India blasts rivals' role in Sri Lanka
By Siddharth Srivastava
NEW DELHI - India is not happy with the important military role it says China
and Pakistan played in the Sri Lanka's government decisive offensive against
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Top government officials in New Delhi have told Asia Times Online that India
believes Colombo stockpiled arms and even sought help from military commanders
from China and Pakistan before the offensive that decimated the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and eventually killed Tiger chief Vellupillai
Prabhakaran in May.
Chinese and Pakistani arms and direction were the "clinching" factor in the
military's victory, top official sources have told ATol.
"With China's increasing role and presence in Nepal and
Pakistan, and Pakistan's in Bangladesh, New Delhi is looking at recalibrating
its passive diplomatic approach towards Sri Lanka," said one senior official,
who wished to remain anonymous.
"While its main tussle for influence in the South Asia region is with China,
India's immediate concern is Pakistan due to the country's role in the past of
launching clandestine terror activities, as has happened in Bangladesh," the
official added.
Sources say that India has been concerned about Pakistan's reported supply to
the Sri Lankan government of al-Khalids (Pakistan's main battle tank), training
for fighter pilots, and advanced rocket launchers.
China has also reportedly increased its military relationship with Sri Lanka
since 2007. In April that year, Sri Lanka signed a secret US$38 million pact to
purchase Chinese ammunition and ordnance for its army and navy, Jane's Defense
Weekly has reported. China also gave Sri Lanka six F-7 jets in 2008, supposedly
free of charge, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute, to counter the Czech-made Zlin-142s that made up the LTTE's small
air force.
India fears that Beijing, with the help of Pakistan and possibly Sri Lanka,
plans to encircle its influence in the Indian Ocean. It is concerned about a
deep-water port being built with Chinese help in Hambantota, on Sri Lanka's
south coast, and has long objected to Chinese involvement in the Gwadar port in
Pakistan's Balochistan province.
National Security Advisor M K Narayanan said in 2007: "We [India] are a big
power in the region. We don't want the Sri Lankan government to go to Pakistan
or China. Whatever may be their requirement, the Sri Lankan government should
come to us.''
But the Sri Lankan army chief said in a recent interview that Colombo had to
seek out China and Pakistan for arm as India was reluctant to sell it any for
use against the LTTE. New Delhi has not been keen to supply "offensive" arms to
Sri Lanka due to domestic political considerations in the south Indian state
Tamil Nadu.
Tamil political groups have resisted any supply of arms to Colombo, so New
Delhi offered it only defensive capabilities such as radars, despite some
sections of the government seeking greater Indian involvement in the conflict.
Sympathy towards Sri Lankan Tamils has remained high in Tamil Nadu due to
cultural and linguistic affinities. The state's incumbent chief minister, M K
Karunanidhi of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), went on a brief hunger
strike in April in protest of the civilian casualty toll from the Sri Lankan
army offensive.
India has thus been guarded in its reactions to the recent end of the Sri
Lankan conflict, choosing to focus on humanitarian aspects. The Foreign
Ministry said in May, "India will work with the people and government of Sri
Lanka to provide relief to those affected, and to rapidly rehabilitate all
those who have been displaced."
India will have to calibrate its strategies carefully in the wake of the
involvement of other regional players in the elimination of the LTTE. Some
observers also say that India, with its major stake in Sri Lanka's peace
process, needs to play a bigger role in pressurizing Colombo to move in the
direction of federalism and autonomy for Tamil areas.
Given the close links between the populations of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, the
former will need to use its regional presence to ensure that the minority Tamil
interests are protected in its neighborhood.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the plight of the Tamils was much
larger than the LTTE, and that he hoped Sri Lanka would show imagination and
courage in meeting the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Tamil people.
The LTTE exploited ethnic strife between the majority and minority communities
in Sri Lanka. If the genuine grievances of the Tamil minority are not met,
another group could soon do the same.
Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached
at sidsri@yahoo.com
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