India ready to facilitate Tamil's evacuation: Mukherjee

Taking into account the plight and sufferings of tens of thousands of Tamil civilians trapped in the conflict between the LTTE and Sri Lankan armed forces, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the government is ready to facilitate their evacuation.

Mukherjee said that international Red Cross could be entrusted with the responsibility of security, screening and rehabilitation of these displaced persons.

•   E-mail Article
•   Printer Friendly
•   Text-Size    

He said that India is also ready to work with Sri Lankan government for rehabilitation and the reconstruction work in the area and, in fact, has already started by implementing development projects in its eastern province.

The External Affairs Minister reiterated India’s support to a negotiated political settlement for resolution of the ethnic issue, however, added the resolution has to be acceptable to all communities, including Tamils, within the framework of undivided Sri Lanka.

He further said that the full implementation of the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan constitution, which calls for a devolution of powers to the north and eastern provinces of the island, would be a vital step to meet a solution to the issue.

Mukherjee, however, said in the House that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has caused “much damage” to the Tamil community and it should lay down arms.

“The LTTE remains a proscribed organisation in India and has done much damage to the Tamil community, he said.

Discontented over Mukherjee’s remarks, MDMK and PMK legislators, who were demanding permanent ceasefire in the conflict area, wore black shirts and shouted slogans such as “Stop the war in Sri Lanka” and “We are not satisfied with the statement”. The uproar had led to adjournment of the Lok Sabha twice in the pre-lunch session today.