India pressing Lanka, LTTE to stop war: Chidambaram

Karaikudi (TN), Apr 12 (PTI) India was putting pressure
on Sri Lanka to "stop the ongoing war" in the neighbouring
country, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram Sunday said and
expressed hope that the Lankan government and the LTTE would
agree to stop the hostilities.

"A few days ago the Prime Minister, the External Affairs
Minister, myself, the National Security Advisor and the
Foreign Secretary held a discussion and we have made some
strong demands to Sri Lanka. We have pressed the Sri Lankan
Government to stop the war," he told reporters here.

"It is not a mere request to the Sri Lankan government to
stop the war. It is more than that..we have said there is a
need to stop the war," he said in this town, which forms part
of his Sivaganga Lok Sabha constituency.

"At the same time we are also pressing the LTTE to stop
the war. I hope our request will yield fruit. If there is no
result, the Sri Lankan Government and all the people living in
that country will be affected in a big way," he said.

He requested the people of Tamil Nadu to have faith in
the action taken by the Central Government and support it.

In an indirect dig at PMK, he said: "After being part of
the Central Government for four years and eleven months, and
supporting all its actions, some people say that the Central
Government did not do anything to solve problems of the Tamils
in Sri Lanka. This is strange and absurd."

Dumping the UPA, the PMK recently switched over to the
AIADMK camp, striking an alliance with it for the Lok Sabha
polls.

Chidambaram said he wanted to clarify "some issues" on
the matter concerning Sri Lankan Tamils as various political
parties were expressing conflicting views and statements in
the last few days.

"Since 1983, the successive Central Governments have been
following the same policy (that the Tamils should be given
equal rights) on the Sri Lanka issue," he said.

"So far as India is concerned Tamils of Sri Lanka should
get equal rights and treated as citizens with equal right in
their country," he added.

Chidambaram's comments come at a time when the Sri Lankan
Tamils issue is under the spotlight in the run up to the Lok
Sabha elections with the AIADMK-led front and other parties
such as the DMDK headed by actor Vijaykant accusing the UPA
Government and the DMK of not doing enough for Tamils in Sri
Lanka. PTI SSN