India committed to rebuild North
**Military victories an opportunity to restore normalcy in the
Northern Province
**India will work together with Sri Lanka on a reconstruction plan
for these areas
Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed India’s
support for Sri Lanka’s reconstruction effort in Northern Sri Lanka and
lay the economic and political foundations for a sustainable peace in
which all communities will feel comfortable, when he met President
Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Tuesday.
A Presidential Secretariat release said during the meeting, President
Rajapaksa extended a personal invitation to an all party delegation from
Tamil Nadu led by Chief Minister Karunanidhi and AIADMK General
Secretary J. Jayalalitha to visit Sri Lanka and see the ground situation
and persuade the LTTE to lay down arms and join the democratic
mainstream.
The release said Minister Mukherjee held detailed, useful and
productive discussions with President Rajapaksa on Tuesday night.
The Indian Minister’s visit followed an invitation for him to visit
Sri Lanka, in keeping with the tradition of regular and constructive
dialogue between India and Sri Lanka at the highest level. This visit
followed the recent visit by Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.
The discussions at President’s House, covered recent developments in
Sri Lanka , the entire gamut of India-Sri Lanka relations and regional
issues of mutual interest. It was agreed that India-Sri Lanka relations
are developing strongly and has matured into an abiding friendship.
It is particularly important at this time of transition and change
that both sides should continue to strengthen ties.
President Rajapaksa expressed his hopes for future developments in
Sri Lanka , and stressed that the present military victories offer a
political opportunity to restore life to normalcy in the Northern
Province and throughout Sri Lanka.
The President assured the visiting Indian Minister of his intent for
both countries to work together to enable Sri Lankans, and particularly
the Tamil community in the North, to begin leading normal lives as soon
as possible.Minister Mukherjee expressed India’s readiness to
participate in the reconstruction of northern Sri Lanka so as to
overcome the ravages of armed conflict and also lay the economic and
political foundations of a sustainable peace in which all communities in
Sri Lanka feel comfortable.
India will work together with Sri Lanka on a reconstruction plan for
these areas which involves infrastructure development and other support.
President Rajapaksa assured Minister Mukherjee that it was his
intention to move as quickly as possible to implement the 13th Amendment
to the Sri Lankan Constitution, which followed the India-Sri Lanka
Agreement of 1987 and even explore the possibility to go further than
these proposals.
Both sides reviewed the humanitarian situation arising as a result of
the conflict. The Sri Lankan side reassured that it will respect the
safe zones declared by the Security Forces to minimize the effect of
conflict on Tamil civilians.
The Indian side will continue to extend its relief supplies to
civilians caught up in the zone of conflict.
Both sides agreed that an early restoration of normal democratic life
in the areas affected by the conflict would be a major contribution to
peace and stability. The Indian side indicated that it will do all that
is necessary to bring this about. |