DATE=5/20/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=INDIA - SRI LANKA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-262600
BYLINE=ANJANA PASRICHA
DATELINE=NEW DELHI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: India says it is watching the situation
closely in Sri Lanka where Tamil Tiger rebels are
fighting to regain control of their former stronghold
in the north of the island nation. From New Delhi,
Anjana Pasricha reports the
Tamil rebels are claiming to have disrupted crucial
supply routes for Sri Lankan troops in the north.
Text: Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpyee said
Saturday the war situation in Sri Lanka is changing
rapidly - and "if we have to take any
step, we are ready for it." The Prime Minister did not
elaborate on what steps New Delhi might take.
India has refused to extend military assistance to Sri
Lanka. But it says it will give humanitarian help if
sought by the embattled island nation.
Defense Minister George Fernandes also said India
could provide humanitarian and other aid including
evacuation of those who may be trapped in the northern
Jaffna peninsula due to the fighting. But he
reiterated that New Delhi will not intervene
militarily.
The comments by the Indian leaders came as Tamil Tiger
rebels said artillery shelling had crippled a vital
air base (Palaly) and sea port (Kankesanthurai) in
Jaffna, through which the Government maintains
supplies for about 30-thousand troops. The Sri Lankan
government has denied the rebel claims.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan defense chief Rohan de Silva
Daluvatte has returned to Colombo after a visit to the
southern Indian city of Bangalore.
There has been no official comment on the visit, but
there is speculation that Mr. Daluvatte's trip was
connected to seeking logistical help from India for
troops in Jaffna. Indian newspaper reports say the
airfields in southern India could be used to transport
humanitarian or any other
assistance to the wartorn Jaffna region.
//Begin Opt//
And as the fighting in Sri Lanka escalates, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has called on
India to keep its borders open to
refugees from the Sri Lankan conflict.
The UN agency says about 400 Sri Lankans have arrived
in India since the fighting flared last month.
The Indian Navy and the Coast guard have stepped up
surveillance along the southern coast which is
separated from the Jaffna peninsula by a narrow
strip of water.
//End Opt//
The Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu is already
home to 100,000 Tamil refugees who have arrived since
Tamil Tigers began the armed struggle for a separate
homeland in the north and east of Sri Lanka 17 years
ago. (signed)
NEB/AP/PLM
20-May-2000 08:17 AM EDT (20-May-2000 1217 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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