Great Solidarity Between Sri Lanka And India Indicated As An Aftermath Of Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

The recently concluded talks between the Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka and India have revealed great solidarity between the two Nations faced with their own internal problems where issues such as the effects of and the response to by the Indian Government relative to Sri Lanka's New Administration, confidences of its stability and endurance in the long term and the scourge of terrorism which still prevails in both countries with the emphasis on how it needs to be addressed in the best interests of regional safety have been the highlights as the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister The Hon.Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar has indicated on his return from India and his meeting with his opposite number the Indian Foreign Minister the Hon.Mr.Yaswant Sinha and other Indian dignitaries.

While India has expressed confidences that Sri Lanka's newly formed UPFA Government will go from strength to strength there are also positive indications from within the UPFA that its inner strength will be fortified through the acquisition of a working majority which it is presently striving for and the differences between the JVP faction within the UPFA patched up where the Government will prevail to withstand all the onslaughts of the Opposition UNF which are already voicing speculations through their leader Ranil Wickremasinghe that the Government will not last six months which seems all but wishful thinking by a somewhat dejected former Prime Minister who does not seem to grasp the concept of National Unity where he continues to prioritise his hunger for power which is painfully apparent in all his moves.

Emphasizing the merits of a coalition Government which rationally points to the coming together of diverse political idealogies for the common cause and the well being of the Nation there has been a confident consensus by both Foreign Ministers that coalition governments indeed are the order of the day as India too probably heads towards a minority Government in the General Election being concluded at present. The immediate needs towards restoring regional security, the continuation of the Peace Talks with the LTTE with Indian Involvement and the manner in which the LTTE participation towards further negotiations need proper direction towards peace have been the highlights of the discussions and a preamble towards the absolute fortification of Sri Lanka's Sovereignity and Territorial Integrity which augurs well for the present Sri Lankan Administration and should also dispel any impure designs by the LTTE towards their own conceptions of peace entailing their Interim Self Governing Authority which has been categorically rejected by the President and her UPFA Administration although not part of the agenda of Mr Kadirgamar's talks with India.

On behalf of the UPFA, the involvement of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna as the core representation of the coalition has been intrinsically explained to the Indian Government by Sri Lanka's honored Foreign Minister as a new age in the development of Sri Lankan politics which has consolidated the coming together of a coalition which unlike the previous Administration has a great integrity towards the sovereignity and territorial integrity of the Nation with a no nonsense approach towards domestic as well as foreign issues and should bolster a much needed response from India which was once lukewarm after the disaster of the Indian Peace Keeping Forces foray into Sri Lanka and seemed hesitant and tentative on many occassions when Sri Lanka turned to India for assistance subsequently.The recent talks in essence seemed to have allayed many hesitancies by India according to the analysts who have concluded that Mr Kadirgamar's visit has been a shot in the arm for Indo Sri Lankan cooperation which should set in place the vital importance of regional stability and Sri Lanka's Sovereignity together with her Territorial Integrity.

The Indian Authorities however have always maintained their support of the devolution of power and a federal concept of governance for the minority Tamils in Sri Lanka which the JVP are idealogically opposed to although they have indicated a willingness towards objective dialogue entailing the importance of a pluralistic society in Sri Lanka which the Foreign Minister's discussions have paved the way towards being viewed by India as positive and that the presence of the JVP despite it being a Left oriented organization is a contending force within the present administration.

It would be fair to conclude therefore that Superpower India ,Sri Lanka's friendly neighbour to the North has indicated solidarity towards Sri Lanka's needs in having expressed formally in an official communiqué that it stood for the unity, integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and that it hoped that a just solution, acceptable to all sections of Sri Lankan society, guaranteeing democracy, pluralism and human rights, would be found through an internal political process.

As an aftermath of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministers talks it has to be concluded that India has great expectations of the United Peoples' Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government in Sri Lanka to maintain its impetus towards the mandate given to it by the people of Sri Lanka and has indicated great confidence in the President of Sri Lanka and her coalition to which it would undoubtedly lend the fullest support towards restoring a democratic order and regional stability which would conversely also be in the best interests of India