Indian PM pooh-poohs Jaya talk of sending army to Sri Lanka and the pitch for Eelam

By M Rama Rao, India Editor, Asian Tribune

Hyderabad, 10 May (Asiantribune.com): To the obvious reliefIndian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in Chennai of Colombo and to the dismay of Jayalalithaa Jayaram of AIADMK, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday poured cold water on the talk of India sending army to Sri Lanka. He stuck to the Delhi stand that solution to the ethnic Tamil problem should be found within the framework of United Sri Lanka. And pooh-poohed the TN parties pitch for 'Eelam for Lanka Tamils'.

Dr Singh, who was in Chennai to canvas for the Congress and DMK led alliance partners in the Lok Sabha elections, told a news conference that any talk of sending army to Sri Lanka ignored ground as well as geopolitical realities.

'What is possible and what is not possible, I think it is a matter of speculation. But quite frankly we are dealing with a sovereign state Sri Lanka… a sovereign country. It is not so easy to march armies to a sovereign state,' the Prime Minister said when asked for his views on AIADMK supremo’s poll promise of sending Indian army to Lanka if the electorate of TN gave her decisive say in the formation of the new government in Delhi.

Without taking the name of Jayalalithaa, he observed, ‘There is such thing as international law and all those constraints, I think are known to all those who are making tall promises’.

The Indian leader, who is tipped to lead the next government in Delhi if the alliance led by the Congress gets the mandate, remarked, ‘We are living in very uncertain times. Whatever we do vis-a-vis our neighbours, we have to recognize that they are sovereign countries. In dealing with sovereign countries who have options other than dealing with India, sometimes we can hurt the wider national interests by taking a narrow shortsighted view’.

Prime Minister outright rejected as not true the allegation that he was maintaining silence on the Sri Lanka Tamils issue. He pointed out that he had used every opportunity to put forth India’s concerns to Rajapaksa government.

"That's not true. I am deeply concerned over plight of the civilians in Sri Lanka. I have used every opportunity to take up the issue with the President and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. This is not an issue which is of concern only for the people of Tamil Nadu, but for the people of India", Manmohan Singh told a questioner.

Answering another question, he replied that as far as the government of India is concerned, ‘LTTE has been regarded as a terrorist organization so far’.

Asked about India’s long pending demand for extradition of Prabhakaran to stand trail in the Rajiv assassination (1991) case, the Prime Minister said Prabhakaran was no longer the issue at present though he remains wanted as a proclaimed offender.

'Now the issue is not this (Prabhakaran extradition). The issue is the future of Tamils in Sri Lanka... On how the Sri Lankan Government settle the issues through political means so that Tamils in the country can live with dignity and self-respect. The immediate concern is that the people trapped should be brought to the safe zone and the Sri Lankan government should resolve it through a political settlement'.

Fielding questions on Cong-DMK alliance, Manmohan Singh said 'I can say as of now we are fighting this election in the company of DMK. This alliance has stood the test of time for the last five years. We will maintain this alliance and form the government'.

These remarks have brought despair to the AIADMK camp, which is eager to hitch on the Congress bandwagon after the elections if the situation warranted. The Singh Speak has also camp which has been hurt by Rahul Gandhi the Congress Crown Prince’s observation
at Jayalalithaa is a likeminded leader.

-Asian Tribune -