SL assures India on civilians' safety

new york: Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama assured the State's commitment to ensure an unhindered supply of humanitarian assistance to civilians in uncleared areas in the North when he met Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday.

The two ministers held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the ongoing 63rd sessions of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The two ministers also agreed on the need for a joint action plan to prevent incidents concerning the safety of civilians engaged in fisheries activities in the waters between India and Sri Lanka, including coordinated patrolling by the coast guard.

Outlining the developments in the North, in particular the operations by the Security Forces to free the civilians in the Wanni from LTTE control, the Minister stressed that the Government would take every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.

He said the State was successful in protecting the civilians during the Eastern liberation battles. The decision to relocate humanitarian workers to Vavuniya is part of this considered effort. He informed the relocation process was conducted in consultation with the Humanitarian Agencies.

Commenting on the food supplies to the uncleared areas, the Minister said adequate supplies reached the displaced in the North through the Government Agents and hundreds of truck loads of supplies are being dispatched to the Wanni on a regular basis.Referring to the action taken by the Government in restoring democracy in the Eastern Province in the immediate aftermath of clearing the area from LTTE control, the Minister said that the priority now is to focus on development activities in the East, including rehabilitating the agriculture sector which had been abandoned over the years. A development programme, valued at US$ 1.8 billion is being implemented in the East. Minister Bogollagama also briefed his counterpart on the steps being taken, with a view to devolving substantial powers to the Northern and Eastern provinces in accordance with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. He said under the president's direction some of the key recommendations in the All Party Representative Committee interim report including the promotion of the use of the Tamil language and recruitment of Tamil speaking persons to the police service in the Eastern Province, have already been implemented.

The two Ministers also discussed the convening of the India-Sri Lanka JointCommission this year and the forthcoming BIMSTEC meeting. The Minister of External Affairs Mukherjee appreciated the excellent

hospitality extended to the Indian delegation during the SAARC Summit inColombo and for hosting the Informal Meeting of the SAARC Council ofMinisters on the fringes of the 63rd Session of the UN General Assembly inNew York.