India Rules Out Intervention In Lankan Crisis

India yesterday ruled out military intervention in response to a request from the Sri Lankan government to evacuate its troops from the Northern Jaffna Peninsula. However, the India has offered humanitarian help and said it would like a peaceful solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

As Jaffna teetered on the verge of falling to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lankan foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar called on Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee yesterday. In a significant development, the Prime Minister has called DMK chief M Karunanidhi to Delhi for talks today.

Earlier in the day, a Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) _ comprising Prime Minister A B Vajpayee, home minister L K Advani, defence minister George Fernandes, national security advisor Brajesh Mishra and the three services chiefs _ met after Kadirgamar's meeting with the Prime Minister.

However, foreign minister Jaswant Singh said after the meeting that no military help had been sought from India and "evacuation requests were a hypothetical situation". But help on humanitarian grounds would be made available to Sri Lanka, if needed.

"The government is monitoring the situation. About one lakh refugees are already on the Indian soil. India will try and mitigate the hardships of the Tamils," Singh said at a press conference outside the Prime Minister's residence where the CCS was held.

Earlier, Kadirgamar reportedly made the request for Indian intervention in evacuating the 35,000-40,000 Sri Lankan soldiers. A senior government official said the request was for naval help.

A government source said Indian involvement would be limited to evacuating the Lankan troops on humanitarian grounds.

The issue may have a political fallout in India, with Tamil parties likely to oppose any conflict between the LTTE and the Indian troops. The coalition at the Centre is dependent on the support of the DMK and the MDMK which identify themselves with the Tamil cause. However, the source said they were unlikely to oppose evacuation.

The CCS meeting was preceded by a meeting of senior leaders of the ruling NDA at the Prime Minister's residence. The meeting reached an informal understanding that the country could not ignore the distress calls from a neighbouring country.

Earlier, the Lankan minister said foreign military intervention to push back the LTTE was unlikely. At the same time, he could not rule it out.

In an interview taken before he met the Indian Prime Minister, the Lankan minister talked about Indian help and said, "It possibly could come." He added that he saw no reason why India should not respond positively even though its past experience of intervention in Sri Lanka had not been a happy one.