Tamil issue: India summons Lankan envoy

As DMK continued to mount pressure on the Sri Lanka Tamil issue, government on Friday summoned Lankan High Commissioner to India C R Jayasinghe and told him that Colombo should address New Delhi’s concerns over the humanitarian situation in the island nation and stop harassing and killing Indian fishermen.

Jayasinghe was called by Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon who said that Sri Lanka should ensure that the rights of its civilians are respected and they are protected from attacks, sources said.

Menon told Jayasinghe that India was gravely worried over the situation arising out the conflict in Sri Lanka and wanted Colombo to address these concerns, the sources said.

The Foreign Secretary specifically said India wanted Sri Lanka to stop harassing and killing of its fishermen in the common waters between the two countries, they said.

Menon also told the Sri Lankan envoy that Colombo should find a negotiated political solution to the ethnic problem rather than look for a military victory.