The Indian government has made it clear to Sri Lanka that India would not appreciate any third country intervention in Sri Lanka, according to a high level government source.
At the same time, there is unanimity in the government that India should not send its troops to Sri Lanka to help the Lankan forces meet its toughest challenge from the Tamil Tigers in the Northern Jaffna peninsula.
The Lankan issue is being seen in the government as a "multifarious challenge" for India. "There is a government in Sri Lanka which is very freindly to India. It needs help. We do want to help but we do not want to get into a mess as we did when we sent our IPKP the last time", the source said, not ruling out any assistance to President Chandrika Kumaratunga without sending Indian troops.
More From This Section
The decision of no military intervention is due to the bad experience of 1987 when the country sent its peace keeping force IPKF to Sri Lanka on the request of the then Sri Lanka President Junius Jayawardene.
The Lankan President had used the Indian forces to bash up Tamilians that created a backlash in Tamil Nadu. The situation went so bad for the Indian troops that they were hated by both the Lankan troops as well as the Tamil Tigers. "Looking back, we know it was a mistake", the official said.
Nevertheless, the government is acutely aware that it can not remain indifferent to whatever happens in Sri Lanka. The country is too close to India for that. Any development there can produce a backlash in Tamil Nadu. It can saddle the country with more refugees. Then there are the strategic and security angles regarding who is in control in Lanka.
Surely, India doesn't want the Eelam to be in command. It doesn't want Prabhakaran (the LTTE chief) to succeed. Afterall, India also has experienced similar demands in the its southern state in the past. In the government's perspective, Eelam is based on sheer terrorism and violence.
Given the situation, the Indian government wants Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga to face the crisis without involving any third country. India has expressed its willingness to help out, but without being bogged down.
"This exercise (of finding how India could be helpful) is going on. We will see how the situation unfolds", the source said. The government is conscious of the fact that if India does not help, the Lankan government could go to others.
"We don't like that. She (Kumaratunga) knows our views", the source said indicating that this was conveyed to Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar when he met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Wednesday.
The source also indicated that the Lankan minsiter did bring up his government's request for help. "Such things are not necessarily given in writing".