"(Government TV Channel)
Rupavahini showed no British or American at the state funeral,
though the representatives of these governments were doubtless
present. Seated on President Kumaratunga's right was Prime
Minister Mahinda Rajapakse. On her left was Indian Defence
Minister Pranab Mukherjee and next to him, Foreign Minister
Natwar Singh. India's representation was a clear message to the
LTTE as well as the international community of Delhi's
solidarity with Colombo... (Kadirgamar) was for active
intervention by India during the
standoff
at the
strategic Elephant Pass in 2000, the turning point in the
battle for the north by Sri Lankan security forces..."
[see also
Sachi Sri Kantha -
The Spin and Swing of RAW Orchestra ]
Coming to Colombo immediately after the murder of Lakshman
Kadirgamar - Foreign Minister, lawyer, a true patriot and a dear personal
friend - was a surreal experience. True, I never knew Lakshman while he was
in England, learning law.
But I did meet him several times in Delhi and Colombo - both
when he was in office and out of power and we spent several afternoons and
evenings together, talking about our two countries, our affection for each
other but also about our distrust of each other. These were candid
conversations and when I think back to them, I cherish the chance I had of
making friends with a man who has been called the best Foreign Minister Sri
Lanka has had....
Government TV channel Rupavahini showed the funeral live.
Symbolically, the funeral was held at the Independence Square, the place
where Sri Lanka was formally handed over to Sri Lankans after achieving
independence from Britain in 1948. Equally symbolic were the seating
arrangements. Rupavahini showed no British or American at the state
funeral, though the representatives of these governments were doubtless
present. Seated on President Kumaratunga's right was Prime Minister Mahinda
Rajapakse. On her left was Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and next
to him, Foreign Minister Natwar Singh. India's representation was a clear
message to the LTTE as well as the international community of Delhi's
solidarity with Colombo...
Why was it necessary for the LTTE to kill Kadirgamar? It was
quite simple: The LTTE considered Kadirgamar a traitor. It was bad enough
that he was opposed to the LTTE. But he did not keep quiet about it and
leave the country, as many other Tamils have done in the past.
He campaigned vigorously to have their organisation outlawed by the West,
especially Britain and the United States. There was a long protracted
wrangle over the dispensing of tsunami aid. The effects of the tsunami were
felt the most in Tamil areas. The Tigers wanted the funds to be given
directly to them because they said they did not trust the administration in
Colombo to do right by the Tamils. For Colombo, because the aid was coming
from several foreign governments, it was a question of division of
sovereignty and the effective division of the island into two.
Several politicians, including the opposition United National Party (UNP)
leader Ranil Wickeremesinghe, believe that the best way to prevent the
division of Sri Lanka is to bestow formal recognition to the LTTE. They
argue that by doing so, at least the chain of ethnic killing will be broken.
But Kadirgamar, who has studied in Kandy, was loath to the idea, the
logical culmination of which was that one day Sri Lankans might need a visa
to travel to Jaffna. At the heart of the complex negotiations on autonomy
was this idea that Kadirgamar could spot coming. ...
But I believe the death of 73-year-old Kadirgamar was the
death of an idea. He was not a special friend of India - indeed, we differed
often on what India must do in Sri Lanka (he was for active intervention
by India during the
standoff
at the
strategic Elephant Pass in 2000, the turning point in the battle for the
north by Sri Lankan security forces. I was not.) But he was a democrat and a
truly decent man: The two qualities that all leaders must have. At that
time, the Buddhist clergy was appealing to the Indian High Commissioner
in Colombo to get the IPKF back.
Kadirgamar's assassination is going to lead to a full review of the
ceasefire agreement through the first direct talks between Government and
Tigers since the latter walked out of the sixth round of talks in April
2003. Last Sunday, a leading Sinhala newspaper quoting a Federal Minister
lamented Sri Lanka's decision to ask the IPKF to go back before it had
'tamed the Tigers'.
.. India has to review its role in Sri Lanka as the present
strategic and security architecture of its relations has holes.
