Tamil issue: Envoys meet Rajapaksa

India’s special emissaries, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, “gained increased awareness” of relief measures being taken to tackle the worsening refugee crisis in SL during a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday.

India’s special emissaries, National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, “gained increased awareness” of relief measures being taken to tackle the worsening refugee crisis in Sri Lanka during a meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday.

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“President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Indian officials held cordial discussions on current developments in Sri Lanka, and matters of mutual interest,” a statement from the Sri Lankan president’s secretariat said on Friday evening.

On their return from Colombo, Narayanan said India’s concerns on the “evolving situation” in northern Sri Lanka, especially at the casualties among Tamil civilians as a result of the ongoing military operations, was conveyed to President Rajapaksa.

“We also expressed the government of India’s concerns about the humanitarian situation as a result of nearly a 100,000 Tamil civilians coming out of the conflict zone since early this week,” Narayanan said.

Neither of the statements emanating from Delhi or Colombo made any direct reference to “immediate cessation of hostilities”, demanded by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday.