Sri Lanka: India rules out mediation
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Dec 26 — With India ruling out a mediatory role in the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict, the stage is set for consolidation of bilateral ties. The two sides are likely to sign a broad-based free-trade pact during the three- day state visit of the Sri Lankan President, Mrs Chandrika Kumaratunga, beginning tomorrow.

An indication of India’s policy was available here when senior External Affairs Ministry officials said that "it was for Sri Lanka to resolve the issue". However, "there is no shift in India’s stand on it".

The Sri Lankan President has been consistently maintaining that there is no role for a third-party mediation for resolving the long-standing ethnic conflict. Mrs Kumaratunga, however, has been looking for the role of a facilitator. She told the media that "a facilitator just puts the two parties together and remains in the background".

The Sri Lankan Government would not be averse to such a role by New Delhi as a prominent leader in the BJP-led coalition government is said to enjoy a rapport with the LTTE leadership, diplomatic sources said.

With India and Sri Lanka almost agreeing to conclude a free-trade agreement (FTA) during Mrs Kumaratunga’s stay in the capital, the bilateral relationship would set the pace for similar tie-ups between other countries of not only South Asia but also in the extended neighbourhood of New Delhi.

On the proposed FTA, the officials said details were being worked out. "Some fine-tuning still needs to be done in this regard".

The FTA agreement, which aims at facilitating economic growth and trade by removing trade barriers, was discussed threadbare during the visit of the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister, Mr Lakshman Kadirgamar, a few days ago in connection with the Indo-Sri Lanka joint commission. The FTA agreement follows the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee’s unilateral announcement at the Colombo SAARC summit in October, offering to remove quantitative restrictions on trade with the SAARC countries.

In 1997, Sri Lanka’s imports from India stood at $ 560 million and exports at just $ 43 million.

Apart from the FTA, the two sides would also sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up an Indo-Sri Lanka foundation which would work towards promoting bilateral exchanges in areas of culture, art, trade, commerce and science and technology.

An External Affairs Ministry spokesman said both countries would contribute matching amounts of Rs 2 crore towards establishing the foundation. The foundation would be governed by an independent board and its activities financed by the interest accruing to the initial corpus of Rs 4 crore.

The spokesman said the Sri Lankan President’s visit would further strengthen the close and friendly ties between the two countries and expand areas of bilateral cooperation.

A high-level delegation, including Mr Kadirgamar, Culture Minister, Mr Lakshman Jayakody and the Deputy Health Minister, Mr Pavithra Wanniarachchi, is accompanying the Sri Lankan President.

Mrs Kumaratunga would call on the President, Mr K.R. Naryanan, and hold wide-ranging discussions with Mr Vajpayee, besides interacting with leaders of Indian business and industry. Former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral would also call on the visiting President. A meeting between the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, and Mrs Kumaratunga is scheduled for December 29.

Mr Vajpayee and Mrs Kumaratunga would participate in a foundation laying ceremony for the expansion of the Sri Lankan pilgrims resthouse in New Delhi. The resthouse is built on land gifted to Sri Lanka by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.