PRESIDENT Mahinda Rajapaksa has said that killing former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was the biggest mistake of the Tamil Tigers which cost them the sympathy of India.
"To kill Rajiv Gandhi, they antagonised the whole sympathy of India. That was the biggest mistake I think they did in 30 years," Mr. Rajapaksa told NDTV.
He said that when the ethnic Tamil issue took root in Sri Lanka, India was sympathetic to their cause.
"Finally they killed an Indian leader who was loved by all," Mr. Rajapaksa said when asked about the biggest mistake committed by the LTTE.
The Sri Lankan President said that another mistake of the Tamil Tigers was to underestimate the powers of the state.
"They didn't gauge the powers of this soft country," he said.
Asked whether the Indian government put pressure on him during the final stages of the fight against the Tigers, Mr. Rajapaksa replied in the negative.
"No. I don’t think so," he said when asked whether there was pressure from India.
"Among friends there cannot be pressure or persuasion," Mr. Rajapaksa said when pressed further on the issue. (PTI)
President to visit New Delhi this week
Bangalore (PTI): President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to visit New Delhi this week during which India hopes to carry forward the dialogue on rehabilitation of Tamils displaced in the war between the Lankan army and LTTE, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said on Friday.
"We are expecting the Sri Lankan President to visit Delhi to carry the dialogue forward", he told reporters here.
"The crisis has just ended. The process of rehabilitation (of displaced Tamils) has just started. It is a gigantic task of rehabilitating thousands of displaced persons, overwhelming majority of which are Tamil-speaking people," Mr. Krishna said.
Foreign Secretary Shivshanker Menon and National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan had met Rajapaksa recently during which "certain assurances had been given to them", Mr. Krishna said.
India is also looking forward to the visit of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton this month, Mr. Krishna said.
"A number of issues will be taken on bilateral basis with the US Secretary of State", he said. (Courtesy : Daily Mirror)
