Tamil Nadu agitation no threat to Centre or State - Former Indian Foreign Secretary

by P. Krishnaswamy

The DMK sponsored agitations and protest demonstrations now being staged in Tamil Nadu are politically motivated and certainly not wide- spread so as to pose a threat either to the State or the central government, said former Indian Foreign Secretary K. P. S. Menon who was in Colombo to address a seminar on Indo-Lanka relations held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. Asked about the Tamil Nadu situation that was seemingly taking an adverse turn with hitting headlines in the Indian and local media, Menon said that Tamil Nadu was relatively quiet and 'there were no marked changes in the political atmosphere' in spite of the agitations and protests being staged by the DMK and some other political parties.

K. P. S. Menon was India's Foreign Secretary during the crucial stages of the Indo-Lanka Peace Agreement (July 1987). Since the early days of India's freedom, the Menons of Kerala have been associated with the planning and execution of New Delhi's foreign policy. As a wag puts it, India's foreign policy was dominated by 'Meningitis' then. K. P. S. Menon's father K. P. S. Menon Sr. was the first Foreign Secretary in free India and his nephew Shiv Shankar Menon is the incumbent Foreign Secretary. KPS's first posting after he joined the Indian Foreign Service was as Deputy High Commissioner to Colombo in the early seventies and he cherishes happy memories of his stint in Colombo and Kandy. He is a great friend of this country as was his father K. P. S. Menon Sr.

In a brief interview with the Sunday Observer, he answered questions on the current situation in Tamil Nadu, with calls for the cessation of the military offensive against the LTTE, and expressions of humanitarian concerns as well as on the plight of Indian fishermen.

Excerpts:

Q: The situation in Tamil Nadu seems to be tense, with many political parties staging protest demonstrations, picketing and boycotts. The Tamil Nadu film community too has joined these protests. How do you look at this?

A: My view is that it is not such a widespread movement as you are suggesting. In fact, if you had listened to the panel discussions this morning, you would have heard that all are agreed that there is not that tumult in Tamil Nadu. And you would have also heard that if the talk of the LTTE was definitely being bought, someone like the former Chief Minister Jayalalitha would not have criticised Karunanidhi for trying to use this as a vote-catcher. The fact that the DMK exercise is a political stunt and that many other parties have not joined the exercise have all been fairly well recognised.

Q: The present wave of demonstrations in Tamil Nadu - can they be considered a significant turning point in the relations between Tamil Nadu and the Centre?

A: Well! We feel that there is no uprising and there is no tumult and there is no turning point at all. Everything is fine in Tamil Nadu and there is no such big commotion.

Q: But a survey purported to have been conducted by an English daily has concluded that the majority of the Tamil Nadu people sympathise with the Tamils of the North where military offensive is being carried out against the LTTE?

A: Firstly, I am not a great believer in surveys. It all depends very much on what sort of questions they ask. Secondly, Tamil people may talk about other Tamil people.

If someone were to ask me whether I sympathise with the people of Kashmir, I would certainly say 'yes' because I certainly do not like to see the Kashmiri people being killed and all that.

But I do not think there is that sort of sympathy as to be a threat either to the State or the centre.

Q: Do you think that the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India has brought about this sudden change in Tamil Nadu and among the Tamil Nadu politicians?

A: I contradict your statement that there has been a change in Tamil Nadu. Certainly as your question suggests there is political motivation behind the whole operation. But I do not think that they got anything like the response that they were hoping to get.

Q: On the issue of fishermen's cross-border sea clashes the two sides recourse to "tit-for-tat" actions. Tamil Nadu had accused the Sri Lankan Navy of gunning down four Tamil Nadu fishermen some time ago and some 66 Sri Lankan fishermen were apprehended in the seas off Vishakapatnam and their 12 fishing boats have been seized. Your comments on this please?

A: I think certainly there is concern in India about Tamil Nadu fishermen suffering injuries and being prevented from fishing which we think are our waters, where they have a right. But we do not think it is the sort of turn that worsens relations.

There might have been circumstances of discrepancies to distinguish in the course of operations and there might have been such incidents. But we are concerned.

We do not like to see Tamil Nadu fishermen being caused injuries, specially when they are fishing in our waters. But this is not an issue between our two governments.

This is a point we will take up. We have actually taken up and we feel that it can be amicably sorted out.

Q: Proposals are afoot for a high level Sri Lankan delegation to visit New Delhi to explain the true situation prevailing in the northern warfronts and an Indian delegation led by the Indian Foreign Minister to visit Colombo after that. Does it not imply a serious nature of the situation?

A: I do not know whether there is such a proposal. But if the Sri Lankan Government sends a team to explain the situation here it is a good thing because these apprehensions and concerns should be removed.

Already there is the risk of misunderstanding and once a misunderstanding arises it becomes a bit difficult to resolve it. If you can explain right at the beginning what has happened and why it happened it would be possible see that it does not become an issue between the two countries.