India asks Sri Lanka to mitigate Tamil plight
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 17, IRNA -- Deeply concerned over the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka, India on Friday appealed to the Rajapaksa Government to respond to the Tamil civilian problem in the war zone but ruled out any mediation on the issue.
"India is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. Continuing conflicts have been taking a heavy toll among Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire (between Sri Lankan troops and LTTE)," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee (photo) said in a statement issued at a hurriedly-called press conference in Kolkata, Indian official media reported.
Ruling out mediation in the situation, Mukherjee said, "No question of mediation. We were not offered to mediate. Our policy is quite clear. The current concern is to ensure security and safety of civilians trapped in the 'no-fire' zone."
Stating that India has been repeatedly expressing its concern and shock to Colombo and asking for safe passage to the civilians, he made it clear that the military action hurting the Tamil civilians was unacceptable.
"Continuation of the precipitated military action has been leading to further civilian casualties, which is totally unacceptable," he said.
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