India-Sri Lanka ferry hits troubled waters
By Sudha Ramachandran
BANGALORE - A ferry service between India and Sri Lanka suspended almost 30
years ago due to the island's armed insurgency last week resumed service in
style, with a luxury liner plying the route of 152 nautical miles (281
kilometers).
The Scotia Prince arrived in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo last
Tuesday from Thoothukudi (or Tuticorin) in southern Tamil Nadu. The ferry,
which can carry some 1,000 passengers, is expected to boost travel, trade and
tourism between the two countries, as well as political ties.
Priced cheaper than air travel and boasting a casino and restaurants, the
nine-deck ferry is expected to appeal especially
to middle-class travelers. Each passenger is allowed 100 kilograms of free
baggage and another 100 kilograms at minimal cost, meaning small traders and
businessmen will likely benefit.
The ferry's frequency, it currently undertakes the 14-hour journey twice a
week, is expected to increase in the coming months. Another service linking
Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu with Sri Lanka's northern province of Talaimannar is
being planned and will begin once port infrastructure in both towns is
developed.
The ferry service took the Rameswaram-Talaimannar route prior to its suspension
in 1983. It was also popular with Sri Lankan Tamil militants, with many
crossing the Palk Straits into Tamil Nadu for training, sanctuary and supplies.
The seas separating India and Sri Lanka quickly became a battleground of the
civil war, with the Sri Lankan navy chasing the speed boats of the Sea Tigers,
the naval wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The ferry service was among the early casualties of the civil war, its
resumption has come two years after the conflict ended.
The revival has been hailed in both countries. In Sri Lanka, the ferry is seen
as a tangible sign of the enormous change in the security environment after the
defeat of the LTTE. In New Delhi, the ferry is being celebrated as a symbol of
warmer bilateral ties.
Thoothukudi's residents are looking forward to economic opportunities the ferry
will bring, P Sekar, a Thootukudi-based social activist, told Asia Times Online. However, the Coastal People's Federation, a network of non-governmental orginizations and activists working with fishing and other coastal communities from Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari, is opposed to the ferry and planning protests against it.
However, it has not been all smooth sailing for the ferry. In Sri Lanka, there
are concerns that the ferry will see markets flooded with Indian goods.
Meanwhile, in India, a day after the ferry set sail Tamil Nadu chief minister J
Jayalalithaa demanded its suspension saying her government was not consulted on
the decision.
Jayalalithaa's All-India Anna Dravida Munethra Kazhagam (AIADMK) came to power
in Tamil Nadu in state elections a month ago, inflicting a humiliating defeat
on the Dravida Munethra Kazhagam (DMK). A bitter rivalry has defined the
AIADMK-DMK relationship for decades. Since assuming the reins, Jayalalithaa has
overturned several decisions made by her predecessor.
Her government has also taken a tough stand against Colombo. A resolution
passed by the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly recently called on the Indian
government "to initiate action by working with other nations for the imposition
of an economic embargo on the government of Sri Lanka, until the Tamils who are
now living in camps are resettled in their own places and are allowed to live
with dignity and with equal constitutional rights on par with the Sinhalese."
Jayalalithaa last week issued a memorandum to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in
New Delhi stating that since the resolution on an embargo on Sri Lanka was
"well accepted by the people of Tamil Nadu" it was not advisable" to resume the
ferry "against the sentiments of the people".
Tensions in the coastal districts of southern Tamil Nadu have been rising over
the harassment and alleged killing of Indian Tamil fishermen both by the Sri
Lankan Navy and Sri Lankan Tamil fishermen. The latter are angry at Indian
trawlers overfishing in their waters, but poorer fishermen in traditional
boats, not the trawler owners, are bearing the brunt.
The violence will not undermine the safety of the ferry, says out M
Pushparayan, project director of the East Coast Research and Development.
Unlike the Indian fishermen's small traditional boats, the huge ferry will be
safe as it symbolizes the return of normalcy to Sri Lanka and the Palk Bay,
said Pushparayan. He added that both governments will protect the ferry, which
was recently used to evacuate Indians from Libya.
However, he adds that the ferry will disturb fishing operations, adding to the
many grievances of the fishermen. Thoothukudi's fishermen, he says, were
planning protests against the ferry but have put the plan on hold due to the
Tamil Nadu government's demand for a suspension of the service.
The AIADMK enjoys considerable support among the fishermen and Jayalalithaa's
call for the suspension of the ferry service appears aimed at them. It is a
"political gimmick", said civil society official Sekar.
An official in India's shipping ministry dismissed Jayalalithaa's demands as
"grandstanding". Indeed, Tamil Nadu politicians have often indulged in
high-decibel rhetoric to underscore their commitment to the Tamil cause whether
in India or Sri Lanka. But they have done little substantial for the Sri Lankan
Tamils, especially over the past 15 years.
Still, it would be "unwise to take the Tamil Nadu government's recent moves
lightly", the official said, "especially given the likely impact on India-Sri
Lanka relations".
Besides the resolution that called for an embargo on Sri Lanka, the Tamil Nadu
assembly passed another resolution upping the ante over Kachchativu Island.
A small island in the Palk Bay, Kachchativu was ceded to Sri Lanka by the
Indian government under accords signed in 1974 and 1976 as a goodwill gesture
to its smaller neighbor. The cession of Kachchativu to Sri Lanka is unpopular
in Tamil Nadu as it wrote off the traditional rights of fishermen to catch
around the island. Indian fishermen have also used the island to rest and dry
their nets.
Jayalalithaa has opposed the island's "gifting" to Sri Lanka. In 2008, as
leader of the AIADMK she filed a case in the Supreme Court arguing that
Kachchativu was ceded to Sri Lanka without the consent of the two houses of
parliament, making the accords signed in 1974 and 1976 illegal.
Early this month, the Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution moved by
Jayalalithaa that calls upon the Tamil Nadu government to plead itself in the
case pending in the Supreme Court on the legitimacy of the transfer of
Kachchativu to Sri Lanka.
Jayalalithaa has argued that restoring the rights of Tamil Nadu fishermen to
Kachchativu's catch will make them less vulnerable to attacks by the Sri Lankan
navy.
The two resolutions have come close on the heels of a statement that
Jayalalithaa made to the media in which she called on the Indian government to
take the necessary steps to bring Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa before
an international court for war crimes.
Speculation is rife over the Congress party dumping its alliance partner, the
DMK, in favor of the AIADMK. With New Delhi's patience with the Rajapaksa
government wearing thin - the latter has not moved much with regard to finding
a political solution to the ethnic conflict - and the possibility of the AIADMK
joining the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition growing by the day,
there is concern in Colombo that India's posture towards Sri Lanka will
toughen.
A trenchant opponent of the LTTE, Jayalalithaa is now seeking to project
herself as defender of Tamils in India and abroad. Many in Sri Lanka are asking
if she will put New Delhi on a coalition course with Colombo.
There are items on Jayalalithaa's agenda that take precedence over the Sri
Lankan Tamil issue. Action against the amassing of wealth by the DMK's first
family, who she intensely dislikes, is topmost among her priorities. That -
rather than ferries and the grievances of fishermen - will dominate her demands
as she begins bargaining with the Congress on the AIADMK's participation in the
government.
For now, at least, the ferry's sail will remain unfettered.
Sudha Ramachandran is an independent journalist/researcher based in
Bangalore. She can be reached at sudha98@hotmail.com
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