New Delhi
25 May 2006
A representative of the Sri Lankan Government headed by President
Mahinda Rajapaksa has been despatched to call on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.
Karunanidhi in Chennai, well-placed sources on Thursday told this newspaper.
Colombo has handpicked Mr Arumugam Thondaman of the Ceylon Workers Congress
party for paying a courtesy call on the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief, who
was sworn in as chief minister of Tamil Nadu earlier this month.
Colombo's overture to the Tamil Nadu Government comes at a time when the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) is engaged in an undeclared war with the Sri Lanka
Government Security Forces. The ceasefire is holding for now.
Only a few days back, Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V Anandasangaree
wrote a letter to Mr Karunanidhi to seek his mediation in the Sri Lankan conflict. The
TULF leader has also written to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran.
Beginning with a "My Dear Thamby," she wrote to Prabakaran: "The international
community is throwing its full weight [to find a solution based] on a federal Constitution,
within the framework of a united Sri Lanka."
The visit by a representative of the Sri Lankan Government comes ahead of Norwegian
Minister of International Development Erik Solheim's meeting with Sri Lanka President
Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo.
As Mr Solheim travels to the island nation, New Delhi has said it is "worried" about the
situation in Sri Lanka and that it expected "greater flexibility" and "major effort" from the
Lankan Government to prevent escalation of violence.
New Delhi has welcomed European Union's decision to proscribe the LTTE and
conveyed to Colombo that the issue of "settlement needs to be addressed" and a
"variant of Indian federal structure" may offer a solution.
Norway has said Mr Solheim will reach New Delhi later this week to discuss the situation
in Sri Lanka with Indian officials. Oslo's special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will meet with
LTTE representatives on Saturday.
Mr Solheim has said the situation in Sri Lanka "is complicated and it is important not to
have unrealistic expectations of the meetings. The visits are an important part of the
preparations for the co-chairs meeting in Japan".
Mr Solheim will attend the co-chairs meeting in Tokyo on May 30. The meeting will bring
together representatives of the EU, Japan, the United States and Norway for talks on how
they can best further the Lankan peace process.
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