NEW DELHI: Security considerations appear to have weighed against either President S.D.Sharma or Prime Minister P.V.Narasimha Rao representing the country at the funeral of the slain Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa.
Vice President K.R.Narayanan and Minister of State for External Affairs R.L.Bhatia will be representing the country at the funeral on May 6.
There is awareness in New Delhi that the security arrangements needed for either the Indian President or the Prime Minister in Colombo would stretch the security agencies there to the hilt, since many dignitaries including the Prime Ministers of Pakistan and Bangladesh, Begum Khaleda Zia and Baikh Sher Mazari, are expected to be present at the funeral.
Indian dignitaries are very high up on the hit list of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which is prime suspect for the assassination of President Premadasa.
The Indian State organs responsible for V VIP security, would not like to take any chances with the LTTE, known for its derring-do and for its ruthless planning of assassinations as seen in the killing of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi two years ago.
Agencies add: The island minority Tamils were nervously watching the situation for a possible backlash by the majority Sinhalese after the police blamed the LTTE for the suicide bombing of the President.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 7, 1993
