Good Morning India:Good Luck, Omar Abdullah

Media Pulse

Economy serves as an essential lever for a nation’s  strategic aspect. This is what the Sri Lankan Government believed when it renewed its efforts to engage India through economic relations, ahead of the proposed peace talks with the LTTE. In fact, Colombo has charted a new plan—to enable India to play a key role in the affairs of the Island without directly involving itself in internal matters.

Taking this into account, Sri Lanka recently leased oil tanks built during British colonial days in Trincomalee (the hotbed of LTTE activity) to India’s premier public sector company, the Indian Oil Corporation. Obviously, the facility will allow New Delhi to have room to elbow out any drop in the confidence level among Sri Lankan administrators. Besides giving the Island a much-needed avenue for economic growth, India’s presence in this part of the Island will tone up the security scenario. Also, the Sri Lankan Government wants to see that the north-east area remains away from the secessionist influences of the LTTE. There is apprehension that once the Tigers are able to head the proposed interim administration in the north-east area, they may stray and encourage Tamils to demand a separate homeland. In that case, the Indian presence, Sri Lankan experts feel, will effectively help the Government in eliminating this alarming possibility.

During his recent visit to New Delhi, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, indicated quite clearly that his country could not deal with the LTTE on its own. Even the peace process cannot effectively move on without the unfettered support of India, which has sought the extradition of LTTE supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, for long. Consequently, to avoid an embarrassing situation, Colombo scouted for a deeper engagement with India. Significantly, it brightened up during the two-day visit of Wickremesinghe, with New Delhi deciding to supply three lakh tonnes of wheat to the Island, besides extending a credit worth 100 million dollars. On its part, Sri Lanka has agreed to give distribution rights for its petroleum products to the IOC.

However, of all the building blocks that India and Sri Lanka seem to have mobilised for a new economic relationship, the move to expand the existing free trade agreement is as critical as the two nations’ nod to initiate a feasibility study on a proposed land bridge to connect southern Tamilnadu with northern Sri Lanka.

These measures might enhance the level of political confidence in each other over time. Moreover, they will suit the strategic interest of Sri Lanka when it accommodates the LTTE in its political space. Presently, the de-proscription issue is what keeps the Tigers and the Government at odds with each other. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe says his Government can lift the ban on the Tigers, if they agree to a fixed date for the proposed peace talks. In fact, this is a shrewd tactical move by the Sri Lankan Government to bring the group to the negotiating table. So far, indications coming from the LTTE side are that the group is not willing to accept the proposal. According to the Tigers, the de-proscription issue should not be linked to the talks date. Thus, the rebels appear to be dragging their feet on the date issue. Defending their stand, they say the Island government is not prepared to heed their demands on unconditional lifting of the ban and the interim administration to be the only item on the agenda of talks.

The Government’s stand, which Prime Minister Wickremesinghe had reiterated in his statement in the European Parliament too, is that the interim administration will be the main agenda and other issues will crop up as well during the proposed talks. Clearly, Colombo is not ready to discuss only the interim administration. It means the whole administrative set up in the Island is geared to throw muck on the Tigers’ face on the issue. Without addressing core political issues related to the future of the north-east, the interim administrative issue would not be discussed with the LTTE, the Sri Lankan President said in her meet with peace facilitators in Colombo recently. However, adding to the perceived intransigence has come the rebels’ complaint that certain provisions of the ceasefire agreement, including granting political status to the LTTE, have not yet been implemented. On his part, Wickremesinghe says most of the agreements signed between the Government and the Tigers on February 23 have been implemented.