NJC warns Prez over Indo-Lanka MoUs

The National Joint Committee (NJC) has expressed serious concerns over recently concluded agreements between Sri Lanka and India.

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The NJC has emphasised the pivotal importance of transparency in the process while accusing the government of undermining Sri Lanka's sovereignty.

The following is the text of the open letter Lieutenant General Jagath Dias (retd), President of the NJC, has sent to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake: We, representing a coalition of national organisations committed to safeguarding Sri Lanka's sovereignty, write to express our profound concern regarding the recent engagements and agreements between Sri Lanka and the Republic of India. Our apprehensions are rooted in historical precedents and the current trajectory of bilateral relations, which appear to compromise our nation's autonomy and long-term interests.

(1) Historical context of Indian interference Sri Lanka's post-independence history is replete with grave examples of Indian interference that has undermined our sovereignty:

• Support for militancy: India's direct involvement in training, arming, and funding Tamil militant groups in the 1980s, notably the LTTE, sparked a conflict that lasted over 30 years and cost over 100,000 lives.

• Violation of sovereignty: The unauthorised Indian air-drop "Operation Poomalai" in 1987 breached our airspace and sovereignty, setting a dangerous precedent.

• Sabotaging counter-terrorism: India intervened in May 1987 to prevent the Sri Lankan military from capturing LTTE leader Prabhakaran—frisking and flying him to India. This action that could have ended terror in May 1987 took 22 more years to end in May 2009.

* Imposition of the Indo-Lanka Accord (1987): Signed under duress, this agreement violated Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which prohibits threat or use of force against another state's sovereignty. The resulting IPKF occupation led to mass atrocities including killings, rapes, and long-standing resentment.