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Reconciliation with India

by Dr. K Chandradeva

Dear Friends,

I am not a good writer or a great thinker. All I can do is have dreams after dreams as to how we can bring this brutal war to an end and bring peace with dignity to our people. Hence, I have had another dream. Will it come true? This time I dreamt about reconciling with India.

I foresee that this processshall involve three stages. Stage A, B & C. Stage C follows Stage B and B follows A. I would urge the LTTE to initiate the process by implementing Stage A. We are in a ‘dead-lock’ situation and someone has to take the first step….. India might feel inhibited to take the first step though she might be willing to do so….and I trust you can appreciate that. I am encouraged by a number of positive signals that come from Tamil Nadu and the centre. I sincerely believe that Stage A will have a great impact on the foreign policy of India. We still have a pro-Tamil lobby in the centre and, in all earnest, we have to strengthen their hands. Honouring dead soldiers in any conflict is enshrined in the military discipline. The LTTE commands a powerful and conventional army and I do not think that the LTTE will have any difficulty in accepting Stage C, provided Stages A & B move on smoothly.

If India does not respond, which I doubt that it will, we can tell ourselves, ‘OK, we tried our best in the name of decency to restore our relations with our fatherland and now it is up to India to respond to take this process forward. Nevertheless, this gesture by the LTTE will certainly have a positive repercussion on the image of the LTTE in the international arena.  The LTTE-India war should never have taken place. In my opinion, both the LTTE and India lost the war. Sinhala extremists are the only group that are still ecstatic about this war. I have no doubt that the Sinhala state would be extremely nervous about this reconciliatory process.

A PROPOSAL TO THE LTTE FOR RECONCILIATION WITH INDIA

Why do we need reconciliation?

• We acknowledge the support of India to the Tamil National Struggle (TNS) during its infancy
• We acknowledge that India has always insisted on finding a political solution to the TNS
• We acknowledge that India’s intense diplomatic pressure on Sri Lanka played a vital role in producing the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord (ISA). Although the ISA did not adequately meet the aspiration of the TNS, the LTTE co-operated in the hope that it would lead to a broader settlement to the conflict. It is regrettable that the ISA became defunct due to the unitary nature of the constitution of Sri Lanka
• We acknowledge the strong opposition of India to the de-merger of the merged North-East Province
• We acknowledge that India have been caring for thousands of Tamil refugees on her soil for over two decades.
• We acknowledge that India is a politico-economic-military giant in the region.
• We acknowledge that India has an extremely important role to play in reactivating the peace process.
• We acknowledge and appreciate the sympathy and solidarity of our ethnic brothers and sisters across the Palk Strait.

Due to painful events on both sides, the relations between the LTTE and India are dented. I suggest that we take the following initiatives to reconcile the painful past and look to India for mutual corporation and consultation in searching for peace in the island of Sri Lanka.

Council for Reconciliation with India (CRI):

The CRI shall consist of a Senior LTTE member (Chair), a senior TNA MP, A senior civil servant, an intellectual person and a lay person (Diaspora or resident of the homeland). Overseeing the reconciliatory process will be the prime function of the CRI. Any major decisions in relation to the reconciliatory process will have to be ratified by the CRI.

Stage A). The initiatives will be taken by the LTTE:

• Proclaim, as they have before, that they have not intention to harm India's national interests.
• Express a formal apology and regrets in writing for the hostile actions and loss of lives to the State of India.
• ………………(I do not wish to disclose this clause at this stage but I would be inclined to discuss with the representatives of the LTTE if they are interested in this proposal). 

Stage B). The reconciliatory process can progress if India takes the following reciprocal gestures:

• Cease any support to paramilitary organisations in Sri Lanka. 
• Express a formal apology and regrets in writing or official press release for the death of civilians during the IPKF military operation.
• Pay compensation to the families of the civilians who were killed during the IPKF military operation
• De-proscribe the LTTE in India.

Stage C). The LTTE & India shall take the following initiatives:

• As a goodwill gesture, the LTTE undertakes to erect and maintain a memorial monument in all districts of our homeland to the fallen Indian soldiers. 
• A memorial monument for the civilians shall also be erected.

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