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India hopes LTTE response will be reasonable

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI OCT. 21. Without naming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, India today said it expected the "response" to the proposals made by the Sri Lankan Government in July 2003 to set up an interim administration "will be reasonable and comprehensive".

Explaining what they meant by "reasonable", highly-placed Government sources said the statement, along with the move on defence cooperation, was a "message" to the LTTE that its "response" should be within the framework of a "united" Sri Lanka.

The formulation, contained in a joint statement issued at the end of a visit by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, also envisaged that private Indian airlines would be allowed to fly to Colombo.

In line with the recent offer to Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, India said it would permit "daily air services" between Colombo and Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata, apart from additional flights. Unlimited flights would also be permitted to 18 tourist destinations in India.

Sidestepping objections from the Tamil Nadu Government on a possible Colombo-Tuticorin ferry service, Mr. Wickremesinghe proposed the introduction of a Colombo-Kochi ferry service.

On the defence front, the Indian and Sri Lankan Prime Ministers discussed the ongoing cooperation in training and supply of equipment to the Sri Lankan defence forces and agreed that the two sides will "commence discussions" with a view to concluding a defence cooperation agreement at the earliest. [The sources said that as a follow-up to the discussions between the Prime Ministers, the Indian and Sri Lankan Defence Secretaries would meet shortly].

India, the joint statement said, believed that an enduring solution to the Sri Lankan ethnic issue had to "emerge purely through internal political processes". New Delhi also promised to "maintain its abiding interest" in the security of Sri Lanka and remained committed to its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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