The Hindu : Front Page : Sri Lankan Tamil MPs meet Narayanan, Menon

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Friday, Apr 17, 2009
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Sri Lankan Tamil MPs meet Narayanan, Menon

J. Balaji

NEW DELHI: A four-member Sri Lankan Tamil MPs team, led by R. Sambandan and belonging to the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), called on National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon here, seeking India’s intervention in the ongoing civil war in the island nation.

They wanted New Delhi to urge the Sri Lankan government to announce a ceasefire and help innocent civilians to leave the conflict zone.

The delegation was assured by India that “some action will be taken immediately,” according to Mr. Sambandan. The MPs, who had come here on India’s invitation, are also likely to call on External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

They met Mr. Narayanan on Wednesday and Mr. Menon on Thursday.

The other MPs in the delegation were: Suresh Premachandran and Mavai Senathiraja (both from Jaffna) and Selvam Adaikalanathan (Vanni). Mr. Sambandan was elected from Trincomallee in the Eastern province of that country.

Mr. Sambandan said they had asked India to ensure safety of an estimated 2.5 lakh civilians caught in the conflict zone.

They wanted Delhi to tell Sri Lanka to restore the “right to life” of ethnic Tamils. Both the officials understood the delegation’s point of view, he said.

“Atrocities”

Mr. Premachandran told The Hindu that they highlighted the “atrocities and killings of innocent Tamil civilians in the No Fire Zone” of Vanni area by the Army.

They apprised the officials of the “real situation” in the war-torn areas where every day 100-200 civilians were getting killed and double the number sustained injuries. There was an embargo on transportation of food and medicine, visit of media personnel and international agencies, he alleged.

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