CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

INDIA TO SEND ITS FOREIGN MINISTER TO COLOMBO TO PRESS FOR A CEASEFIRE

By Abhiman Perera

Under tremendous pressure from Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi who has promised to save the terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) from its inglorious final defeat, the Indian government has decided to send Foreign Minister Pranab Mukerjee to Colombo to press for a ceasefire, Karunanidhi announced.

If the Indian government is able to work out a ceasefire with the Sri Lanka government this would be the second time India is going to save the terrorist group LTTE of its own creation that has also become a threat to India's own territorial integrity. LTTE also killed former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. On an earlier occasion, when the Sri Lankan troops were on the verge of defeating Tamil Tigers at Vadamarachchi in Northern Sri Lanka India brought pressure on the J.R.Jayewardene government to implement a ceasefire.

India Today reported quoting Karunanidhi, "I requested the prime minister to send Mukherjee to issue a strong warning to the Sri Lankan government to announce a ceasefire immediately and to hold peaceful negotiations with them," Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK chief M. Karunanidhi told reporters in New Delhi after meeting the prime minister along with a multi-party delegation from the state.

"The prime minister agreed to send the external affairs minister to Sri Lanka and told me that he will travel to the island nation as soon as possible," he said. Mukherjee was also present at the meeting. Karunanidhi said a decision on who will accompany Mukherjee during his visit to Sri Lanka would be worked out in consultation with him.

Sri Lanka had earlier said that it would only agree to a ceasefire if the LTTE would surrender all its arms.

If the LTTE is saved with all its arms it would a another war as LTTE would use the ceasefire to rearm and continue with the insurgency, analysts believe.

It was not announced who would accompany Mukherjee to Colombo and when he would arrive.
But according to earlier announced policy of the Manmohan Singh government it has no power to pressurize a foreign government to impose a ceasefire in an internal conflict.

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