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Indian Media Criticize Delhi's 'Diplomatic Error' Over Commonwealth Summit
BBC NEWS, INDIA
November 11, 2013: Media in India see Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's boycott of the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka as a "diplomatic error". Reports say Mr Singh cancelled his visit and decided to send his foreign minister instead due to political pressure from regional Tamil parties in India.
The parties criticize the Sri Lankan government for its alleged war crimes against Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009 and want it to hold an independent inquiry.
A meeting of the Commonwealth group, which is an organization of 53 former British territories, is due to take place this week.
Sri Lanka says Mr Singh's decision is "not a defeat" for the summit.
The Deccan Herald feels Mr Singh has made a "serious diplomatic error" by canceling his participation. "It is very wrong to allow the country's foreign policy to be held hostage to the narrow political and electoral considerations of regional parties. A weak government is setting a bad precedent for future, and no one gains from it too," the paper adds.
The Times of India says the government has taken the decision due to "populist electoral considerations". "This utter capitulation to domestic political sentiment - months before the general elections - exemplifies an infirm government whose creeping paralysis has affected its foreign policy as well," it says.
For The Hindu, India's diplomatic blunder can lead to Sri Lanka looking for other allies in the region. The paper adds that "it is debatable if Sri Lanka will turn into a Chinese satellite in the Indian Ocean as is commonly feared, but clearly, the island will be looking for other allies in the region and beyond".
The Tamil Nadu-based paper also criticizes regional Tamil parties, saying it is easier for them "to flog the emotional overtones of the issue than respond to more pressing domestic concerns".
