Appreciation of India’s constructive role in Sri Lanka

The Prime Minister
Republic of India
Delhi

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned Sri Lankans domiciled in Australia, wish to offer Your Excellency our traditional salutations and also place on record out appreciation of the new and realistic approach to the long-running crisis in Sri Lanka. We believe that India’s enlightened policy will not only help to restore peace and stability in Sri Lanka but also strengthen Indo-Sri Lanka relations in the foreseeable future.

We are also heartened by Your Excellency’s refusal to cave into all domestic pressures, particularly from Tamil Nadu, demanding Indian intervention to halt the advance of the Sri Lankan Security Forces at this critical stage. India’s commendable stand which states that it has no moral authority to intervene in the domestic affairs of another sovereign state has been received with resounding applause from the Sri Lankan expatriate community the world over.

It is a great relief to us to know that India has distanced itself from the LTTE and is no longer committed to save Velupillai Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader, who was branded by the New York Times as “the latest Pol Pot of Asia”. India’s commitment to stand by the democratically elected government of Sri Lanka is by far the best signal to terrorists in the region that the regional super power will no longer tolerate violence as an instrument to achieve political goals.

The SAARC region as a whole is plagued with terrorist violence and India’s decision to reject LTTE violence is a confirmation of India’s determination to deal with terrorism on a regional scale. The recent spate of terrorist violence that has wracked India saddens us because our kith and kin have gone through the agonies of similar terrorist violence unleashed by the LTTE. Your Excellency, we hope, will agree with us that India’s leadership in combating terrorism is vital not only for the region as a whole but to India as well.

Terrorism can be defeated only through the collective effort of every member of the region. Indian intelligence is fully aware of the transfer of the Tamil Tiger technology and know-how through various terrorist organizations like the Naxalites and Maoists. Indian media has often recorded these links with the Tamil Tigers. Terrorism Inc. is an international operation and no single nation can fight it alone. This is why India’s role in defeating terrorism in any part of SAARC is vital for each member of SAARC.

It is necessary to emphasize that terrorism is invariably linked to separatism. All separatist movements resort to terrorist violence as no established state is willing to fragment nations according to the wishes of mushrooming terrorist organizations. India, in particular, is facing a multitude of separatist movements who are financed and backed foreign agents. We do not want any one of those violent movements to succeed as it would set a bad precedent for Sri Lanka.

De-legitimizing terrorist movements is a prime requirement to defeat terrorism. Your Excellency’s decision not to give oxygen to the LTTE is another way of de-legitimizing this deadly terrorist organization.

We sincerely hope that this initiative of India will lead to a more holistic approach to the common problem of terrorism facing the region.

We trust that the concerns expressed above will receive Your Excellency’s serious consideration.