New Delhi (PTI): As Tamil MPs mounted pressure on the Centre over the incidents in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday that the situation in the country was a cause for "serious concern" and asked Colombo to seek a negotiated settlement rather than look for a "military victory".
Underlining that the human rights of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka must be respected, Dr Singh said India had conveyed its views to the island government – one occasion being when National Security Adviser M K Narayanan called Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner last week.
"The situation in Sri Lanka remains a cause of serious concern for India. We are concerned over the escalating hostilities, loss of civilian lives and the increasing number of displaced persons," Dr. Singh said, in reply to a question at a press conference after the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit here.
"We always believed that the situation in Sri Lanka did not call for military victory. It calls for a negotiated political settlement which respects the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka and, at the same time, respects the essential human rights of minorities, particularly the Tamil minority," he said.
The Prime Minister said India was also "concerned over harassment and killing of Indian fishermen" while fishing in maritime areas between India and Sri Lanka.
"We have made representations to the Sri Lankan government," he said, and referred to the summoning of Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner by Narayanan last week -- to "let him know of India's intentions".
The Prime Minister's comments came against the backdrop of an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu yesterday, calling on the Centre to take action to stop the military offensive in Sri Lanka -- failing which all MPs from the state would resign from parliament within a fortnight.
Meanwhile, the Congress said on Wednesday that it had conveyed the concerns of the Tamil Nadu parties to the Sri Lankan government, but indicated that the Indian government had limitations on the issue of Sri Lankan army offensive in the Tamil-inhabited areas of the island.
"Those who make demands about other sovereign countries should know that India's sovereignty ends at the boundaries of India," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said. Singhvi said the Indian government could not interfere with the sovereignty of other countries.
His comments came as a reaction to an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu asking the Central government to ask Sri Lanka to end its offensive in Tamil areas within a fortnight -- failing which MPs from the state would resign from Parliament.
Singhvi said issues of, and conduct of, foreign relations should be left to the Centre. "That (the foreign relations issue) is the exclusive domain of the Centre," he told Times Now channel.
He said, "while condemning any violent act in another country, I do not think anything should be done or asked from the central government."
Another spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters that the concerns of the parties in Tamil Nadu had been conveyed to Sri Lanka through its Deputy High Commissioner.
"The parties should also understand that you are not dealing with a part of India but a sovereign nation," he said.
Asked about the threat by the DMK, Tewari said it should not be seen as a threat but a concern. "Their principal concern is civilian casualties," he added.
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