Tamil arms raid seen as risky for Gandhi

Press, 10 November 1986, Page 10

Tamil arms raid seen as risky for Gandhi

NZPA-Reuter New Delhi A police swoop on more than 1000 Sri Lankan Tamil militants in South India could flare into a serious political crisis for the Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, before he meets the Sri Lankan President, Junius Jayewardene, next week.

A police spokesman said guerrillas from five main groups were detained briefly for questioning in Tamil Nadu state on Saturday, but Indian newspapers also reported the seizure of large quantities of arms from homes and offices of militants.

“We just wanted to question them ... there is nothing to worry about,” said a Tamil Nadu police spokesman. But Mr Gandhi, seeking to limit political damage caused by the raids in a state wiith 50 million Indian Tamils, met the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. G. Ramachandran, hours after the action. Mr Ramachandran told

Mr Gandhi that the guerrilla groups had rejected Sri Lanka’s latest proposals to end a bitter ethnic conflict between the island’s Sinhalese majority and its Tamil minority. The respected “Hindu” newspaper said the brief detention of guerrilla leaders could further alienate them from talks between Messrs Gandhi and Jayewardene at Bangalore, where the two leaders will attend a south Asian summit meeting this week.

India has played a mediatory role in the ethnic crisis, but has failed to persuade the militants, especially the powerful Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (L.T.T.E.), to negotiate a settlement.

The Tamil Nadu police spokesman . said the L.T.T.E. chief, Velupillai Pirubhakaran, was among those detained, a move which the “Hindu” described as unwise and humiliating for the militants.

It said the raids were ordered without taking into consideration political implications, adding that militants had to participate in any effective peace accord. The raids came one week after one man was killed in a clash between militants and residents of Madras, to which most of about 100,000 Sri Lankan Tamil exiles fled after 1983.

Tamil activists say the seizure of arms was likely to be raised by Mr Jayewardene when he meets Mr Gandhi at Bangalore, while the “Hindu” pointed out that it could be seen as conclusive evidence of India’s “hitherto tolerant attitude in allowing these militants to function from Tamil Nadu and acquire arms.”

Sri Lanka has accused India of allowing the guerrillas to shelter and train in the south, and Mr Jayewardene is expected to renew the charges at Bangalore. India has denied the charges.