Situation in Sri Lanka bad: Wickremesinghe

Chennai, July 23: Former Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today said the situation in the Island nation was very bad and incidents of violence were increasing day by day, and innocent people feared for their life.

Mr Wickremesinghe, enroute to Colombo, after completing his brief tour in the country, told newspersons at airport here, that he visited the most sacred Buddhists temples and offered pooja.

He said before his Bihar visit, he had met President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, leader of Opposition and others in New Delhi and discussed the present situation in Sri Lanka, with them.

Mr Wickremesinghe said the Indian Government as well as the Indian leaders felt that only a political solution could permanently solve the ethnic issue of the Island Nation, and he was also of the same view, he emphasised.

The peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE militants should resume and the talks could help both sides to reach an amicable solution. As an Opposition Leader, he was not in a position to speak further in this regard, he said.

UNI