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Saturday, October 18, 2008 (19:04:16) |
| Tags : Manmohan Singh, Mahinda Rajapaksa, LTTE, Tamil |
PM asks Rajapaksa to ensure safety of civilians |
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New Delhi: Amid rising concern in India over the military conflict in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday spoke to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and asked him to ensure the safety of civilians 'at all costs', even as he stressed the need for starting a political process for settling the festering ethnic feud in the island nation. ?During his telephone conversation, the prime minister expressed his deep concern on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, especially on the plight of the civilians caught in the hostilities,? a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.
Manmohan Singh emphasised that the safety and the security of these civilians must be safeguarded at all costs and asked Colombo to ensure uninterrupted relief supplies for the internally displaced persons to address the humanitarian consequences of the military action. Rajapaksa, in return, assured the prime minister that all necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, according to the statement.
With 14 MPs of DMK, a key ally of his government and the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, handing over post-dated resignations over the situation in Sri Lanka, Manmohan Singh stressed that ?the rights and the welfare of the Tamil community of Sri Lanka should not get enmeshed in the ongoing hostilities against the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam).?
The prime minister underscored yet again that there no military solution to the conflict and advised the Sri Lankan leader to nurture the democratic process in the Eastern Province. He urged the president to start a political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, the statement said after talks between the two leaders.
This was the second message from the prime minister and the fourth from New Delhi to Colombo in the last four days over the situation in Sri Lanka that has stirred a political storm in India with MPs from Tamil Nadu threatening to resign if the violence against civilians was not stopped in Lanka. (IANS) |
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