New Delhi, May 18
Soon after Colombo announced the killing of LTTE chief V Prabhakaran, India asked Sri Lanka to address the root causes of the ethnic strife in the island nation and take political steps towards the devolution of power to all communities.
In the midst of steps being taken by the UPA for the formation of the new government, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had a telephonic conversation with President Mahinda Rajapaksa during which the Sri Lankan leader confirmed that the armed resistance by the LTTE had come to an end and that Prabhakaran was dead. Later, Mukherjee briefed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his discussions with the Sri Lankan leader as also on the situation in the neighbouring country.
AN External Affairs Ministry spokesman, in a brief statement, said New Delhi would work with the people and the government of Sri Lanka to provide relief to those affected by the tragic conflict and to rapidly rehabilitate those who had been displaced, bringing their lives to normalcy as soon as possible.
“It is our view that as the conventional conflict in Sri Lanka comes to an end, this is the moment when the root causes of conflict in Sri Lanka can be addressed,’’ the spokesman said. He added: “This would include political steps towards the effective devolution of power within the Sri Lankan Constitution so that Sri Lankan communities, including the Tamils, can feel at home and lead lives of dignity of their own free will.’’
New Delhi is learnt to have sought details from Sri Lanka about the military action in which Prabhakaran was killed. India simultaneously announced additional medical aid worth Rs 3 crore for the sick and internally displaced people in northern Sri Lanka. The Indian armed forces have set up a fully equipped 50-bedded hospital close to a camp at Pulmodai, a town on Sri Lanka’s north-east coast.
The killing of Prabharakan, one of the most dreaded terrorists, has not come as a surprise to New Delhi. It was always being speculated that his end was close when the Sri Lankan forces had made rapid advances in the areas occupied by LTTE cadre in recent days.
There are many in official circles who believe that Prabhakaran, the man behind the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi might have been killed a few days back but the announcement was delayed in view of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India.
And the announcement ironically came three days before the 18th anniversary of Rajiv’s assassination at an election rally at Sriperumbudur near Chennai.
The situation in Sri Lanka had become a highly emotive issue in Tamil Nadu in the run up to the elections with various political parties openly coming out in support of LTTE and its demand for a separate nation.
India has, however, never supported the demand for a separate Tamil Eelam. In fact, New Delhi has always argued that the ethic crisis in the island nation could not be resolved militarily and needed a political solution within the parameters of the Sri Lankan constitution that meets the aspirations of all communities, including the Tamil minorities.
Meanwhile, New Delhi-based Western diplomats said the Sri Lankan government must now try to achieve genuine national reconciliation.
