The request was made following Mr. Nedumaran’s announcement that he was determined to enter Jaffna unlawfully by crossing the Palk Strait on September 12 with boatloads of food, medicine and other essentials for the civilians in the Jaffna and Vavuniya districts. “Sri Lanka officially informed India not let Mr. Nedumaran enter the island by force, as it will definitely create a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries,” a top diplomat told the Daily Mirror yesterday.

A high-powered delegation led by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Presidential advisor Basil Rajapaksa and President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga flew to India last Sunday to discuss the matter with Indian officials following instruction from President Mahinda Rajapaksa and senior defence officials regarding the threat by the Indian politician.

The delegation on Tuesday reportedly held talks with Indian National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan and put forward Sri Lanka’s request. Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Aloka Prasad, who had already left for India, also took part in the discussion, sources said.

However, soon after the departure of the delegation, a statement issued by the Defence Ministry said that “the delegation will discuss with their counterparts topics pertaining to current national security, the economy and the political situation in Sri Lanka.” It is also learnt that after the threat, the Sri Lanka Navy strengthened its patrol of the Palk Strait in order to stop the unlawful movement of the Indian politician.

Mr. Nedumaran, a proxy politician of the LTTE, recently accused Dr. Manmohan Singh’s government of not helping the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

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