India calls Lanka for immediate cessation of all hostilities

As the Sri Lankan government is in its last ditch effort to wipe out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and catch its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran, India has sent a strong message to its neighbour in fear of the growing humanitarian crisis in the island by sending special emissaries to Colombo.

India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National Security Adviser M.

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K. Narayanan have been rushed to press the Lankan government to protect civilians trapped in the conflict between military and LTTE. An estimated one lakh people are still inside the war zone.

As per various reports, thousands of civilians are completely under the control of militant cadres who have been using those civilians as a shield to avoid any harsh military assault.

After an emergency meeting attended by Defence Minister A K Antony and Home Minister P Chidambaram, the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed his deep concern on the present situation in northern Sri Lanka.

"The Government of India has been monitoring with deep concern and anxiety the evolving situation in Sri Lanka, in particular the condition of Tamil civilians in conflict zones," Mukherjee voiced his unhappiness.

"We are very unhappy at the continued killings in Sri Lanka. All killings must stop. There must be an immediate cessation of all hostilities," he said.

However, the latest stand of the Government of India is undoubtedly due to the ongoing general elections and uproar by its ruling ally DMK in Tamil Nadu in favour of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka. Any adverse reaction in the southern states to every possibility could affect the voting prospect of Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Earlier, India’s statement was only limited to the concerns of civilians in conflict zone with no mention of ceasefire, but now India has openly insisted on a temporary halt of military activities till all civilians come out from LTTE control.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has announced to send a humanitarian team to the shrinking conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka. The world body has also strongly condemned the LTTE’s use of civilians as human shields and its actions that block people from leaving the conflict area, urging the rebel to lay down arms and renounce its terror tactics.