THE SRI LANKAN government said yesterday it appreciated the sentiments expressed by Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon who said in New Delhi that President Mahinda Rajapaksa was right in a way when he said he fought India's war since the LTTE had killed Rajiv Gandhi.
Mr. Menon had said it was a welcome statement from the Sri Lankan President because the security of Sri Lanka was interlinked with that of India and pointed out that Indian security would not remain safe if Sri Lanka's security was threatened as the spillover effects of terrorism would certainly affect India.
While welcoming Mr. Menon's sentiments, highly placed government sources said President Rajapaksa as Chairman of SAARC stressed at the 15th summit in Colombo last year the need to strengthen regional security while calling for regional co-operation to combat terrorism within SAARC nations in the region.
The government said that though it eradicated terrorism from the country, there appeared to be terror attacks in SAARC-member countries. A senior government minister stressed the need for SAARC Foreign Ministers to focus on activating the provisions of the Convention to Suppress Terrorism drafted and adopted in November 1987 in Kathmandu, Nepal.
(Courtesy : Daily Mirror)
