India says PM not coming

Sri Lanka’s 60th Independence celebrations

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will not attend Sri Lanka’s 60th Independence Day celebrations on February 4, an Indian High Commission official confirmed yesterday. Indian High Commissioner Alok Prasad conveyed the news to Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama when they met on Thursday but a possible visit later in the year was being considered.

Minister Bogollagama told Parliament in November last year that the Indian Prime Minister had been invited to attend the Independence Day celebrations as the chief guest and the Government was hopeful he would accept the invitation. The invitation had been extended by him on behalf of the Sri Lanka Government earlier that month.

Manmohan Singh

However, on Friday at a media briefing the Minister admitted it was unlikely to happen by February 4. With the 14th SAARC summit scheduled to be held in Colombo in the middle of this year, Dr. Singh is likely to attend it even if the bilateral visit cannot be worked out by that time.

The last bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Sri Lanka was by late Rajiv Gandhi in July 1987 to sign the Indo-Lanka accord. Meanwhile, India in a cautious response to Sri Lanka’s decision to scrap the ceasefire agreement said there was no military solution to the conflict.

A statement from India’s External Affairs Ministry said: “For India, any step that leads to a reduction in levels of violence and human suffering in Sri Lanka is welcome…. Unfortunately, what we have seen recently has been an increase in violence, tension and conflict in Sri Lanka.

“At the same time, we are acutely conscious that what is required in Sri Lanka is a settlement of political, constitutional and other issues within the framework of united Sri Lanka with which all communities in Sri Lanka are comfortable... It is only through such a settlement that a lasting peace can return to that troubled country. We strongly believe that there is no military solution to the issue.”