Not sure if Prabhakaran can be caught alive: US envoy
Virtually suggesting a difficult war ahead for Sri Lanka against the Tamil Tigers, a top US diplomat has said the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran has proved himself to be "adept and resilient" and that he was not sure whether the rebel leader ...
By PTI |
COLOMBO: Virtually suggesting a difficult war ahead for Sri Lanka against the Tamil Tigers, a top US diplomat has said the LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran has proved himself to be "adept and resilient" and that he was not sure whether the rebel leader could be captured alive.
"Prabhakaran has survived now since the late seventies. He has shown himself to be very adept and very resilient, and I think continues to be so," US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said in an interview to 'Benchmark Business and Current Affairs Television Programme'.
"We certainly do not have any great affection for Prabhakaran. But we think that the ultimate answer lies in a political solution (to the Tamil problem) and that is why we are encouraging the (Sri Lankan) government to pursue that path," he said.
On being asked about Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's comments that he wants his military forces to actually capture Prabhakaran alive so that he could be extradited to India to stand trial, Blake said "the LTTE leader is supposed to be responsible for former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
"He (Prabhakaran) is widely believed to have been responsible for the assassination of Rajeev Gandhi, so certainly I think that would be fine. I am sure that he would get a fair trial in India. We would have no concerns about that. The question is: are you going to be able to capture him alive or not? And I am not sure if that is possible or not."
On being asked whether the US supports a "sharp, strategic" war against the LTTE, Blake said "I don't think that such an outcome is possible. I don't know what that means exactly. We don't believe that a military solution really is possible".
"Prabhakaran has survived now since the late seventies. He has shown himself to be very adept and very resilient, and I think continues to be so," US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Robert Blake said in an interview to 'Benchmark Business and Current Affairs Television Programme'.
"We certainly do not have any great affection for Prabhakaran. But we think that the ultimate answer lies in a political solution (to the Tamil problem) and that is why we are encouraging the (Sri Lankan) government to pursue that path," he said.
On being asked about Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse's comments that he wants his military forces to actually capture Prabhakaran alive so that he could be extradited to India to stand trial, Blake said "the LTTE leader is supposed to be responsible for former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.
"He (Prabhakaran) is widely believed to have been responsible for the assassination of Rajeev Gandhi, so certainly I think that would be fine. I am sure that he would get a fair trial in India. We would have no concerns about that. The question is: are you going to be able to capture him alive or not? And I am not sure if that is possible or not."
On being asked whether the US supports a "sharp, strategic" war against the LTTE, Blake said "I don't think that such an outcome is possible. I don't know what that means exactly. We don't believe that a military solution really is possible".
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