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Highlighting What The Indian Foreign Minister Seems To Have Missed In His Scramble To Please A Few Blinkered Politicos In Tamil Nadu

In Retrospect By Sarath Kumara for LankaWeb

October 17th 2008

Is India becoming an entity where its politicians seem to be so confused about foreign policy that they end up contradicting eachother at times? If there is any credibility to the report that Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon has summoned Sri Lankan envoy and requested that the Administration in Colombo should end the Army Operations in the North it seems to be quite different to the tone of what Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had in deference to the almost ultimatum like approach of Menon who should screen his approach to (at least in principle) align with general Indian Foreign policy.

True enough the Indian Prime minister had suggested that Sri Lanka should seek a negotiated settlement to the ongoing LTTE problem which he as well as anyone with any savvy about the goings on in Sri Lanka know in truth is not possible due to the mendacities and destructive nature of the LTTE.

Furthermore The Indian authorities should know by now unless they have been blinkered all along that many negotiation attempts by the Sri Lankan Government have already taken place which were repudiated by the LTTE and Sri Lanka has now decised to finish off the terrorist problem through elimination and in doing so would also be doing India a favour relative to Regional and National Security so if there are a few paranoid barks from the Tamil Nadu Politicians who seem to have their wires crossed and affiliations split about whom to support, whether it should be those who murdered Rajiv Gandhi or a Sovereign Democratic Nation waging a war to eradicate the very terrorists who were responsible not only for Mr.Gandhi's demise but a vast number of other very prominent individuals who were callously and brutally murdered by the LTTE in their attempt to destroy a Sovereign Nation and all the related attrocities which were inhuman, shameful and criminal albeit unsuccesful!

In this respect they should think twice before exposing their transparencies towards the apathies related and perhaps learn to mind their own business and stop meddling in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka where the Indian authorities who started out by asserting that they were with Sri Lanka in the war to eliminate the terrorists while respecting Sri Lankan Sovereignity seem to be talking in riddles! They would be better off taking punitive action aginst the despots in Tamil Nadu who constantly bicker about India getting into a situation where they would support the LTTE terrorists which would never augur well in India's favour as the world would view it as an international interference involving a Sovereign Nation of which there remain shades of a previous attempt of the exact same nature which merely brought disrepute as well as chagrin to India in case they have forgotten.

What India importantly also fails to realize is that in Tamil Nadu there are some who are far removed from the politicians presently villifying Sri Lanka's anti terrorist drive who bravely and justifiably continue to lobby against the wrongs of the misguided Tamil Nadu Politicians. Those agitating unrest and issuing threats of resignation from Parliament which speaks much for the divisions of opinion in India about the Sri Lankan terrorist issue where even their prominent Indian news paper the Hindu had observed that the Tamil Nadu politicians in question were wrong in their approach and demands for which some officials of the Hindu had to face severe criticism from them as well as their supportives while also taking physical abuse by way of thrown brickbats and missiles at their headquarters which is truly India's shame!

It also needs to be pellucidated that the excuse being used by the renegade Tamil Nadu politicians as motivation for their ultimatums to the Indian Government is inaccurate and misrepresented, namely an anticipated genocide of the Tamils in Sri Lanka where the truth of the matter is, it is the LTTE who are capable of just this to suit their own ends where the Sri Lankan Government is doing everything within its power to protect the Tamil people of which there is tangible evidence and proof publicly emphasized by Sri Lanka's President and his team of Administrators together with the Armed Forces fully aware of the responsibilite involved and contrary to the false portrayal by the Tamil Nadu politicians whose only objective seems to be to disrupt the Army's offensive against their LTTE buddies!

The political temperature rising in Tamil Nadu over the situation in Sri Lanka is nothing new as history has proved.Tamil Nadu which once primed and honed the LTTE terrorists towards their idealogies know that they have failed and that the LTTE are about to be crushed which is a bitter pill for them to swallow.Hence all the theatrics and crocodile tears about the innocent Tamil people of Sri lanka when it is the entire populace of Sri Lanka at risk if the LTTE terrorists are given any more tolerance towards their existences and permitted attrocities!

When Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon recently summoned Sri Lankan High Commissioner C.R. Jayasinghe and asked Colombo to "take steps" to stop the violence that he alleged, has severely affected Tamil civilians in the island nation it seems more an an act of intimidation than anything else by India where India is more guilty of tolerating far more serious issues of far greater proportions of people distress within India and needing immediate addressing. These relate to ethnic, religious and cultural differences which often result in extended attrocities between various enclaves within the teeming masses of humanity that make up India's very diverse ethnic divide.Has Mr Menon perchance decided to either shove these under the veritable rug of concealment or as an alternative decided to bury his head in the sand in the manner of the proverbial ostrich?In whichever case the transparencies unfortunately seem to be showing and perhaps time appropriate to set the record straight and clean out one's own backyard!

While India is entitled to expressing 'grave concerns' over what is perceived as 'ongoing violence' in Sri Lanka a mere matter of interpretation, India is also obliged to ascertain the realities behind what really goes on in Sri Lanka rather than dance to the Nagasalams of a few cockamanie politicians in Tamil Nadu in an attempt to pay homage to them perhaps in an connected act of constituent appeasing with a view towards their vote in the next election which could be interpreted as a certain dependancy the main political party has on Tamil Nadu and sometimes adopted by countries like Canada towards similar objectives as an example which is not only an embarrasment but also a duplicitous attitude involving the extension of gratuities if this be the case!

Colombo! it needs to be emphasized! for everyone concerned including Mr Menon's benefit indeed has a need to take very concrete steps to advance rather than stop the military offensive in Sri Lanka as it involves primarily a Sovereign Democratic Nation's war of intent against a mendacious group of nation and region destructive terrorists whose mendacities could easily become a global menace if permitted to continue as terrorists without elimination.It also needs to be borne in mind to reiterate what was said before that these are also the assassins of India's beloved Rajiv Gandhi where it would be a descecration of his memory and everything he stood for and perhaps the ultimate Faux Pas of these Tamil Nadu flybynights!

There is no danger to the civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka beyond the paranoias or exaggerations of the Tamil Nadu politicians to serve whatever purposes they are pursuing and more than likely puerile as well as nefarious towards the needs of the LTTE and it needs to be emphasized that in the areas where the Armed Forces are continuing their advances to eliminate the LTTE terrorists there are indeed Tamil civilians as well as Muslim and other ethnicities. ( not thought to be proportionately high as most of them have sought cover in the safety of Government administered areas where they have been given refuge) Those who remain are caught in a crossfire despite the order being givennot long ago for civilians to clear these areas and ironically it is the LTTE who are holding them to ransom and in entrapment against their wishes to be used as human shields against the advancing Armed Forces!

In this respect as well as some of the other pointers mentioned previously,Mr Menon needs to take a deep breath, and ascertain his facts relative to the realities of the situation in Sri Lanka while passing them on to his colleagues in Tamil Nadu rather than imposing on the protocols of diplomatic ties with Sri Lanka with his somewhat contentious bourgeoisie attitude which does not seem to echo true Indian Sentiment nor Real Indian Foreign Policy unless there has been some communicative mix up which to all intents and purposes has indicated loyalties to the Sri Lankan Government in the war against terrorism!!


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