INDO LANKA RELATIONS: NEIGHBOURS WADING THROUGH TROUBLED WATERS

By Sumaiya Rizvi and Ayesha Zuhair

Most recently, the for mer President of India Abdul Kalam visited Sri Lanka and before him it was India's Minister of Exter nal Affairs, S.M. Krishna who met with the gover nment officials. Their actions reflected that the answer to the national question remains high on the Indian Gover nment's agenda. Meanwhile the Sri Lankan gover nment has pledged to reach a lasting solution that goes beyond the 13 amendment given that the Tamil National Alliance and all stake holders come together in a parliamentary select committee meeting.

In this backdrop, it was re ported that Triplicane Urban Cooperative Society (TUCS) has removed Sri Lankan biscuits from its shelves citing a protest.

Meanwhile, it came to light that the Tamil Nadu gover nment adopted a resolution in the Assembly recommending an economic embargo on Sri Lanka because of the alleged war crimes allegation during the last phase of the war.

Senthil Thondaman is the Uva Provincial Council's Minister for Youth Af fairs, Sports, Social Welfare, Estate Infrastructure Development, Power and Energ y, Textile Industries and Small Industries. He is also the nephew of Livestock and Rural Community Development Minister Arumugam Thondaman. During a recent visit to India, Senthil Thondaman was mobbed by protestors outside the Thirunallar Temple in Pondicherry.

Just a few weeks prior to this, Thirukumaran Nadesan, husband of Deputy Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Nirupama Rajapaksa was harassed by a g roup of protestors outside Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaran. In both instances, the PRO-LTTE activists are reported to have waved black flags and shouted slogans against the Sri Lankan Gover nment and the President. Daily Mirror spoke to a several politicians in order to get their views on the above incident and Indo-sri Lanka relations.