Killing of Tamil civilians should end: India ....

Killing of Tamil civilians should end: India


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-

The Hindu