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Lankan foreign minister meets Vajpayee

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

With the Sri Lankan situation turning explosive, the Lankan foreign minister Laxman Kadirgamar met Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The meeting comes at time that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which is fighting for an independent territory in Sri Lanka, is poised to sweep back into its former stronghold of Jaffna. In the process, it has trapped approximately 40,000 Lankan troops based in Jaffna.

Kadirgamar said that the request to rescue the Lankan soldiers is a contingency plan, but added that no formal request has been made to New Delhi.

Kadirgamar is keen to get the Indian navy and Indian air force to bail out the 40,000 Lankan soldiers trapped in Jaffna before the LTTE captures them. But after the experiences of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force there ten years ago, New Delhi is still wary of involving Indian armed forces after that experience.

"India will never agree to sending its troops once more to Lanka. We burnt our fingers very badly the last time," said former foreign secretary and former envoy to Lanka J N Dixit. "But at the same time, India will try and help Lanka as well as it can."

The trouble of using the Indian air force or navy to rescue the besieged Lankan soldiers could bring them within range for the LTTE attack them. So any rescue mission could call for the use of escort aircraft or naval ships, making it an overtly military operation.

The LTTE has recaptured the strategic Elephant Pass that controls access to the Jaffna peninsula. The only way out for the Lankan troops is by air or over the sea. However, the Lankan navy and air force lacks the strength to pull off such a rescue mission, and this weakness is forcing the Lankans to seek India's assistance.

Dixit agreed that if India refused to help out, a desperate Lankan government might seek help from other countries, but observers pointed out that besides India, no other country is in a position to help out at such a short notice.

"There is tremendous pressure on (Sri Lankan President Kumaratunga) Chandrika to ensure that the Lankan soldiers are not captured by the LTTE and made hostages, and it is in this desperation that they are seeking India's help," Dixit said.

Some reports say Colombo might seek the assistance from the United States, but the ministry of external affairs officials point out that the US will be loathe to get involved militarily. The only other country besides India for Colombo is Pakistan, but again it is doubtful if India will allow Lanka to seek Islamabad's assistance.

The LTTE is committed to an independent country on the island, and has often rejected offers for a separate province within Sri Lanka. Chandrika had offered to devolve power to the Tamilians and create a separate province, but opposition from the hardline Sinhalese and the powerful Buddhist clergy prevented her from carrying out such a plan.

Now with the LTTE poised to regain Jaffna once more, it appears that Colombo is back to square one on the Tamil issue. And along with it, New Delhi.

RELATED REPORTS:
India rules out military intervention in Lanka
As India stays cool, Lanka readies for the long haul

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