INDIA DISTANCES ITSELF FROM HINDRAF ISSUE

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (Bernama) -- India, which has been courted by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to shore up support for its cause against alleged discrimination in Malaysia, has somewhat distanced itself from the issue after the Malaysian group was said to have links with terrorist organisations.

Yesterday, India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, when asked by reporters on an announcement by the Malaysian police that Hindraf was suspected to having links with foreign terrorist organisations, said every government had its own way to fight terrorism.

"Terrorists have no nationality. In respect of any terrorist connection, all countries are entitled to take any appropriate action according to their laws and international conventions," he said.

The senior minister's remarks came after the Malaysian government said Hindraf was suspected to have links with the Sri Lanka-based Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a group that has been fighting for a separate homeland since 1983.

The Times of India, a leading newspaper here, suggested that the Indian government had decided to stay clear of the matter by headlining its story, "INDIA WASHES ITS HANDS OFF MALAYSIAN PROTEST".

India has been taking a cautious stand on the Hindraf issue, especially after Indian lawmakers and opposition political parties like the Hindu hard-line Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forced the Indian government to intervene following a Hindraf-led demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25.

Well-placed sources said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, whose powerful ally is Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, was not so keen to pursue the matter further as it would jeopardise the healthy bilateral relations between both Malaysia and India.

Earlier this week, Hindraf leader P. Wytha Moorthy arrived in New Delhi in the hope of meeting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Mukherjee to canvass support for his organisation's cause but to no avail.

"There were too many formalities to meet the people in the government like the prime minister and other ministers," Waytha said before leaving the Indian capital.