The Hindu : India still to decide on Tokyo donors' meeting

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 14, 2003

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India still to decide on Tokyo donors' meeting

By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI May 13. India is still to take a decision on whether or not it will attend an international donors' pledging conference scheduled to take place in Tokyo on June 9-10.

According to sources, India's decision on whether or not to attend the conference, being hosted by the Japanese, could well hinge on whether or not the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will be present. They made it clear that there was a "distinction" between the recent "seminar" on Sri Lanka hosted by the United States and the donors' conference. If India is to attend the pledging conference, then obviously it, too, will be expected to come forward with some kind of commitment to the reconstruction of war-ravaged portions of Sri Lanka.

Clearly, the entire conference issue is quite complicated. If the Tigers decide not to attend, then the significance of the event does get eroded. It had been touted as a major "step" in the Sri Lankan peace process.

New Delhi, like others interested in Sri Lanka, has been closely watching the Tigers' statements, especially since they announced suspension in attending the peace talks. One opinion is that the LTTE will finally agree to go to Tokyo. The Japanese special envoy on Sri Lanka, Yasushi Akashi, recently had a face-to-face meeting with the LTTE chief, Velupillai Prabakaran.

Sri Lankan sources have told this correspondent that the Tigers are keen on the "reconstruction" process as it will mean gaining access to millions of dollars in "aid money". These sources said the Tigers would not like to lose out on such an opportunity.

As far as India is concerned, it is unlikely to attend the Tokyo conference if the Tigers are present.

In the past, too, the Government of India had a junior diplomat present at a conference organised in Norway as the Tigers were represented by their chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham.

This position, the sources added, was not going to undergo a shift. The recent Washington event was merely a "seminar" at which the LTTE was not present.

Though India has maintained a low public profile in the Sri Lankan peace process, it has been regularly briefed by all sections of the Colombo Government, the Norwegians and, now, by the Japanese.

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