TNA calls for India's intervention to end conflict in Lanka

Tamil National Alliance (TNA), an amalgam of Sri Lankan Tamil political parties, on Monday asked India to intervene in the Island nation to ensure a ceasefire in the on-going conflict between Lankan army and the LTTE.

"India should take initiative. Only talks could find a solution to the ethnic crisis in the island nation," TNA leader and Parliamentarian R Sampanthan said in Chennai.

"During his proposed visit to Colombo, foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon should take up these matters," he said. India must decide what it shall do in Sri Lanka as it has "the authority to stop the war", Sampanthan said, adding "inaction" on the part of India will mount to "insulting" the sentiments of people in Tamil Nadu.

He criticised India for not condemning the killings of Tamils though it had condemned the Israeli strikes on Gaza strip. Claiming that the Sri Lankan Government had "no solution on hand" acceptable to Tamils, he alleged that Colombo was "trying to eliminate all the Tamils."

"Besides the killings, the (Lankan) army is also destroying property and equipment owned and used by Tamils for their vocation," he charged.

Colombo had not lived up to its promise to India on preventing civilian casualties and the war led to large-scale exodus of Tamils, Sampanthan claimed.

"While the affluent people travel to Western countries, the poorer sections come to India as refugees," he said.