Krishna talks resettlement with Lankan foreign minister

I / New York September 23, 2009, 11:15 IST

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna met his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama here and discussed the issue of resettlement of over 280,000 internally displaced persons in the island nation.     

The two leaders met on the sidelines of a Climate Change Summit convened at the United Nations.     

"The discussion covered the settlement of displaced persons primarily," Krishna told PTI.

"They have told us that the process of de-mining is going on. Simultaneously the resettlement also is being done."

Krishna, however, noted that he had not discussed devolution of power at this meeting. "They are now preoccupied with settlement issue."

Colombo has come under strong international criticism for alleged human rights violations during war against the Lankan Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE).   

Since May, more than 280,000 continue to live in camps after the Sri Lankan army defeated the Tamil rebels in the north-eastern part of the country.     

The Lankan government has cited security concerns in North, and says people will be resettled after landmines have been cleared from the combat zones.

UN political chief, B Lynn Pascoe, had also recently said, "We are very concerned about the pace of progress in Sri Lanka."     

New Delhi has also criticised Sri Lanka for not doing enough to resettle the refugees despite the substantive financial assistance India has given as aid towards rehabilitation.     

India has also called for greater devolution of political power to regional governments, which is also what the Lankan Tamils want.     

Krishna also had bilateral talks with Egypt's foreign minister and met the leaders of G5  (Mexico, Brazil, India, South Africa and China) at the Mexican Mission.