Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003
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By Our Diplomatic Correspondent
New Delhi's task in dealing with the conference, in which over two billion dollars have been pledged, has become easier since the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has stayed away from it. However, sources made it clear that India was not in any way becoming part of the multilateral effort launched by Japan and Norway to raise funds for the reconstruction of Sri Lanka. They pointed out that India's assistance to Sri Lanka continued on a parallel, bilateral track — unaffected by the huge pledging exercise that is on now in Tokyo. India, they said, was committed to helping Sri Lanka in its reconstruction, but clearly wanted to remain outside the Tokyo meet. But the decision to allow Mr. Nanda is a positive gesture from New Delhi — one facilitated by the Tigers' decision to stay away from the meeting. There have been several suggestions that India should attend the conference — not just from the hosts Japan — but other members of the international community as well. Right from the first session of the now-suspended peace talks, India has adopted a partially participatory approach in the international effort to bring peace to Sri Lanka. At the official level, there has been a considerable degree of scepticism when it comes to assessing the motives of the Tigers' participation. At the first session in Thailand and then again in Norway, India sent a junior diplomat to attend the meetings, with a higher level of participation at a recent ``seminar'' in Washington. The seminar did not pose much of a dilemma for the External Affairs Ministry. Now, the Government has deputed the number two man in the Indian mission — signalling a ``higher'' level of participation than in Thailand and Norway. In any case, the Indian decision is the ``sideshow'' as far as the conference is concerned. The ``main show'' is all about the decision of the Tigers to stay away from the meeting.
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