By IANS,
Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Monday underlined India’s need to bring the two warring sides in Sri Lanka to the negotiation table.
And an eventual negotiated settlement of the dragging conflict should be within the ambit of a united Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi said, quoting India’s External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“The opinions of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and (Pranab Mukherjee) are congruent with the decision taken at the all-party meeting (in Chennai) Oct 14 underscoring the need for a negotiated political solution to the Sri Lankan Tamils’ problem,” he said.
The chief minister added that this would be possible only after the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) discontinue their armed conflict.
“Pursuant to the steps initiated by the (central government) since then… (and) after Saturday’s offer of a ceasefire by (LTTE political head) Nadesan, India has an urgent need to get the Sri Lankan regime (realise) the inevitable responsibility to translate these into action (through the declaration of a ceasefire),” the statement said.
Recalling PMK leader S. Ramadoss’ request Sunday to New Delhi to ensure an immediate end to the military offensive against the LTTE, Karunanidhi quoted verbatim Mukherjee’s Oct 22 statement tabled in parliament.
“Let me reiterate that there is no military solution to the ethnic conflict. What is required in Sri Lanka is a peacefully negotiated settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka respecting the legitimate rights of the minorities including the Tamil community,” Mukherjee was quoted as saying in the official communique.