By Easwaran Rutnam The Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) was accused of committing abuses when it fought Sri Lanka’s war, but a top Indian ruling party Parliamentarian said that India did not need to apologise as there was no evidence to back the allegation. Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Indian Rajya Sabha Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Subramanian Swamy said that war was terrible in any situation and saints don’t become soldiers. The Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) performed peacekeeping operations in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990, after being formed under the Indo-Sri Lankan accord in 1987. The mandate given to the IPKF was to maintain the peace in the North and East of Sri Lanka. However, the IPKF was accused later of committing abuses while in Sri Lanka. “But the fault and onus lies on the now defunct LTTE, which after signing the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement and enjoying Indian hospitality, attacked Indian soldiers. None of the allegations made by the LTTE were ever independently verified,” Subramanian Swamy said. The IPKF began withdrawing from Sri Lanka in 1989 on a request made by then President Ranasinghe Premadasa. The last IPKF contingent left Sri Lanka in March, 1990. “Now the matter cannot be reopened,” Subramanian Swamy said. President Maithripala Sirisena, last year, noted that the IPKF failed in its mission to defeat the LTTE. He said Sri Lanka had to turn to India when several attempts at defeating the LTTE had failed. However, he said even the IPKF failed, and eventually the local military defeated the LTTE in May, 2009. With the end of the war, India and Sri Lanka have maintained good relations under successive governments. However, some feel India can play a wider role in Sri Lanka, other than just investments. Swamy, however, says India’s role cannot be wider than what Sri Lanka wants. Outdated narrative The BJP Government has been seen as having a good relationship with both the United National Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. But unofficially what is being said is that India prefers to work with anyone other than Rajapaksa. Swamy does not agree. “That is an outdated story. I believe that since Modi was Gujarat Chief Minister till today, he had a good opinion of (former) Prime Minister Rajapaksa as a person who means what he says and says what he means. He also dismissed claims that India’s intelligence agency RAW might be behind the alleged plot to kill President Maithripala Sirisena. “Sounds absurd, knowing our agency’s culture as a long-standing parliamentarian and holding senior cabinet posts,” Swamy said when asked about the RAW link to the assassination plot. Swamy served as a member of the Planning Commission of India and was a Cabinet Minister in the Chandra Shekhar Government. In November, 1978, Swamy was member of the Group of Eminent Persons and was called to Geneva, Switzerland to prepare a report for the United Nations (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD]) on Economic Co-operation between Developing Countries (ECDC). Swamy also simplified trade procedures and formulated a new export strategy which became the forerunner of trade reform adopted subsequently. In 1994, Swamy was appointed the Chairman of the Commission on Labour Standards and International Trade by former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. Unity amongst neighbours Swamy said he felt Sri Lanka’s relationship with India had not received its due place over the years, despite India being Sri Lanka's closest neighbour. “Basically, this is because of the Tamils on both sides of the sea refusing to acknowledge that Tamils and Sinhalese are one people as per DNA tests. Even in Tamil Nadu, people have suffered neglect because of the idiotic Dravidian Race theory foisted on us by British imperialists,” he said. Swamy also said that Tamil Nadu politics had damaged Sri Lanka's relationship with India as well as India as a country. On China’s role in Sri Lanka, the Indian politician felt that any concerns India had on China’s role in Sri Lanka had now been cleared. “China is our neighbour, and its people are culturally congruent with the Hindu/Buddhist values. Hence close links are natural. (Former) Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, during a speech in Delhi on 12 September cleared all misgivings. Rajapaksa said Indians are our relatives and Chinese are our friends,” he said. India has in the past raised concerns over China’s role in Sri Lanka and echoed fears China may use Sri Lanka as a military base. In September, Rajapaksa had talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and during the meeting he cleared concerns linked to China in Sri Lanka. .............................................................. Victims of alleged massacre by IPKF forces remembered According to reports that appeared on the Tamil Guardian last week, a vigil was held to remember the Indian Peacekeeping Force’s (IPKF) alleged massacre of 14 Tamils in Batticaloa district 31 years ago. The report stated that after being targeted by a landmine on 5 November, 1987, IPKF soldiers allegedly fired at Tamil civilians in Kaluvanchikudi, killing 14 persons including Sakravarthy, son of former ITAK Leader and MP S.M. Rasamanickam. The IPKF was accused of perpetrating widespread atrocities, including massacres, disappearances, and sexual violence, while occupying the North and East during their peacekeeping campaign between 1987 and 1990.