A long shot at peace in Sri Lanka

An old intelligence hand, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan is said to know Sri Lanka like the back of his hand. The National Security Adviser (NSA) MK Narayanan is set to play a more visible role in the Indian government's initiative in Sri Lanka.

As the Centre's emissary, he will be holding discussions with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on the recent developments in the island nation, which appears to be sliding into war.

For Narayanan, this will be a test of his diplomatic skills. The Intelligence Bureau (IB), the department he headed in the late 1980s, was responsible for the fall of the DMK Government in 1990 on charges that it had ties with the LTTE.

Intelligence reports at the time cited increased activity by the Tamil Tigers in the state, but the DMK has always denied the charge, claiming that it was a victim of political chicanery.

Now that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has deputed Narayanan as his emissary, Karunanidhi has no choice but to do business with him.

DMK leaders however deny holding any grudges against Narayanan and do not foresee any hitches in the talks. "We will not allow the past to come in way of the present.

We will handle the situation with an open mind, forgetting Narayanan's past activities," a senior DMK leader told Tehelka.

According to him, Karunanidhi will discuss issues across the board with Narayanan, including the breakaway LTTE faction led by Karuna and its implication on the peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE. Though DMK leaders say Narayanan's stint with the IB does not worry them, his rigid approach on Sri Lanka, especially his attitude towards the Tamil Tigers, might come in the way of his implementing New Delhi's brief.

According to observers, Narayanan holds the view that the LTTE is not the sole representative of Sri Lankan Tamils and that a final solution to the ethnic problem is possible only with the support of other groups who claim to represent the interests of the Tamil population in the island.

An article he wrote for a website in 2003, reveals Narayanan's mindset - he was sceptical that the ceasefire between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government would last. "The LTTE has also been unswerving in its objective of emerging 'as the sole representative of the Tamils.' For this, it is willing to employ unadulterated violence so as to ensure absolute supremacy," he wrote.

Arguing that the LTTE could never be trusted, he concluded that: "It behaves of the US to utilise the 'coalition of the willing' to effectively deal with the LTTE brand of terrorism... (India) must seriously consider what options to exercise, both to sustain the integrity of Sri Lanka and to curtail the LTTE's terrorist activities."

Political commentator and Lanka watcher TSS Mani feels that Narayanan is very rigid in his anti-LTTE stand. Shortly after he became the NSA, anti-LTTE sentiments gained momentum in India, Mani says.

In May last year, the Tamil Nadu government was informed by the Union home ministry that Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's life was under threat from the LTTE. Moreover, the annual report of the Union home ministry for 2004-2005 noted that the LTTE "continues to use Tamil Nadu as a base for carrying out smuggling of essential items such as petrol, diesel and drugs to Sri Lanka."

It concluded that the LTTE's activities were detrimental to India. The ministry had not spoken of any such threat in the previous year's report - when Narayanan was not the NSA.

Mani feels that, at the time, Indian intelligence agencies wanted to sabotage the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka.

The Chandrika government was then trying to evolve a joint mechanism with the LTTE for tsunami relief and rehabilitation.

Narayanan, who has always functioned from behind the scenes in his long innings in IB, has been pushed into the limelight now.

How he handles his new assignment remains to be seen.

With his reputation as a harsh LTTE critic, and recent reports of RAW's (Research and Analysis Wing) covert support to Karuna, every move of Narayanan will be keenly watched.

Courtesy Tehelka - Tehelka - June 30, 2006