Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, who arrives in Colombo today, is one of the very few Indian VIPs to visit Sri Lanka in recent times although the visits made by Sri Lankan VIPs to New Delhi are hard to keep count of. We have lost count of the number of visits made by ministers like Mr. Milinda Moragoda and even Prime Minister Mr. Wickremasinghe, who is scheduled to visit New Delhi next Sunday.

The present state of Indo- Lanka relations is characterised by Sri Lanka’s overt display of its desire for closer relations with India and the Indian response which has not been as much as the Sri Lankan government would have desired in regard to Indian involvement with the so called ‘Peace Process’.

Moves to patch up relations with India, after the acrimonious relations in the 1980s, commenced even during President Premadasa’s time and was renewed with much vigour under President Kumaratunga and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe has increased the tempo of wooing. While trade and investments have recorded a marked upswing — investment in the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm, Indian Oil and trade – Indian involvement in the vital areas of the ‘Peace Process’ and defence affairs is not discernible. There is speculation that India is providing covert support in intelligence and defence related matters.

Minister Sinha’s visit however is for the Indo-Lanka Joint Commission which he will co-chair with Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando. These talks will centre on trade, investments, tourism etc. and not on defence related matters. Sri Lanka, is expected to move that the Free Trade Agreement be stepped up for a full Economic Cooperation Agreement. During the past two years there has been increased activity in trade and commerce with Sri Lankan companies breaking new ground in exports to India such as in confectionery. Yet, the trade deficit still remains huge in favour of India and is likely to be so in the foreseeable future.

Prime Minister Wickremasinghe is expected to deal with matters concerning the peace process and defence matters, when he visits New Delhi next week. With the United States as well as Japan playing a very significant role in the ‘Peace Process’ in Sri Lanka, which a decade ago, India considered its backyard, India's long term perspective has still not been spelt out. Whether the changed geopolitics in the post Cold War era has had an impact on the Indian sub-continent is yet to be pronounced.

Whatever India's response will be, it is quite evident that Sri Lanka has been bending over backwards to appease India. The Sri Lankan parliament deciding to grant citizenship to 300,000 people of Indian origin, without any dissent, indicated the change that has taken place since the early post Independence days when the India -Pakistan Citizenship Act deprived the citizenship of thousands of people of Indian origin and the subsequent diplomatic wrangling between the two countries over this issue was considered the most important political issue for this country.

Friendship with Canada
Sri Lanka has maintained a long and cordial relationship with far away Canada during the half century of our Independence. As a fellow Commonwealth country Canada has been providing generous economic assistance through organisations such as the Colombo Plan and direct economic assistance as well.

Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham's visit to Sri Lanka is of much significance because Canada-Sri Lanka relations have developed a new dimension since the eighties with a significant number of Sri Lankans, most of them Tamils, migrating to Canada after the communal riots of 1983. Canada accepted the largest number of Tamils, which is now, estimated to be over 200,000.

The liberal Canadian migrations policies helped in these Sri Lankans gaining entry and such migrants are welcome in Canada and even in many European countries, where there is a shortage of labour particularly in areas where the more affluent citizens avoid taking to.

The expatriate Sri Lankan Tamils are a matter of concern to Sri Lanka because they became a major source of funding for terrorism in this country. Even a part of the dole granted to unemployed Sri Lankans in Canada, it is known, finds it way into the LTTE war chest. The Canadian Intelligence Services became well aware of the threats posed to Canada's security by LTTE fronts as indicated by an article published on this page, from a well know Canadian newspaper, the National Post. The LTTE's involvement in narcotics smuggling, attempted jail breaks and the introduction of gun culture to the streets of Canadian cities have been well documented. The National Post has been regularly exposing the security threats posed by pro LTTE organisations to Canadian security, some of which this newspaper has reproduced.

While most of the Sri Lankan Tamils resident in Canada are peace loving citizens, there is no doubt that LTTE terrorism has established a foot hold in Canada.

In this Global War on Terrorism, which Sri Lanka and Canada too are committed to fight in, we hope Canadian politicians will not succumb to playing ball with Sri Lankan terrorism for a few thousand votes.