By NNN-PTI,
Colombo : Acknowledging India’s support in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Sri Lanka has said it is not feeling any heat from New Delhi due to its military campaign against the LTTE.
“There has been no such pressure,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament yesterday when asked whether pressure was being exerted on Colombo by New Delhi on the operations against the Tiger rebels.
Leftist JVP member Vijitha Herath also sought to know whether Sri Lankan government was “prepared to succumb to Indian pressure and implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and enhance the powers of Provincial Councils.”
In his reply, Bogollagama said “we are awaiting the proposals of the All-Party Representatives Committee in this regard.” The Minister categorically said the government has not faced any kind of external pressure from any quarter regarding the operations by the security forces against terrorism and to disarm the LTTE, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.
Stating that New Delhi has made its position on defeating terrorism very clear, Bogollagama added that “if there is a country that has helped Sri Lanka to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, it is India”.
The minister said that during President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the Sri Lankan leader briefed Singh on the island country’s present course of action to defeat terrorism, disarm the LTTE and restore peace in the embattled north.
“An important matter which was discussed was the issue of civilians displaced due to the conflict,” he said, adding Sri Lanka had a long history of effectively and efficiently dealing with internally displaced persons (IDPs).