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31-05-2006

Some neighbourly help, please

Going by the European Union (EU)’s decision to ban the LTTE, international mediation in Sri Lanka may have reached a crossroads. This coincides with the four-nation (the US, Norway, Japan and the EU) donors conference in Tokyo, which reportedly also discussed the possible impact of the ban on the peace process. The ban will serve an important purpose if it succeeds in isolating the LTTE and makes it more amenable to a compromise political solution. In spite of a fragile truce still holding, sporadic violence in Sri Lanka has risen sharply since last November as government forces clashed with the rebels, killing several people and injuring many more. Fearing for their lives, many have fled from the north-eastern region — a situation that could potentially build up into a mass exodus.

This gives New Delhi enough reason to be concerned, as any refugee crisis would primarily affect India since most of them are obviously Tamils heading for Tamil Nadu. Against this backdrop, India should perhaps have thought twice before deciding to stay away from the Tokyo meet. New Delhi’s wariness in taking a proactive approach on the crisis has to do with past experience — its misguided support to first, the LTTE, and then the Sri Lankan government against the militant outfit. But can India remain a spectator in the face of developments at its doorstep? India’s do-nothing stance does not reduce the danger of war in Sri Lanka. It also prevents New Delhi from consolidating on the progress made in bilateral relations with Sri Lanka in recent years.

Perhaps it’s time India moved to a more active role in facilitating the peace negotiations — perhaps through the involvement of one or more of Tamil political parties in India or some credible high-level interlocutor. Shorn of any secrecy attached to such an effort, it will undoubtedly foster greater confidence in all the sections and, hopefully, lead to a solution without compromising Sri Lanka’s ‘unity and sovereignty’.

Source-Hindusdan Times