Friday, 6 December 2013 00:00
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The Indian Government says it will continue to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to implement the 13th Amendment so as to ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka get equal rights on par with the Sinhalese community.
Union Shipping Minister G.K. Vasan, speaking in Chennai, said that the Union Government is not in a position to compromise with Sri Lanka on its stand, the Hindu newspaper reported.
Answering a question on recent talks between India and Sri Lanka at the military-level, Vasan said: “The Centre should avoid from taking such policy decision. I think.”
He said the United Progress Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre was consistently taking several initiatives in the interest of Sri Lankan Tamils who were displaced due to war. He also recalled that the Union Government voted against Sri Lanka in the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) when a resolution was moved for censuring the Island nation for its human rights violations. Respecting the sentiments of Tamils, the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also skipped the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held last month in Colombo.
“The Union Government would not certainly show any sympathy towards Sri Lanka. Instead, it will continue to exert pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to implement the 13th Amendment so as to ensure that Tamils in Sri Lanka get equal rights on par with local Sinhalese. There is no compromise in this stand,” he said. Soon the Union External Affairs Ministry would facilitate for a meeting with fishermen of both countries, he added. (Colombo Gazette)
