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Sri Lanka not for aid with strings: Rajapaksa

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said on Wednesday his country was not interested in foreign aid with strings and said the military was fully geared to the challenge posed by the nascent Tiger air wing.

He was responding to questions at a meeting with the local Editors on the decision of the British Government to suspend part of aid in the context of alleged human rights violations.

In recent days, there have been clear suggestions from managers of the Rajapaksa regime that the Government would not brook outside "interference" in the internal affairs.

On the decision to purchase MiG 29 fighter jets, he said it was part of the plans to modernise the air force and have a good Air Defence System (ADS) and not a knee-jerk reaction to the LTTE's recent air attacks.

He said there were reports of the LTTE obtaining light aircraft long before the attacks, leading to some talk of a proper defence system but nothing had been done.

Some now say the LTTE's aircraft had been purchased from the Sri Lankan Rs. 250 million allegedly given to it during the election campaign.

Decision on MiG

Mr. Rajapaksa said only after his Government was elected that radar equipment was obtained and work begun on establishing proper ADS.

The President said the MiG 29 decision was not thought of after the LTTE attacks. It envisaged a phased shift from MiG 21 to MiG 29.

This was not a sudden case of using a Mercedes Benz against a bullock cart as had been commented, he said.

He said the Defence Authorities had worked out a means of responding to the LTTE's present air capability and other threats by air.

Commenting on questions about the closure of the Bandaranaike International Airport for some hours at night, President Rajapaksa said this had mainly be done at the request of Sri Lankan Air, which was the only airline with regular night operations.

He added the decision to restrict night operations at the airport had been a plus point for Sri Lanka with the representatives of insurance companies who arrived here to assess the situation.

So far they had not intimated any decision to increase the insurance premium on civil aviation services, the President said.

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