By IANS
New Delhi : In an oblique critique of the Sri Lankan government’s move to call off the six-year-old, tottering ceasefire agreement with the Tamil Tigers, India Friday said it continued to believe there is no military solution to the ethnic conflict dogging the island nation.
“We strongly believe that there is no military solution to the issue,” said Navtej Sarna, spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, here.
“For India, any step that leads to a reduction in levels of violence and human suffering in Sri Lanka is welcome. Unfortunately, what we have seen recently has been an increase in violence, tension and conflict in Sri Lanka,” he said.
India reiterated its stand that a political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka can alone ensure that “a lasting peace can return to the troubled country”.
“At the same time, we are acutely conscious that what is required in Sri Lanka is a settlement of political, constitutional and other issues within the framework of united Sri Lanka with which all communities in Sri Lanka are comfortable,” the spokesperson said.
Sri Lanka has often made a strong pitch for a more proactive Indian role in the peace process, but given the sensitivities of the Tamils in India, New Delhi has made it clear that it has only a “limited role” to play in the process.
India has consistently supported a negotiated political solution based on maximum devolution of powers, which could be acceptable to all sections of Sri Lankan society.
The Sri Lankan government Wednesday announced it was formally annulling the 2002 cease-fire agreement with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who have been waging an insurgency for over two decades for a separate homeland for the Tamils.
The announcement, which has attracted criticism from key stakeholders in the peace process like Norway, came hours after suspected Tiger militants bombed a military bus in Colombo, killing four people and wounding 24.
The Sri Lankan government Thursday officially gave a 14-day notice to peace-broker Norway of its decision to withdraw from 2002 ceasefire agreement. The Norwegian-brokered cease-fire will thus become invalid Jan 16.
The ceasefire has been relentlessly undermined by a spate of near-daily ambushes, assassinations and air strikes that have killed more than 5,000 people in the last two years, taking the death toll since 1983 to around 70,000.