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A four member Tamil National Alliance (TNA) delegation consisting of MPs R.Sampanthan, Mavai Senathirajah, Suresh Premachandran and Selvam Adaikalanathan have ended a sudden visit to New Delhi. Tamilnet website and Sri Lankan Tamil newspapers Uthayan and Virakesari said the TNA delegation had rushed to New Delhi following an official invitation from the Indian Government. Later Uthayan newspaper reported that the TNA delegation met the Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and senior Indian officials during their stay in New Delhi.

Most disturbingly, Uthayan newspaper in its website on Saturday reported that TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah, after his talks with Indian officials, said that India has endorsed the decision of the Tamil National Alliance to support General Sarath Fonseka. He has said that Indian officials had patiently listened to TNA’s views on the Sri Lankan Presidential election and other matters relating to the Sri Lankan Tamils and appreciated their position.

What he implies by this statement is that India is backing General Sarath Fonseka and therefore the Tamils, both the Sri Lankan Tamils and the Tamils from the Plantations, should vote for Sarath Fonseka.

Mavi Senathirajah’s statement has far reaching effect and if it is true would damage the good neighbourly relations between India and Sri Lanka for directly interfering in the internal politics of Sri Lanka at the time of an important election.

Was there an invitation from the Indian Government for TNA MPs to visit New Delhi?

According to an Uthayan news report, TNA MP Suresh Premachandran shortly after TNA MPs’ discussions with General Sarath Fonseka said that they have agreed with General Fonseka that a settlement of the Tamil problem should be arrived at internally without any foreign or outside interference. It was clear and very obvious that his reference to foreign or outside interference was to India as New Delhi had been pressing the Sri Lankan government to settle the Tamil problem.

Pro-LTTE websites prominently carried details of the Memorandum of Understanding between General Sarath Fonseka and TNA Leader Sampanthan. LTTE website “Pathivu” listed the 10 point MOU and stated that General Fonseka has placed his signature to the MOU. “Pathivu” website still carries the news item prominently. It said that one of the promises is the release within one month after the election of all the LTTE detainees.

LTTE website “Pathivu” went on to say that the Tamils look at the Sri Lankan Presidential election as an opportunity to have their revenge on Mahinda Rajapakse through General Sarath Fonseka. It pointedly said that “Tamils treat this election as a tactic to use the one who destroyed (a reference to Sarath Fonseka) to destroy the one who ordered the destruction (a reference to President Mahinda Rajapakse)”

LTTE website’s commentary makes it clear that Sampanthan and TNA MPs were ordered by those who now control LTTE to extend their support to General Fonseka as a tactical weapon to first destroy Mahinda Rajapakse through the Tamil votes. A further proof that the present invisible LTTE high command ordered their agents TNA to support General Fonseka is the fact that none of the LTTE websites or LTTE networks have so far criticised the decision of TNA MPs to support a Sinhala candidate in what they consider a Sinhala affair in the Sinhala Sri Lankan state which has nothing to do with their Eelam.

Suresh Premachandran’s statement that TNA has agreed with General Fonseka to reach a settlement to the Tamil problem without foreign interference clearly reflects LTTE view point that India should be kept out of the Sri Lankan Tamil problem. LTTE websites have repeatedly said that it was not Mahinda Rajapakse but India that waged the war against the LTTE and used him as a proxy to exact revenge for killing Rajiv Gandhi. The present invisible LTTE leadership does not want to see India playing any further role in the settlement of the Sri Lankan Tamil problem.

Having indirectly agreed with General Fonseka that India should not be allowed to play any role in the settlement of the Tamil problem, why did the TNA MPs rush to New Delhi?

Theepori’s enquiries reveal that neither Foreign Minister S.M.Krishna’s office nor National Security Advisor M.K.Narayanan’s office invited the TNA MPs to New Delhi. TNA MPs are not state dignitaries to receive an invitation from the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.

If TNA MPs are high Sri Lankan Tamil dignitaries to be invited to New Delhi, why were they not met by at least the Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna or National Security Advisor M K Narayanan who directly handles the Sri Lankan Tamil problem?

No other Indian government office or official would invite TNA MPs who are considered by the Indian establishment as LTTE’s agents.

The fact that TNA MPs were able only to meet with only Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and some unnamed Indian officials is further proof that there was no official Indian government invitation for the TNA MPs.

It appears that Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao agreed to meet with Sampanthan and company perhaps because she was acquainted with these guys during her tenure of office as the Indian High Commissioner for Sri Lanka. Being a diplomat, she would not have refused to give an interview to her one time Sri Lankan acquaintances. It should be remembered that LTTE leadership considered Nirupama Rao as a Mahinda Rajapakse ally when she was on her tour of duty in Colombo.

Why then did the TNA MPs suddenly went to New Delhi?

Mr Raju Anbarasu, a senior Tamil Nadu Congress Party member and former Indian Parliamentarian, wanted to organise a conference of all Sri Lankan Tamil political party leaders in New Delhi so that they could agree on a proposal for the settlement of the Sri Lankan Tamil problem. He has the blessings of the Congress Party leaders for this initiative and having canvassed support from Party President Sonia Gandhi and his other party colleagues including the Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna wanted to schedule the meeting in January. When Sampanthan and his TNA colleagues were asked to attend, Sampanthan, in his usual arrogant way, said that they were busy with the Sri Lankan Presidential election and would not have the time for this sort of meeting. Mr.Anbarasu, heeding this advice, postponed the meeting for early February.

However, the same Sampanthan and his TNA colleagues who said they were busy with the Presidential election had all of a sudden decided to rush to New Delhi and had all the time in the world to hang around in New Delhi waiting for the call to meet with the Indian government leaders.

If there is no invitation from New Delhi, why did they decide to go and who made them to go to New Delhi?

Someone, perhaps, General Fonseka himself or his mentor Ranil Wickremasinghe might have advised TNA to go to New Delhi so that they could get some propaganda mileage that would improve Fonseka’s standing among the Tamil voters. Both General Fonseka and Ranil Wickremasinghe are keenly aware of the importance of Indian leaders’ endorsement. In fact, last December, Ranil Wickremasinghe went to New Delhi to promote the image of Sarath Fonseka among the Indian government leaders. However, Indian leaders were not impressed by his arguments in favour of the former Sri Lankan army Commander.

Theepori believes that Sambanthan and his colleagues themselves would have therefore asked some Indian High Commission officials in Colombo to facilitate a visit to New Delhi. As a courtesy, these Indian officials in Colombo would have agreed to convey the message to the Indian Foreign Office.

In the past too, Sampanthan and company had paid visits to New Delhi in the hope of meeting with Indian leaders and were hanging around in New Delhi waiting for calls from the Foreign Minister’s and the Prime Minister’s offices. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh never gave an audience to Sampanthan or to any other TNA MP. However, as if to give an indirect snub to Sampanthan, last year Mr Manmohan Singh met the ENDLF leader Rajan and promised India’s support to the Sri Lankan Tamils.

It appears that Mavi Senathirajah’s statement to Uthayan newspaper that India endorses TNA MPs’ decision to support General Fonseka is a deliberately calculated attempt to win over the Tamil voters to General Fonseka’s side. Mavi Senathirajah and his TNA colleagues like Sampanthan are past masters in such devious tactics.

Mavai Senathirajah,is a self-centred individual without any principle. His only ambition is to be a Member of Parliament in the Sri Lankan Parliament. He, like Sampanthan, betrayed his leader Amirthalingam and joined hands with the murderous LTTE for the sake of an MP seat. He entered Parliament when that noble intellectual Neelan Thiruchelvam was murdered by the LTTE. To this day Mavi Senathirajah and Sampanthan have yet to condemn the deaths of Amirthalingam, Neelan Thiruchelvam and other TULF party colleagues.

Indian Foreign Ministry should expose Mavi Senathirajah’s canard.

Mavai Senathirajah’s statement to Uthayan newspaper is very far reaching. If what he says is true, it amounts to India’s interference in the internal affairs of a friendly neighbour.

Indian Foreign Ministry, in particular, the Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, should issue a statement to clarify the circumstances surrounding the New Delhi visit of Sampanthan and his TNA colleagues. Further, India should not entertain these LTTE agents even as a courtesy to their so-called position as elected representatives of Sri Lanka.

TNA MPs are agents of the LTTE because they became MPs on the slogan that LTTE is the sole representatives of the Tamils. India should understand that these TNA MPs who followed the dictats of Pirapaharan are now taking instructions from the present invisible LTTE leadership based abroad.

www.theepori .com

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