The Hindu : Front Page : Killing of Tamil civilians should end: India

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Apr 23, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Killing of Tamil civilians should end: India

“Colombo should protect its citizens; LTTE must stop its barbaric attempt to hold civilians hostage”

Manmohan reviews situation in island nation
No military solution to this ongoing humanitarian crisis: Pranab

New Delhi: India on Wednesday night voiced its unhappiness over the continued killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka and asked the LTTE to stop its “barbaric” attempt to hold civilians hostage, even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reviewed the situation in the island nation.

A special meeting, attended also by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon was convened amid mounting pressure from Tamil Nadu parties on the Centre to stop the war in Sri Lanka.

“We are very unhappy at the continued killing of innocent Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. These killings must stop,” Mr. Mukherjee told journalists after the hour-long meeting called to discuss the situation in the light of Sri Lankan Army’s final push against the LTTE and the options available to India.

Mr. Mukherjee said the Sri Lankan government had a responsibility to protect its own citizens. At the same time, he said, “the LTTE must stop its barbaric attempt to hold civilians hostage.”

The Minister underlined that there was “no military solution to this ongoing humanitarian crisis and all concerned should recognise this fact.”

Mr. Mukherjee said: “The only lasting solution will come from political efforts to address the real concerns of the Tamil people, giving them a life of dignity within the Sri Lankan mainstream.”

India, he said, would work to achieve this goal and do all it could to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis caused by the conflict. — PTI

Relief material sent

Sandeep Dikshit reports:

Earlier, Mr. Mukherjee cut short his campaigning to attend the meeting, which took place ahead of a 12-hour strike called for Thursday in Tamil Nadu to protest against the plight of Tamils in the conflict zone. The government dispatched 40,000 ‘family packs’ to Sri Lanka, bringing the total of such packets — which would help a nuclear family keep going for a week — to one lakh.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party called upon Colombo to declare a ceasefire so that civilians could be evacuated from the conflict zone.

Congress leaders said United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi had curtailed some of her programmes to hold consultations on the Sri Lankan situation in view of the political ramifications in Tamil Nadu, which is going to the polls on May 13. Ms. Gandhi has spoken to Dr. Singh on the issue over the past two days, say informed sources.

Indian diplomats were in touch with their counterparts from several countries to discuss ways of ensuring that the civilians trapped in the no-fire zone (NFZ) did not fall victim to an impending military assault on militants of the LTTE, who are believed to have taken refuge, among the displaced people, in the NFZ.

The sources pointed out that the United Nations made an appeal to the Sri Lankan government but it was rejected. The U.S., France and Britain, among other countries, have expressed their desire to mount humanitarian operations. Mr. Menon has also been in regular contact with his Sri Lankan counterpart and is understood to have referred to the U.N. appeal for a massive humanitarian operation.

Earlier in the day, outlining India’s position, Mr. Mukherjee said countries including the U.N., which wanted to help in the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone, should be allowed to do so. The Minister spoke to the Sri Lankan government to ensure that relief materials sent by India were distributed through the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In an interview, the Prime Minister has said the government considers the LTTE a terrorist organisation, and its chief V. Prabakaran a “proclaimed offender.”

The sources pointed out that the Congress had, for the first time, used the term “ceasefire” while reiterating that a lasting solution to the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka would be possible only through democratic and political means and not through military campaigns.

The BJP accused the UPA government of having let down the Sri Lankan Tamils as it “failed” to prevail upon Colombo to announce a ceasefire.

While calling for a ceasefire, the BJP wanted both sides to find an enduring solution peacefully.

Corrections and Clarifications

The thirteenth paragraph of a report "Killing of Tamil civilians should end: India" (April 23, 2009) was "Earlier in the day, outlining India's position, Mr. [Pranab] Mukherjee said countries including the U.N., which wanted to help in the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone, should be allowed to do so." It is not "countries including the U.S.", as a reader said, but "countries as also the U.N."

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page