15 Oct 2008, 2212 hrs IST,PTI
COLOMBO: Assuring that the current developments in northern Sri Lanka, including the escalation in the fighting against LTTE, was a "temporary phase", Sri Lankan government said on Wednesday night that it should not be construed as an offensive against ethnic Tamil civilians.
The remarks came hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the situation in the island nation is a cause for concern and asked Colombo to find a negotiated settlement that respects the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka and also respects the human rights of minorities, particularly Tamils.
"This is only a temporary phase and will end after security forces attain victory over the LTTE. The government is not against the Tamil civilians but only against the terrorists," a senior Foreign Ministry official said.
He said the government in Sri Lanka has already made it clear that it will endeavour to address the justifiable concerns of India.
The Sri Lankan President has said that the island nation wants a political solution to the problem and that he was confident this would be best addressed after defeating the terrorists militarily, the official said.
He also said there were not many casualties amongst the civilians who were caught in the fighting between the LTTE and security forces in northern Sri Lanka.
"Even the LTTE is not talking of any civilian casualties. There is hardly any civilian casualty (in the restive areas of northern Sri Lanka)," the official said adding, food supplies have been enhanced for the internally displaced persons with several truckloads of items being dispatched to the north, including Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
Source
Comments