Lanka says 'India must come in'

Just as Norway resumes Lanka's peace process, Colombo's new foreign minister urges India to play a "direct role" to end the ethnic conflict.

Two days before Norway resumes Sri Lanka's peace process, Colombo's new foreign minister has urged India to play a "direct role" to help resolve the dragging ethnic conflict.

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Lakshman Kadirgamar, making his first visit to India after taking over the post following elections earlier this month, also made it clear that Sri Lanka wanted Norway's role as a peace broker redefined.

"Today right across the political spectrum (in Sri Lanka), there is a strong feeling that India must come in," said Kadirgamar, who was President Chandrika Kumaratunga's first choice as prime minister in the new government before the job was given to Mahinda Rajapakse.

"India also feels that they cannot stand any longer as a bystander. That's the sense I get," Kadirgamar told IANS in an interview at the Taj Mahal Hotel here where he is staying during his current visit.

India has been following a hands-off policy towards Sri Lanka ever since its troops ended up fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the 1980s after being deployed to bring peace to the island's north and east. Later, the LTTE assassinated former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, who had sent the troops to Sri Lanka.

At the same time, Kadirgamar made it clear that the Sri Lankan government was not hiding Karuna, a former regional commander of the LTTE who fled the island's east after a month-long revolt against Tamil Tiger boss Velupillai Prabhakaran.

The Sri Lankan minister is here on a two-day bilateral visit, his first to any country after the new government took office in Colombo.

He arrived here from Shanghai, where he attended the 60th anniversary celebrations of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), during which 24 countries including India signed a pact to build a massive highway project linking 32 countries.

"That was a multilateral visit; this is my first bilateral visit," he said.

Kadirgamar was upbeat about Sri Lanka-India relations. "One good thing about our relations is that whichever party comes to power (in Colombo or New Delhi), we have reached a stage of continued state of excellence in our bilateral relations," he said.

"Today there is not a single party of any shape or form in Sri Lanka which does not share this view."

Kadirgamar said he would discuss with Indian leaders the proposed bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement so that it gets expedited. He said he also favoured an early launch of the Kochi-Colombo ferry service.

But it was on Norway that Kadirgamar spoke at length. Asked about Colombo's decision to re-invite Norway to resume its mediator role, the minister said: "The Norwegians, at the moment, are indispensable.

"There is a common acceptance of them even among the critics and a third party is necessary to maintain the contacts.

"We will go along with that. But when the talks are being resumed, there will be a serious discussion with the Norwegians about their role. A redefinition of their role is necessary."

Kadirgamar said the peace process that was suspended a year ago would have to be started from the "scratch" and the "talks about talks" would start some time in May.

About the LTTE's charge that the government was "hiding" their renegade commander Karuna, who disappeared from his base in Batticaloa after the Tigers launched an attack against him and his followers, Kadirgamar said he could not say if anyone in the government was hiding him.

"But I can say that officially there has been no decision to hide him. But there are different layers (in the government). It is possible some field commander has helped him but the government of Sri Lanka is not involved," he said.

He said there was a report that Karuna had been brought to Colombo by a Muslim MP belonging to the opposition United National Party (UNP) after helping him to escape from Batticaloa.