The Hindu : National : We deeply value India’s pledge of Rs. 500 crore, says Sri Lankan envoy

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We deeply value India’s pledge of Rs. 500 crore, says Sri Lankan envoy

Special Correspondent

Reiterates Rajapaksa’s commitment to political solution to Tamils issue

— Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

R. Swaminathan, president, International Institute of Security and Safety Management, greets Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India C. Romesh Jayasinghe (right) at a seminar organised by the Observer Research Foundation in Chennai on Tuesday. Others in the photograph (from left) are: Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N. Ram and Sri Lanka’s Deputy High Commissioner P.M. Amza.

CHENNAI: Sri Lanka deeply values the Rs. 500 crore pledged by India and the Rs. 25 crore granted by Tamil Nadu for the rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in government transit facilities, C. Romesh Jayasinghe, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, said here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a seminar on “Post Conflict Sri Lanka and India’s Role,” organised by the Observer Research Foundation, Mr. Jayasinghe said his country would also draw on the U.N. agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and reputed international non-governmental organisations (INGO) for assistance in coping with those displaced and affected by the conflict.

Transit facilities

With the security and the safety situation improving, access to the transit facilities could be stepped up for the personnel of U.N. agencies, ICRC and reputed INGOs, he said while reiterating President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s commitment to find a political solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

Mr. Jayasinghe said India’s bilateral relationship with Sri Lanka, which had never been hostage to the Tamils situation, could be strengthened even further with the end to the military conflict.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the political solution being proposed by Mr. Rajapaksa would have adequate protection for Provincial Councils from Central intervention. With police and land powers to the provinces to be negotiated, and a second chamber elected by provincial representatives deciding on national policy, autonomy could be guaranteed to the provinces if the measures were implemented properly.

Karunanidhi’s statement

The idea of a separate Eelam was dead, Mr. Ram said, pointing to Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s statement in the Tamil Nadu Assembly asking Tamils to focus on autonomy and devolution of powers. Tamil politicians should adjust themselves to this reality, and they would do well to participate in the political process and fight for the Tamils’ rights from within the constitutional framework.

Mr. Ram said India-Sri Lanka relations were tied closely to the “principal national question” of the status of Sri Lankan Tamils for a long time. This led to Indian support for organisations like the LTTE.

However, with the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination in 1991, India had changed its official stance towards Sri Lanka. With Sri Lanka too changing its policy since 1994, bilateral relations were steadily expanding without focussing on any one issue.

Mr. Ram said that in the post-conflict situation, nerves were strained but the future for bilateral relations was good. Without direct involvement in internal affairs, India could continue to play an important role by ensuring that the Sri Lankan government followed up on its promises to the minority communities.

Economic help

Earlier, R. Swaminathan, president, International Institute of Security and Safety Management, said that in spite of the military victory, terrorism could not be eliminated until the grievances of the Tamils were addressed and resolved.

India could help Sri Lanka on the economic front while showing more activism and involvement in matters relating to relief and rehabilitation, he said.

V.R. Raghavan, president, Centre for Security Analysis, said the military would have to be heavily involved in the rehabilitation work. With military expansion and increased presence in the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, it was up to the government to make sure the people did not treat the military as an “occupying force.”

Diaspora issue

N. Sathiya Moorthy of the Observer Research Foundation said the Tamil diaspora issue should also be looked into carefully.

Later, answering a question on the possibility of a change in the demographic profile in the North and the East due to the military presence, Mr. Ram said it would not be a major concern but the Sri Lankan government should try to allay any such fears using constitutional methods.

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