India, U.S. rule out support to Eelam

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 24. India today said that it was withholding any fresh initiative for ending the strife in Sri Lanka even as New Delhi and Washington reiterated their rejection for an independent Tamil State.

``Fighting is going on (in Sri Lanka). There would be scope for discussions if there is any fresh development in the fighting,'' the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Lalit Mansingh, said. He made these observations in the presence of the U.S. Under- Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Mr. Thomas Pickering, today.

Mr. Mansingh separately held talks with Norway's special envoy to Sri Lanka, Mr. Erik Solheim, as international diplomacy to end the crisis gathered momentum today.

The Foreign Secretary and his U.S. counterpart held marathon talks this morning within the framework of Indo-U.S. foreign office consultations. The decision to hold a regular dialogue between foreign office officials was stated in the ``vision document'' signed during the visit of the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, in March this year.

Mr. Pickering addressing the press said that as visualised during Mr. Clinton's trip, a ministerial dialogue between the U.S. Secretary of State, Ms. Madeleine Albright, and the External Affairs Minister, Mr. Jaswant Singh, would be held in Warsaw in early June. Mr. Clinton had also invited the Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, for an Indo-U.S. summit.

Mr. Pickering in this morning's talks had ``expressed the decision not to support any Tamil Independent State,'' Mr. Mansingh said. While endorsing this view, Mr. Pickering made four additional points while indicating the U.S. approach to the crisis. First, he said, the U.S. supported a ``regional initiative'' revolving around India to end the strife. Second, Washington also backed Norway's now ``highly-developed'' diplomatic effort in addressing the complex situation. Third, the U.S. was not intervening directly but was ``watching the situation in Sri Lanka carefully.'' Finally, Washington wanted to prevent a ``humanitarian catastrophe '' at all costs.

The U.S. official expressed special concern for the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire between the Army and the Tamil rebels. The situation, he said, was cut out for a prominent role by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Mr. Mansingh, asked to comment on his discussions with Mr. Solheim, was reticent in his views. ``Mr. Solheim briefed us about his discussions in Sri Lanka. He is now going back to Norway.''

Analysts here pointed out that Norway was uniquely positioned to facilitate the resolution of the conflict. Unlike India and the U.S., which have banned the LTTE, Norway did not have to cross legal hurdles in establishing contacts with the Tigers. In fact, sources pointed out that the Norwegians had established regular contacts with the LTTE through the latter's office in London.

Responding to persistent queries, Mr. Mansingh indicated that an Indian role in evacuating troops from Sri Lanka was not imminent. He pointed out that Sri Lanka was yet to make a formal request. Sources said India would help only if Colombo formally asked New Delhi to do so and if conditions were created for a ceasefire in the Jaffna peninsula.

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