ACHR urges India to intervene in Lanka situation

New Delhi, June 8 (UNI) The Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today urged the Indian government to intervene and save Tamil minorities in Sri Lanka from ''ethnic cleansing'' and ''racism''.

Sri Lanka evicted hundreds of minority ethnic Tamils from the capital yesterday and sent them back to the war-torn north citing security concerns.

''Security threat is an excuse as the ethnic Tamils coming out of Northern and Eastern parts had already taken Travel Passes from the Sri Lankan Army and provided a surety to guarantee their return to their homes,'' Asian Centre for Human Rights Director Suhas Chakma said.

''Even those who escaped threats from the Sri Lankan security forces, the LTTE and the Karuna faction are not being spared...The forcible deportation of the ethnic Tamils from Colombo to the Northern and Eastern parts is reminiscent of the Holocaust,'' he added.

Urging Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee to intervene, the pressure group said the move will only widen the ethnic divide in the Island nation.

''The forcible deportation of the ethnic Tamils from Colombo to their homes will not only widen the ethnic divide and intensify the conflicts but these are acts of ethnic cleansing and racism which cannot be tolerated by any civilized society,'' it added.

UNI