The five fishermen with Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka YK Sinha (fifth from left). Credit: Indian high commission, Colombo

Nov. 19: A rare decision by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa today to free five Indian fishermen on death row handed Prime Minister Narendra Modi domestic and diplomatic victories that could upend New Delhi’s traditionally cautious ties with Colombo.

Emerson, P. Augustus, R. Wilson, K. Prasath and J. Langlet — all hailing from Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu — were apprehended in 2011. On October 30 this year, they were sentenced to death by a Colombo court for alleged drug trafficking. Three Lankan Tamil fishermen, in whose possession the drug was found, were also sentenced to death.

The Indian fishermen had insisted they were innocent, and the Indian high commission had hired lawyers to battle their case in appeals courts.

But a telephone conversation between Modi and Rajapaksa on November 9 triggered a chain of events that led to the release of the fishermen, through a process dotted with messages from the Sri Lankan President to the Indian Prime Minister. The Indian fishermen are at the Indian high commission in Colombo and are expected to fly to Chennai over the next two days, officials said.

Modi, in the telephone conversation, had asked Rajapaksa to use his executive authority to either commute the sentences of the fishermen, or to pardon them altogether. Modi also asked Rajapaksa to use an agreement between India and Sri Lanka that allows Colombo to send Indian convicts back to this country to serve their sentences.

Rajapaksa commuted the sentences of the fishermen from death to a jail term of the exact length that the five Indians had already spent in prison — effectively setting them free instantly. The Sri Lankan President took the politically bold decision hours before an expected announcement of January presidential polls on the island — any perception of Colombo’s “softness” towards New Delhi despite past snubs is a political risk in Sri Lanka.

The release triggered celebrations within the BJP in Tamil Nadu, a state where the party has had marginal presence traditionally but where it hopes to gain from Modi’s popularity ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections.

The DMK, trounced in the Lok Sabha elections, was today left with little option but to praise Modi. “We are happy that they will be back home and appreciate Modi’s efforts,” DMK president M. Karunanidhi said.

Diplomatically, too, the release represents a victory for Modi with Sri Lanka on a subject — fishermen arrests — that has usually sparked tension, not bonhomie, between the nations.

The foreign office plans to use the breakthrough to push for closer ties with Colombo. India’s diplomatic establishment has long argued that punishing Sri Lanka — through public criticism or votes against it at the UN human rights council — only weaken New Delhi’s attempts to influence Colombo’s policy on Tamils and fishermen. “Today is the strongest proof you could ask for, to bolster what we’ve been saying all along – engage with Sri Lanka to ensure our own interests,” a senior official said. “This is no ordinary day.”

Yet Rajapaksa’s decision to set the fishermen free also comes with subtler messages for Modi.

Rajapaksa’s government has shared an uneasy relationship with the Indian mission in Colombo for years now — both under former high commissioner Ashok Kantha and now under Y.K. Sinha.

The Sri Lankan President’s aides are convinced Kantha and Sinha have not done enough to counter fears in New Delhi over the political impact of closer ties with Rajapaksa — though officials here say the sentiment is misplaced.

That unease manifested itself this past week too, after the Indian high commission under Sinha appealed against the conviction even after Modi and Rajapaksa had spoken on the telephone — a move that Sri Lanka saw as a sign of disrespect. “The Sri Lankan President wasn’t happy, and insisted we withdraw the appeal before any commutation,” a second official confirmed. The high commission withdrew the appeal yesterday.

In early 2015, the UN human rights council is expected to discuss and vote on a report produced by a fact-finding team. Sri Lanka has opposed the panel, and India had abstained on the vote that led to the fact-finding mission’s creation.

Rajapaksa will expect similar firmness from Modi at the upcoming UN human rights vote, an official said. “Make no mistake, there are no free lunches in diplomacy,” the official said. “There’s always a quid pro quo — even if it is unstated. The advantage for us is that the release of the fishermen will hopefully allow us to soften domestic criticism if we back Sri Lanka at the UN.”