Krishna Extracts Promises And TNA Woos The South

Sunday, January 22, 2012

It was a week that had the Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna making headlines in Sri Lanka. He broke tradition, in many ways. His insistence on meeting with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Tamilian political party in parliamentary opposition, before he met with the Government, had Minister Prof. Peiris and the big wigs at the Colombo Foreign Ministry wondering what they could pull off, in proving they are not incompetent in handling their responsibilities.

Mahinda Rajapaksa, S.M. Krishna and G. L. Peiris

The media was hurriedly called upon to stress that Minister Peiris was at the BIA tarmac personally, to receive the visiting Indian Minister, when the plane carrying the Indian delegation landed.
Why Minister Peiris was personally at the BIA, it is said, was to prevail and invite Minister Krishna to first visit the “Thaipongal” ceremony arranged at Temple Trees, before meeting with the TNA. That was to be a hurried photo event. Photos of Minister Krishna in Temple Trees, with President Rajapaksa was thus released to the media immediately and most news reports did not mention of any meeting with the TNA, the same evening.

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