LTTE has done much damage to Tamils: Govt

Statement leads to protest by PMK, MDMK.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s statement in Parliament today that the LTTE had killed fleeing Tamil civilians and “has done much damage to the Tamil community” led to an uproar, with the MPs from the PMK, a UPA ally, and the MDMK accusing the government of supporting Sri Lanka and ignoring the plight of Tamils caught in the cross-fire in northern Sri Lanka.

Speaking earlier, Mukherjee had said the LTTE could serve the interests of Tamils by laying down arms and releasing civilians. “Strong concerns for the safety, security and welfare of civilians caught in the conflict have led us to stay actively engaged to prevent a further deterioration of humanitarian conditions,” he said.

The MPs’ protests led to two adjournments. Finally, they staged a walkout. Their demand is that India must intervene and put an end to the conflict to protect the lives of Tamils caught in the conflict zone.

India’s primary concern is the safety of the 70,000-odd internally displaced persons (IDPs). Nearly 35,000 civilians have fled the LTTE-held areas in the past two weeks, Mukherjee said.

Later, Mukherjee said he was ready to make “corrections” in his statement if there were any “discrepancies”, but added that the “...Government of India has no instrumentality under which it can force a sovereign government to take a particular action. This is not simply possible”.

However, India would facilitate the evacuation of civilians by collaborating with Sri Lanka and the Red Cross, he added.

Giving details of his trip to Colombo last month, he said Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa had assured that his government was seeking a political solution to the conflict. Sri Lanka must fully implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and going beyond the provisions of this Amendment – concerning devolution of powers to the various regions, especially the Tamil-dominated eastern and northern areas —would be “significant”, he said.