The Hindu : Front Page : Manmohan hopes all segments of Tamils will be consulted

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Sunday, May 10, 2009
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Front Page

Manmohan hopes all segments of Tamils will be consulted

T. Ramakrishnan and Priscilla Jebaraj

“Such a political settlement in Sri Lanka will be durable”

— Photo: By Special Arrangement

Wishing a fast recovery: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visiting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai on Saturday. Beside Mr. Karunanidhi is his wife, Dayalu Ammal.

CHENNAI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday expressed the hope that a “final political settlement” on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue would be arrived at “in consultation and in cooperation with all segments of the Tamil population.”

Dr. Singh was responding to a question on the inclusion of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam too in the “discussions with all shades of Sri Lankan Tamil opinion,” which he mentioned in his written statement at a press conference here.

Such a settlement would be a durable arrangement, meeting the legitimate aspirations of the Tamils, he said.

On the question whether a distinction should be made between the Tamils issue and the LTTE, Dr. Singh replied: “Well, I would say that the plight of Tamil population in Sri Lanka has implications which go beyond the relationship between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.”

Topmost concern

Asked for his reaction to the support expressed by the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to the demand for Eelam, the Prime Minister said: “Right now, our topmost concern is to provide relief and succour to the displaced persons, to see that the fighting comes to an end.”

Reiterating New Delhi’s position that a solution had to be found within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, Dr. Singh said the Tamils should be given a place of honour as equal citizens “where they can live with dignity and self-respect.”

AIADMK promise

As for the electoral promise of the AIADMK and other parties, that if elected to power they would send the Indian Army to Sri Lanka, Dr. Singh pointed out that Sri Lanka was a sovereign state and it was not easy to send the Army there. “There is such a thing as international law. And, all those constraints, I think, are known to all those who are making these tall promises,” he remarked.

Military training

On New Delhi providing military training and weapons to Colombo, Dr. Singh said Sri Lanka had been the recipient of training facilities and equipment in the past “purely for defence purposes.” India had been scrupulously careful “to ensure that any equipment or any help we give to Sri Lanka is not used for offensive purposes. That has been the consistent policy of the government of India.”

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