims & Sinhalese & even raped Tamil women & chased out Sinhalese & Muslims from villages.

26. India did not preserve unity, sovereignty & territorial integrity of Sri Lanka as promised
27. India did not provide ‘peace & normalcy’ after signing Accord
28. Traditional friendship between Sri Lanka & India did not intensify – hatred towards India did
29. India did not make Sri Lanka safe or prosperous
30. Accord envisaged merging of North & East as one administrative unit to separate via a referendum held on or before 31 Dec 1988 for Eastern Province to decide if it wished to continue to be merged (election was not held – 1^st eleciton held only in 2008)
31. India did not resettle displaced Sinhalese or Muslims – in fact IPKF chased them out

32. Annexure to the Agreement had 6 points
    1. Referendum in East will be observed by representatives of election commission of India
    2. Election to the Provincial Council (only East) will have all paramilitary withdrawn from both provinces
    3. President of Sri Lanka to absorb paramilitary to regular security forces
    4. Tamil militants to surrender weapons in the presence of SL Red Cross & Indian Red Cross
    5. Joint Indo-Lanka Observer Group from GoSL & GoI to monitor cessation of hostilities from 31 July 1987
    6. Indian Peace Keepers may be invited by the Sri Lankan President to guarantee & enforce cessation of hostilities.

33. Exchange of Letters between Sri Lanka’s President & Indian Prime Minister dated 29 July 1987 is not mentioned as an Annexure to the Indo Lanka Accord. (Indo Lanka Accord – 1 Annexure – Exchange of Letters)
34. Indo Lanka Accord does not mention Trinco Port / Trinco Oil Tanks – these are mentioned ONLY in the exchange of letters between Indian PM & Sri Lankan President
35. Exchange of Letters- Trinco Port / Trinco Oil Tanks have nothing to do with an ethnic conflict & LTTE nor Tamil leadership demanded both. This is what India wanted.
36. Exchange of Letters – SL & India not to allow their territory to be used for activities prejudicial to each others UNITY, TERRITORIAL INTEGRIY & SECURITY – India continued to allowLTTE to use Tamil Nadu
37. Exchange of Letters – no foreign military/intel personnel prejudicial to Indo-Lanka relations – India has signed QUAD & SL has signed ACSA
38. Exchange of Letters – Trincoamlee or any other ports in Sri Lanka not to be made available for military use by any country prejudicial to India’s interest – violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereign rights
39. Exchange of Letters – JV to restore & operate Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm
40. Exchange of Letters – SL’s agreement with foreign broadcasting organizations to be reviewed by India – violation of Sri Lanka’s sovereignt rights
41. Exchange of Letters – Indian PM Rajiv promises to deport SL citizens engaged in terrorist activities or advocating separatism or secessionism in India
42. Exchange of Letters – India to provide training & miltiary supplies to SL forces
43. Exchange of Letters – Joint consultative mechanism to review & monitor implementation

Legal case must be filed against India for saving Prabakaran & allowing him to go on a killing spree until Sri Lanka’s War Heroes eliminated him in May 2009.

What India did not allow Sri Lanka to do in May 1987, Sri Lanka did in May 2009 (after 22 years of innocent people getting killed by LTTE)

Shenali D Waduge