India's role in Sri Lanka seen increasing

India is increasingly getting involved in the Norwegian-backed peace process in Sri Lanka.

After the end of the latest round of talks in Thailand last week, a Sri Lankan negotiator and key minister, Milinda Moragoda, went straight to New Delhi.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam [https://www.eelam.com], which was suspicious of New Delhi, agreed last week to consult a retired Indian Army general.

Lieutenant General (retd) Sathish Nambiar will provide a report on de-escalation in the island's embattled northern peninsula of Jaffna, a contentious issue between the Tigers and Colombo.

Last week the talks saw the first major hiccup when the LTTE said it would pull out of a panel entrusted with the winding down of the war.

The rebels have now agreed to look at a report that Nambiar will present to both parties, LTTE's chief negotiator, Anton Balasingham, said in Thailand last week.

After India's acrimonious involvement in Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict with the signing of the July 1987 Indo-Lanka accord and the subsequent deployment and withdrawal of troops, New Delhi till recently played a hands-off role in the island.

Analysts say India appears to be playing a low-key, yet important role in helping Sri Lanka. It has steadfastly supported the peace drive and has even offered expertise in drafting a constitution that could be the basis for a final settlement, Sri Lanka's chief negotiator, G L Peiris, said.

"India remains committed to a peaceful settlement in Sri Lanka and they have provided very tangible support. That includes a credit line of $200 million at very concessionary rates," Peiris said.

The Indian cash injection was crucial for the island, as it was recovering from the worst recession in its history when the growth rate hit a dismal negative 1.4 per cent in 2001.

India's credit line far exceeded the $70 million that the island managed to raise from a meeting of international donors on November 25 in Oslo, government officials said.

There is also closer co-operation between the navies of the two countries, and Sri Lanka's navy chief Daya Sandagiri visited his counterpart in New Delhi in December.

New Delhi is also considering requests for more training opportunities for Sri Lankan soldiers and officers, sources said.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe spoke of an "international safety net" in case the peace talks fail.

The prospect of millions of dollars in foreign aid to rebuild the island's economy, especially the infrastructure in the northeast, is encouraging the antagonists to remain in the talks, western diplomats said.

They said India's contribution to the restoration of normality is much bigger that that meets the eye.