The Hindu : Opinion / Editorials : INDIA-SRI LANKA DEFENCE AGREEMENT

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 26, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Editorials

INDIA-SRI LANKA DEFENCE AGREEMENT

THE WORKING UNDERSTANDING reached by India and Sri Lanka on a draft defence pact speaks to the cordiality in the relationship between the two countries achieved over the last decade, enduring political changes in both. The idea of a defence cooperation agreement was first discussed in October 2003 when Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the National Democratic Alliance was in power in New Delhi. There are new governments in place in both capitals but the seamless finalisation of the draft agreement reflects a shared perception of security issues on both sides of the Palk Straits. It is no secret that this convergence arises mainly from the threat posed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its goal of a separate Tamil state in the North-East. To achieve this, the extremist organisation has raised a fighting force equipped with conventional weapons and a sea wing that wants to be recognised internationally as a `third navy' in the region. The ceasefire in Sri Lanka between the Government and the LTTE in no way mitigates this threat, which will exist as long as the Tigers remain armed and committed to an independent Eelam.

At the same time the draft defence cooperation agreement, which is likely to be signed by the end of the year, is not meant to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to go for a military solution to the Tamil question. From available details of the draft, it is clear that the agreement will seek to regularise the existing cooperation between the defence establishments of the two countries, and will not in any way work against India's commitment to a peaceful, political solution to the Sri Lankan conflict. For many years, even pre-dating the island's ethnic conflict, India has provided training to Sri Lankan military personnel. Intelligence sharing has on several occasions helped the Sri Lankan Navy intercept arms shipments to the LTTE. India suspended the sale of military supplies to Sri Lanka in the 1980s but started sending non-lethal equipment to Colombo following LTTE offensives that led to the escalation of the conflict in 2000. The most significant item sent was perhaps the Offshore Patrol Vessel to enhance the Sri Lankan Navy' s maritime surveillance potential. While the draft agreement will provide a framework for all this, it is certainly not a bilateral defence treaty through which Sri Lanka can seek direct military assistance from its big neighbour. Contrary to the LTTE's propaganda, the agreement will be no steroid injection to Sri Lanka's existing military capabilities.

But it will surely be a bilateral recognition that the ceasefire is not the same as permanent peace through a negotiated settlement of the conflict. In this context, the LTTE's refusal to recommence peace talks unless the Government accepts its single-point agenda of the "Interim Self-Governing Authority" — the Tigers submitted proposals for this last October — is nothing but a transparent delaying tactic even as the extremist organisation consolidates its de facto hold on North-East Sri Lanka by physically eliminating all Tamils who dare to oppose it. It is this violence that threatens the 32-month ceasefire. The Government of President Chandrika Kumaratunga has signalled a readiness to accept the LTTE's condition on the agenda for talks, putting forth only the most reasonable of riders that an interim government in the North-East must not preclude efforts to find a permanent solution to the Tamil question within a united Sri Lanka. As the facilitator of the peace process, it is time for Norway to play its part sincerely and effectively in bringing the LTTE back to the table without further delay.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Opinion

News Update

Stories in this Section

INDIA-SRI LANKA DEFENCE AGREEMENT

SUPREME COURT AND REGIONALISATION

The case for employment guarantee

Chaos, murder and mayhem in Iraq

Maharashtra elections