Hearts and minds

New Delhi must remind Colombo of its obligations to the Tamil minority

As it prepares for what is being viewed as the final

offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,Colombo has the onerous responsibility to minimise a great humanitarian tragedy that is about to unfold in north-eastern Sri Lanka. The government of Sri Lanka must make and be seen as making every possible effort to save the thousands of Tamils who are being held hostage by the LTTE in a very small area that had been declared a no-fire zone until now. Given its brutal record,the LTTE has not shocked anyone by attacking the fleeing Tamil civilian population. If Colombo is itching to wrap up a prolonged military campaign against the secessionist rebels,there should be no doubt that the LTTE will try and leverage the trapped Tamil population as a human shield until the bitter end.

The gathering crisis,however,offers an important opportunity to Colombo to demonstrate that it will measure up to its constitutional obligations to the Tamils as full and equal citizens of Sri Lanka. It could do this by facilitating all possible relief to those Tamils who have escaped from the clutches of the LTTE and taking extraordinary precautions in its impending military offensive to reduce civilian casualties. India has already sent medical missions and large relief supplies to the Tamil population trapped in what could be the catastrophic finale to a gruesome civil war that has lasted nearly three decades. New Delhi must be relentless in reminding Colombo that a responsible approach towards the Tamils now would make the task of peace and reconciliation a lot easier after the LTTE is defeated.

India has no reason to hold a brief for the LTTE which has been responsible for so much terror and violence in Sri Lanka against not just the majority Sinhalese community but also the Tamil minority. Its assassination of Rajiv Gandhi makes it a natural target of revulsion in India. New Delhi,however,has every reason to intercede with Colombo on bringing the current military hostilities to a quick closure and with least possible bloodshed. Indias real challenge begins after Colombo claims victory in the not too distant future. At that moment it might be tempting for the Rajapakse government to avoid making the significant political concessions necessary to build a durable peace in the island nation. With the LTTE on the verge of defeat,Indias role in ensuring that the Tamil minority gets its due in a united and federal Sri Lanka

becomes that much larger.