Pranab to Lanka: civilian casualties not acceptable

Waking up to the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka,External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday expressed deep concern...

Waking up to the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka,External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday expressed deep concern and stated that Tamil civilian casualties in the conflict is totally unacceptable to India and said that the Sri Lankan Government should ensure safety and security of the civilians. Mukherjee urged Sri Lanka to continue the two-day ceasefire called over the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year recently.

Mukherjees statement came at an impromptu press conference at his home in South Kolkata where he stopped briefly before leaving for his constituency in Jangipur,Murshidabad.

India is deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka. The continuing conflict has been taking a heavy toll on Tamil civilians caught in the crossfire (between the LTTE and Sri Lankan troops), said Mukherjee.

We had welcomed the announcement by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse of a cessation of hostilities on the Tamil and Sinhala New Year over the last two days. The Sri Lankan Government must extend this pause in hostilities to prevent further casualties and enable trapped civilians to leave the area to secure locations, Mukherjee read out from the official statement.

Ruling out mediation in the situation,Mukherjee said,we have 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. While it is incumbent on the LTTE to release all the civilians under their control,the Government of Sri Lanka cannot be oblivious to the evolving human tragedy and the fate of Tamil civilian population caught up in the so called no-fire zone.

The Minister also stated that India has been extending humanitarian help to Sri Lanka since the conflict broke out. We have extended humanitarian help in the form of food,medicines and other supplies to the civilians trapped in the conflict zone, Mukherjee said. He said that a 62-member emergency medical unit has treated more than 1,500 serious medical cases among the civilians in Pulmoddai in Sri Lanka.

Significantly,Mukherjees statement came a day after CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat lambasted the UPA Government for its inaction on the Sri Lankan situation.