Big Brother’s conundrum

The string of victories claimed by the Sri Lankan armed forces in recent weeks against the LTTE has paradoxically left the Indian government smug and worried at the same time. Smug at the prospect of their bête noire Velupillai Prabhakaran and his 'boys' finally being vanquished, but worried about the impact that the overrunning of the LTTE could have on the political scenario in Tamil Nadu, with general elections in India just a few months away.

It was thus a sensitive mission for Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon as he visited Colombo on 15 January to discuss what was officially pitched as "various issues of bilateral interest" with President Mahinda Rajapakse. Arriving just 6 days after the capture of the strategic Elephant Pass in the Jaffna Peninsula by the Sri Lanka Army, Menon was in the capital to support the Sri Lankan government's war efforts, while also expressing worries about the worsening condition of displaced Tamil civilians in the conflict zone. In a clear public-relations exercise, Menon handed over a token consignment of medicine to senior presidential advisor and Member of Parliament Basil Rajapakse, as part of the humanitarian assistance by India to the people stranded in the northern conflict area. Over 500,000 Tamil civilians are now believed to have been displaced due to the last few months of fighting in the north, where, barring the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), all other independent observers and human-rights organisations have been denied access.