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Tuesday, Jun 27, 2006

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India condemns bomb attack near Colombo

Diplomatic Correspondent

NEW DELHI: India on Monday "unreservedly" condemned the "terrorist bombing incident" outside Colombo in which Sri Lankan Major-General Parami Kulatunga and other defence personnel were "tragically killed."

"This incident is the latest in a series of recent terrorist attacks [in Sri Lanka] which are aimed at undermining the ceasefire and vitiating the environment for a political dialogue," the External Affairs Ministry spokesman told presspersons.

Extending "sincere condolences" to the Sri Lankan Government and members of the bereaved families, he said, "India is determined to stand by the people of Sri Lanka in our common struggle against terrorism, of which both our countries are victims."

Sincere dialogue

India reiterated its view that political processes need to be activated "through sincere dialogue" to arrive at a settlement, which took into account the aspirations of all sections of Sri Lankan society while upholding the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country.

"We welcome the efforts being made by the Government of Sri Lanka to evolve a political consensus in this regard and stand ready to share our own constitutional experience to contribute to this process," the spokesman added.

On whether the "terrorist" tag relating to the bombing applied to the LTTE, the spokesman said New Delhi had been quite clear in its statements. "You know the reality of Sri Lanka as well as I do," he told this correspondent in response to a question.

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