COLOMBO: India is ready to share its experiences of "unity in diversity, plural democracy and devolution" with Sri Lanka to help it resolve the ethnic conflict, Indian Council for Cultural Relations president Karan Singh said here on Thursday.

Delivering the first Lakshman Kadirgamar commemorative lecture before a packed house at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference hall Mr. Singh said that having struggled with forces of terrorism and separatism, India was of the view that firmness combined with dialogue was the only way to overcome such aberrations.

At the event, presided over by Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, the ICCR chief recalled the words of the Buddha to support his argument. He quoted the Buddha as saying, "Hatred is never banished by hatred. Hatred is banished only by love. This is the eternal law."

Mr. Singh said India has an obvious interest in the ethnic issue, given that India is Sri Lanka's closest neighbour and both are culturally connected communities across the Palk Straits. "India steadfastly supports the efforts being made by the Government and people of Sri Lanka to consolidate the processes of peace and development in their country. India's support for a comprehensive negotiated settlement acceptable to all communities and reflecting the pluralistic nature of Sri Lankan society, within the framework of a united and democratic Sri Lanka, remains undiluted."

He said the Indian experience was that power sharing was a necessity for the effective management of diversity and pluralism in a multiethnic society.

A model of plural democracy and devolution implemented in India, which has stood the test of time, and its principles and benefits were surely relevant to Sri Lanka as well. "We in India have also struggled with terrorism and the forces of separatism, having lost two Prime Ministers to the forces of fanaticism."

No justification for terrorism

Acts of violence targeting innocent victims could have no justification or rationale and there was no grievance that could make any one accept such behaviour, no political thesis or claim of "root causes" could be an adequate justification for terrorist actions, he said. "Our opposition to terrorism has to be firm and unwavering, resisting any temptation to compromise for tactical or political ends. Terrorism seeks to exploit the space offered by democratic societies, and to mislead those who equate accommodation and tolerance with weakness. We must not, however, allow terrorism to succeed in undermining the ancient humanist and civilisational values of South Asia, foremost among them being the celebration of diversity and the acceptance of pluralism as an existential necessity."

Describing Kadirgamar as one of the greatest sons of independent Sri Lanka Mr. Singh said his contribution to Sri Lanka's dignified, determined and democratic response to the challenge of terrorism was immeasurable, as was his contribution to the development of relations with India, both as Foreign Minister and as Adviser on Foreign Policy to the former President, Chandrika Kumaratunga. "It is to him that we owe the phrase `irreversible excellence' that we often use to describe the current status of our ties."

Earlier in the day, the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) was inaugurated by Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. The Institute is the brainchild of the late Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, who saw the long-felt need for a strategic studies institute in Sri Lanka and worked towards establishing one.

At the inauguration, the Prime Minister unveiled a portrait of the late Minister. The book, In Search of Peace, a compilation of selected speeches and interviews by Kadirgamar was presented to the Prime Minister. A special commemorative stamp was also issued. The gathering observed one minute of silence at the beginning in memory of the late Minister.

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