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India may help evacuate Lankan soldiers

Amberish K Diwanji in New Delhi

India is considering helping to evacuate the Sri Lankan soldiers trapped in the Jaffna peninsula, but is at a loss how to do it and what the domestic fallout will be.

Anywhere between 20,000 and 35,000 Sri Lankan troops are besieged in the Jaffna peninsula, with the only land route out, via Elephant Pass, now under the control of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

According to sources, the government is thinking of helping the Lankans, but is worried about the logistics. The LTTE is likely to fire upon any Indian vessel trying to evacuate the Sri Lankans and the government is extremely wary of returning the fire, because that will embroil India in the conflict all over again.

On the other hand, asking the LTTE to hold its fire until the soldiers are evacuated will be tantamount to the Sri Lankan Army surrendering, an option unpalatable to the Lankan establishment.

The Indian government is also worried about the domestic fallout. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and members of Parliament of other parties from Tamil Nadu have already warned the government against helping the Sri Lankans militarily.

They have also criticised Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh for not taking them into confidence. Singh later apologised for this.

The DMK and V Gopalasamy's Marumalarchi DMK, a strong supporter of the LTTE, are members of the National Democratic Alliance ruling the Centre. But in opposing military intervention on the side of the Sinhalese, they are backed by the other Tamil MPs.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M Karunanidhi is scheduled to meet Vajpayee tomorrow to press home the point that in no circumstance must India render military assistance to the Sri Lankan Army. The only help the Tamil Nadu allies are willing to consider is humanitarian aid such as supplies of medicine and food.

Gopalasamy aka Vaiko, a hardline LTTE supporter, said, "The Sri Lankans have been maintaining all these years that the ethnic conflict is an internal matter of that country and there must be no outside interference. So let us now not interfere." He said he supported the government's stance of not intervening militarily and did not want it changed.

Meanwhile, less than 18 hours after declaring that the Sri Lankan government had not sought any assistance from India, Jaswant Singh told Parliament that the government had "received some requests", which are under its "urgent consideration".

But he again ruled out any form of military intervention. "We have not provided any military assistance to Sri Lanka and we do not have any intention of providing such assistance," he said in reply to a question.

The minister said India would work to mitigate the hardships caused to civilians by the conflict and render such humanitarian assistance as may become necessary. He added that India is host to 100,000 Sri Lankan refugees.

Singh further said India would be guided by its continued commitment to a negotiated and peaceful resolution of the conflict within the framework of Sri Lanka's unity and territorial integrity; a united Sri Lanka where all communities can realise their aspirations.

In Colombo, according to news reports, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga said her government has asked "friendly countries for help". Sri Lanka today established full diplomatic relations with Israel.

With the situation still unfolding, New Delhi is monitoring the situation closely, both in Lanka and among its allies in Tamil Nadu.

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