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All parties back Centre's stand on Lanka

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The all-party meeting summoned by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today resolved that there was no question of any military intervention in the current crisis in Sri Lanka and any solution should ensure the island nation's unity and territorial integrity.

Vajpayee informed the politicians who attended the meeting that the government would strive to work for a peaceful solution of the crisis if Sri Lanka asked it to help.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pramod Mahajan said Vajpayee told the meeting, which included several opposition politicians, that while India would extend all possible humanitarian help to the island nation, "the government has no intention of a military intervention considering past experience".

According to Mahajan, all the politicians who attended the meeting supported the prime minister's stand against a military intervention, but cautioned that a solution to the crisis should ensure that it is within the framework of Sri Lanka's Constitution and takes care of its unity and territorial integrity.

The hour-long meeting began at 0930 IST in Parliament House. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief Vaiko aka V Gopalasamy told a television channel later that Tamil Maanila Congress member Jayanti Natarajan had sought the prime minister's clarification on whether there is a move to recognise a Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka.

But Vaiko pointed out that Eelam is a concept at this point of time about which there should not be any confusion, least of all among TMC members.

He confirmed that Vajpayee denied any move to recognise a separate state and stressed that his government would work for a resolution of the crisis within the ambit of the island nation's Constitution. Vajpayee also urged the Tamil parties to exercise restraint while talking about the issue.

Mahajan indicated that the humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka could be given through the International Committee of the Red Cross. But that would be decided only after Sri Lanka indicates its willingness to receive humanitarian assistance, he added.

Significantly, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh had yesterday indicated India's willingness to broker peace between Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam provided both sides agreed to its mediation.

Talking to rediff.com, Vaiko pointed out that while the government had said that Air Chief Marshal A Y Tipnis's visit to Sri Lanka had been scheduled much before the latest crisis there, he was also scheduled to meet President Chandrika Kumaratunga and the Sri Lankan Air Force chief.

"We have demanded that Air Chief Marshal Tipnis should be recalled because we don't know what exactly he is up to during his Sri Lankan visit," Vaiko said. He contended that the AIADMK representative had made a similar demand.

The prime minister's exhortation to the National Democratic Alliance partners in Tamil Nadu not to talk to the media on the Sri Lankan crisis appears to have touched a raw nerve. But ever since DMK chief M Karunanidhi gave his party's green signal to Vajpayee to go ahead with moves to work for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, the junior partners in Tamil Nadu have willy-nilly been forced to keep a low profile.

Former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral had yesterday stressed that India should extend all co-operation to the Sri Lankan people to resist what he termed "forces of extremism and disruption" -- a not-so-veiled reference to the LTTE.

Gujral pointed out that it is in India's interests to be committed to a sovereign, united, multi-ethnic Sri Lanka where all minorities, especially the Tamils, can live in dignity without fear.

He appreciated the Vajpayee government's assertion ruling out a "repeat of the IPKF experience".

Gujral referred to India's own security concerns because of the Pakistan-backed militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasised that it is important to ensure that Sri Lanka's unity and integrity are not threatened.

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