New Delhi
20 March 2007
Visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on
Tuesday launched a two-pronged initiative to bring the LTTE to the negotiating table. He
engaged the ambassadors of certain countries in the European Union to seek "greater
vigilance" on their part to prevent the LTTE from raising funds. He also met with Minister
of Defence AK Anthony to reiterate Colombo's desire for coordinated patrolling of the Palk
Straits by the navies of India and Sri Lanka.
"The only way the LTTE can be influenced to come to the negotiating table is when they
become isolated in the international community as a terrorist organisation and the need
for them to look at the agenda for a negotiated settlement," he said in an interview to this
newspaper. Mr Bogollogama, who met with Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee
on Monday, concluded his second visit to India in two months and returned to Colombo
on Tuesday evening.
Mr Bogollogama said that he initiated the discussion with the EU diplomatic community,
which is accredited but not residing in Sri Lanka, to keep them "very much alive" to
Colombo's working. He said, "I invited [them] to join me at breakfast and it was an
interactive session in which I took upon myself to address them on three fronts". Those
fronts were the political process undertaken by Colombo, LTTE-associated terrorism and
EU's political and economic agenda for Sri Lanka.
"I explained how in spite of proscribing by EU [they] still engage in collection of funds
from EU ... Tamil diaspora and from several front organisations of LTTE to further the
cause of terrorism. There is a need for EU's greater vigilance to prevent [this]," he said.
He also observed that the extent of money raised was evident from the capabilities LTTE
has generated in procuring large hauls of arms. He cited the two vessels destroyed
recently as a case in point.
Later in the day, he met with Defence Minister AK Anthony and sought New Delhi's
support for coordinated patrolling in the sea between both countries. "[There is need for]
greater development of security for best use of harnessing resources to optimum level,"
he said about the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's proposal that has been
formally conveyed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He sought a formal framework in
this regard.
He said that Colombo was investigating the killing of five Indian fishermen. "We find that
there are some elements that have become source for such killings. We want to see that
they do not occur ... misinformation can lead to wrong impressions getting created and
distortion of facts that may undermine our efforts," he said, "Innocent fishermen must not
suffer consequences due to the fact that there is terrorism in Sri Lanka and [that] can
have an extended developments".
No comments:
Post a Comment