-On LTTE itself, Indian reiterated that the terror organisation's leader, Prabhakaran, was wanted for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and as the recent arrests of a senior Tiger in Tamil Nadu suggested, there would be no compromise on combating the outfit. "It is a banned organisation, and India will not slacken its vigil in this regard," said sources. (Indian PM with a Tamil politician P. Chandrasekaran)
(August 02, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday raised the issue of firing on Indian firshermen by Sri Lankan forces — a matter of considerable political significance to his key coalition partner DMK — in a meeting with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The PM is understood to have stressed that fishermen off the coast of Tamil Nadu should be saved from harassment and the two sides agreed to work on protocols to ensure that such incidents do not happen. "We will look for practical ways to minimise the hardships," said foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, after the meeting.
With both nations sharing concerns on terrorism, the PM made the point that the destinies and prosperity of the two nations were linked. Singh and Rajapaksa discussed measures to deepen economic cooperation.
Sources pointed out that India has been urging Sri Lanka to offer "maximum devolution" to the Tamils of the island nation. There was a substantial Tamil population in Sri Lanka with links to India and there were pressures that New Delhi needed to respond to as well. It was felt that Sri Lanka was not as ready on devolution as might be required.
But on the devolution issues, just as in the case of the fishermen's problems, the Manmohan Singh government is being mindful of its southern allies. Though India has backed devolution as a solution, it can hardly push the case too far given calls for "autonomy and self-rule" in Kashmir. But in prodding the Sri Lankan government a bit, it addresses a political compulsion. There have been meetings between senior PMO officials and DMK leader and TN chief minister M Karunanidhi before the Sri Lanka visit.
This is even as the Lankan government agreed to an inquiry on the July 12 firing deaths of two fishermen. The Lankan position has been that fishing vessels have been used for LTTE's purposes, but India has pointed out that the situation has its humanitarian considerations.
On LTTE itself, Indian reiterated that the terror organisation's leader, Prabhakaran, was wanted for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and as the recent arrests of a senior Tiger in Tamil Nadu suggested, there would be no compromise on combating the outfit. "It is a banned organisation, and India will not slacken its vigil in this regard," said sources.
Meanwhile, the Dravidar Kazhagam will organise demonstrations in all district headquarters on August 4 demanding protection to fishermen of Tamil Nadu and early implementation of the Sethusamudram project. Addressing newspersons here on Friday, DK president K.Veeramani regretted that attacks on Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy had become a regular feature. It was high time that the Centre government took up the issue with the Sri Lankan government for a permanent solution.
He said the Centre should annul the Kachatheevu agreement and retrieve the islet. He was for a common fishing agreement between India and Sri Lanka to enable fishermen in the State to carry out their activities peacefully. On the Sethusamudram project, Mr.Veeramani urged the Centre to fix a time frame for the six-member Pachauri committee for submitting its report on an alternative alignment.
- Sri Lanka Guardian
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