Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s statement that he has stationed the military in northern and eastern Sri Lanka as he has to “have to find space for his Army in Sri Lanka itself” is cruel (Interview, Sept. 11). The strength of the Army presence is disproportionate to its requirement in those regions. After he “won the war”, he should have taken steps to withdraw his troops. It is unfortunate that India has not been able to prevail upon Sri Lanka to downsize the strength of its armed forces. As far as his statement that Sri Lanka will not allow the internationalisation of any investigations, by resorting to a Kashmir parallel, the President should be reminded that the Indian Constitution does not discriminate against its own citizens. There should be a fair probe by the UNHRC to ensure accountability in the war of 2009.
K. Sivaraman,Gummidipoondi, Tamil Nadu
The President may be right in not allowing a probe by an external agency, but the self-appointed reconciliation commission is still way behind in fulfilling its tasks. The island-nation has failed in its duty to establish peace after winning a decades-old internal war. One also expected better questions and answers on the issue of Indian fishermen. It is hard to believe that the killing of Balachandran is still being investigated.
C.R. Ananthanarayanan,Bangalore
The views expressed by President Rajapaksa appear to be impartial. The political administration in Tamil Nadu must understand that yielding to the pressures of fringe elements which oppose him will not help solve the problems of Sri Lankan Tamils. No one should forget that Sri Lanka is a sovereign country, and interfering in its internal matters is inadvisable. Every sovereign country has the right to protect its people from terrorist activities unleashed against its citizens. The views of the President, who has answered all the questions in the interview, show his assertiveness.
R. Baskar,Salem
