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India's double speak on terror, amnesty to LTTE allies

TimePublished on Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 23:29, Updated on Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 03:43 in World section

SUPPORT FOR LTTE: Many Indian politicians and parties openly support and fight for the banned outfit

SUPPORT FOR LTTE: Many Indian politicians and parties openly support and fight for the banned outfit


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New Delhi:As New Delhi talks tough on cross border terror, it also speaks a different language on the issue when it comes to Sri Lanka's problems with the LTTE.

Pressure from crucial Tamil Nadu ally the DMK is making the Manmohan Singh government indulge in some double speak. Sri Lanka has now been coerced into saying sorry for the remarks of its army chief on Tamil Nadu politicians.

In Sri Lanka, an editor has paid the price for a diplomatic transgression by his government. The editor of the state run Sunday Observer got the pink slip.

His crime was that he published an interview of Sri Lanka's Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka who described Tamil Nadu politicians as jokers and accused MDMK leaders Nedumaran and Vaiko of taking money from the banned outfit LTTE.

The Tamil parties were understandably furious. All warring factions and parties came together and held protests across Tamil Nadu.

Upset with what he sees as the audacity of the Sri Lankan officials to comment with impunity, MDMK leader Vaiko lashed out at the relationship India shares with the island nation.

"The cost of the aid and assistance that the indian government has given to the Sri Lankan government for its military operations, the Sri Lankan government got emboldened to make such an abusive remark against all the Tamil leaders of Tamil Nadu," Vaiko said.

The appropriate signals were communicated to the Centre. Within hours, the Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad had taken up the issue with the Sri Lankans. Quickly, expressions of regret followed.

"The Defence Secretary of Sri Lanka promised to look into the matter and conveyed his regrets, should any such comment have been made," said Vishnu Prasad, a spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

The diplomatic storm has blown over for the moment. Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee can now be expected to keep his date with Colombo.

But the larger issue remains that the Centre's got double standards on terror. The LTTE is banned in India and the Centre should come down hard on the rebel group's friends and allies in India. But there's no hint of that.

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