The HINDU editorial warns New Delhi of LTTE conspiracy

(By: Walter Jayawardhana)
The executive editor of the Hindu, Malini Parathasarthy said in a signed editorial of the paper that despite the campaign masterminded by a desperate LTTE in Tamil Nadu the Indian government should maintain its policy of staying out of Sri Lanka's internal affairs.

The lengthy editorial carried on the paper's centre page said, "This latest campaign in Tamil Nadu masterminded by a desperate LTTE must not be allowed to undermine the sound policy decision upheld by successive Indian governments since 1991 to stay out of Sri Lanka's internal affairs."

In no uncertain terms the editorial said, "It is indeed the sovereign right of Sri Lanka as it is of India to eliminate any terrorist organisation that poses a fundamental threat to its survival as a nation."

The newspaper with 1.17 million circulation and considered the most influential national daily in India was commenting on the current agitation by Tamil political parties in the South Indian state to bring pressure on New Delhi to intervene and stop Sri Lanka's offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) the leaders of which are believed to be virtually trapped in their stronghold of Kilinochchi.

The editorial severely warned New Delhi that such an intervention would weaken the moral authority of India to fight against terrorism and separatism in Kashmir.

Parathasarathy, in her comment, under the headline, "The Dangers of Tamil Chauvinism" said, "For the last decade or so, New Delhi has successfully resisted the various attempts made by the LTTE and its supporters in Tamil Nadu to force it to intervene in the Sri Lankan crisis. If New Delhi were to express its disapproval, even implicitly, of Sri Lanka's sovereign right to recapture its own national territory from the LTTE, it would weaken the moral authority of India's own actions in regard to its struggle against terrorism and the separatist agitation in Kashmir. This latest campaign in Tamil Nadu masterminded by a desperate LTTE must not be allowed to undermine the sound policy decision upheld by successive Indian governments since 1991 to stay out of Sri Lanka's internal affairs."

Parathasarathy said while India is anxiously grappling with the enormity of the horrific new threat to Indian society-terrorism- fast becoming an everyday reality on the streets political parties in Tamil Nadu led by the MDMK and the PMK "have recently plunged into high-pitched activity aimed at garnering support for the LTTE, a deadly terrorist organisation. These parties have launched a campaign in the State ostensibly to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamils trapped in the war zone in northern Sri Lanka but the timing of this campaign which appears to have materialised overnight, is a dead giveaway. The Sri Lankan army, just two kilometers away from the LTTE's administrative capital, Kilinochchi, has successfully encircled the Tigers and their leader who are virtually trapped in their bunkers."

"For the first time in years," said Parathasarathy, "the Sri Lankan government appears to be on the brink of a major success in its battle with terrorism. There is now the very real prospect of the capture of the elusive LTTE chief, Velupillai Prabakaran, who is behind the assassination of a former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. Tamil Nadu's politicians clearly have different standards for India and for Sri Lanka. It would appear that they accept that battling terrorism in India and saving Kashmir from Islamist jihadis are important national tasks but not so in Sri Lanka which has been menaced for more than two decades by the LTTE.

It was the LTTE which pioneered terrorism in South Asia and produced two generations of suicide bombers who have claimed numerous high-profile victims. For far too long have the legitimate aspirations of the Sri Lankan Tamils been held hostage to the hegemonic ambitions of the LTTE chief Prabakaran who has consistently sabotaged all attempts to find political solutions to the conflict."

The editorial further said, "Yet the Thirteenth Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution which was a consequence of the Indo-Sri Lankan Agreement of 1987, envisaging devolution of power to provincial councils has become a touchstone for the resolution of the ethnic conflict. The Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, has made it clear that he remains committed to a political solution of this sort. In a meeting with the All Party Representative Conference (APRC) last Saturday, Mr. Rajapaksa emphasised that it was the duty of the Sri Lankan state "to ensure to the Tamil people of the North the same democratic rights as enjoyed by the people in all parts of the country." He also took care to explain that the military action against the LTTE was against terrorism and not against the Tamil community.

"The Sri Lankan President has acquired unprecedented political space for his military campaign against the LTTE. Several factors including the rebellion of the powerful LTTE commander Karuna and the fact that there is now in place an elected provincial council in the Eastern Province have rendered irrelevant many of the points in the earlier Sri Lankan Tamil political platform.

That there is a credible and workable political solution now in sight has made it easier for Colombo to launch military operations against the LTTE. It is indeed the sovereign right of Sri Lanka as it is of India to eliminate any terrorist organisation that poses a fundamental threat to its survival as a nation."