By P.K. Balachandran, IANS
Colombo : Sri Lanka has formally proposed that the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) be held here from July 27 to Aug 3.
But independent political observers wonder if the political and security situation in the island will be conducive to holding the summit as proposed.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced in Kandy earlier this week that the meeting of the South Asian heads of government would be held between July 27 and Aug 3.
But officials told IANS that only the first steps had been taken and that a decision on the dates would have to await consent from each member country.
“The Sri Lankan government has written to the SAARC Secretariat proposing certain dates. The Secretariat, in turn, will have to take it up with every member country and get its consent. The summit cannot take place if even one of the heads of government objects or is unable to accept the dates for some reason,” said a ranking official, who did not want to be identified.
Decisions in SAARC are taken by consensus among the heads of government (HoG) and the presence of every HoG is necessary.
Although the Rajapaksa government is confident of holding the summit, independent political circles wonder if the security situation in Sri Lanka will be conducive to the holding a congregation of this sort.
The Sri Lankan government Jan 16 unilaterally abrogated the truce with the Tamil Tiger rebels. And the mood is to go the whole hog and carry the war into the rebels’ strongholds in the north. Fighting is thus expected to take place throughout this year.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are putting up stiff resistance and are severely limiting the Sri Lankan Army’s advances in Mannar, Jaffna and Vavuniya. The rebels are also attacking civilians in Colombo and the deep south, spreading fears among the majority Sinhalese community, hitherto untouched by the conventional war or even terrorism.
In this context, it will be a nightmare ensuring the security of foreign VVIPs, security experts feel.
Political circles also wonder if the SAARC governments are in a position to agree on dates easily as almost all the member countries are in turmoil now.