“Neighborhood worries me,” says Indian Prime Minister
Posted by- Neelam Mathews June 30, 2011 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with editors of five newspapers on June 29 answering queries on various subjects. This what he had to say about India’s neighbors, on Naxalism, US withdrawal from Afghanistan, China defense buildup, India’s defense budget…… On Sri Lanka…. You have a situation in Sri Lanka. The decimation of the LTTE was something which is good. But the Tamil problem does not disappear, with the defeat of the LTTE. The Tamil population has legitimate grievances. They feel they are reduced to second-class citizens. And our emphasis has been to persuade the Sri Lankan government that we must move towards a new system of institutional reforms, where the Tamil people will have a feeling that they are equal citizens of Sri Lanka, and they can lead a life of dignity and self-respect. It is not easy. Within Sri Lanka's population, there are hotheads, the Sinhala chauvinism is a reality. But we have to find a difficult balance...