Sri Lanka is fully conscious of India's concerns, says its Foreign Minister

Colombo, Oct 18 : Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said that the country is fully conscious of the concerns being expressed in India over the developments in the island nation.

Bogollagama, during his talks with India's High Commissioner Alok Prasad in Colombo on Friday, said that his country intends to further discuss and address the issue in the spirit of the 'existing excellent bilateral relations'.

Earlier, India asked Sri Lanka to address its concerns over the humanitarian situation in the island nation.

On October 17, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon summoned the Sri Lankan High Commissioner C.R. Jayasinghe and conveyed India's concerns over the situation.

The hostilities between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lanka Government forces continued to surge in the Wanni region inflicting 'heavy casualties' on the Tamil outfit.

Three trench-lines of the Tamil outfit were captured in Mullaithivu as the army and Tamil Tigers locked horns at Andankulam.

Meanwhile, the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) MPs from Tamil Nadu, both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajaya Sabha barring Dayanidhi Maran have submitted their resigantions to the party President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karuanaidhi.

In a statement in Chennai on Saturday, Karunanidhi said the DMK is prepared to pay any price to stop the attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka, and added, the future of Tamils in the island nation has become a question mark and there is need to protect them.

Karunanidhi also said he hoped that the Centre would carefully consider the resolution adopted at the State government convened all party meeting and act suitably.

While refuting allegations that the DMK had done nothing for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi pointed out that the DMK Government in Tamil Nadu had been dismissed twice in 1976 and 1991 mainly for supporting the cause of the Lankan Tamils.

On October 14, at an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu, convened by Karunanidhi, the Centre was served an ultimatum on the Sri Lankan Tamil problem and warned that all MPs from the state would resign en masse, if the government failed to halt the war in the island nation within two weeks.

ANI