India to tread cautiously

By C. Raja Mohan

NEW DELHI, MAY 15. As the Government endures the competing pressures on its policy towards the Sri Lankan crisis, there is a strong determination here that India should not rush into the conflict with ill- conceived military or diplomatic initiatives.

The continuing fluidity of the current military solution in Sri Lanka, observers here say, may give the Government time and space to carefully craft a diplomatic effort that will have a reasonable chance of success.

The important thing at this stage, given the high stakes India has in Sri Lanka, is to hold on to the basic principles that underline the current Indian approach towards its southern neighbour.

The Government has already declared that preserving the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, securing the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people within a united Sri Lankan nation, and avoiding a military intervention are the principal objectives of India. It has also emphasised that a solution to the civil war will have to be found by the Sinhala and Tamil communities themselves.

Recent history suggests that no outside force will be able to impose a political solution on the two communities against their wishes. Indian diplomacy cannot ignore this basic lesson. India has said it was prepared to facilitate a peace process in Sri Lanka, if asked by both sides. The offer will be relevant only when the positions of the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam evolve in a reasonable direction.

Firstly, it is important for both Colombo and the LTTE to recognise that military means alone will not deliver peace. Secondly, it is also evident that both sides will have to reconcile themselves to the reality that there can be no unilateral solutions.

The Sri Lankan Government will have to get the majority community accept the idea of substantive devolution of power to the minority communities. The LTTE needs to acknowledge that a separate Eelam in Sri Lanka would neither be credible nor acceptable to New Delhi and the international community.

Meanwhile, the major powers have begun to acknowledge that there could be no diplomatic effort in the region without India leading it. New Delhi is in close contact with the major powers to build a powerful international coalition that can set forth the framework for a credible peace process in Sri Lanka. That, however, might have to wait until the situation in Sri Lanka acquires greater clarity.

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