Cutting across party lines, members in both Houses of Parliament have voiced serious concern over the killings of Tamils in Sri Lanka and said India should not remain a mute spectator.

Accusing the UPA government of providing military aid to Colombo, they said that efforts should be made to persuade the Lankan army to cease military offensive against civilians.

In the Lok Sabha, Santosh Gangwar (BJP) raised the issue suggesting that the government should take appropriate steps for the safety of Tamils in Sri Lanka.

M. Ramadoss (PMK) recalled the problems of Lankan Tamils and said nearly three lakh people were affected due to the military action in the last three decades. He said it was a 'clear case of genocide' of the Tamil population. "Tamilians issue in Sri Lanka is an Indian issue. We should not keep silent by saying that it is an internal matter of Sri Lanka," Ramadoss said. 

Rupchand Pal (CPI-M) suggested a peaceful resolution of the issue.

In the Rajya Sabha, the issue was raised by C.P. Thirunavukkarasar (BJP) who said the Sri Lankan army was killing innocent Tamils in that country and India was helping the Sri Lankan government.

D. Raja (CPI) said a genocide was going on in the island nation and described the situation there as very disturbing. He demanded that New Delhi should recast its policy towards Sri Lanka. "India cannot treat this as an internal problem of Sri Lanka," he said. Accusing the UPA government of failing to safeguard the lives of Tamils in Sri Lanka, he said India cannot remain a mute spectator and should come out clean on the matter.

V. Maitreyan (AIADMK) assured the government of his party's support in whatever it did to stop the war. Sharing their concern, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs V. Narayansamy said the President has already enumerated the country's policy on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue in her address yesterday.

Protest Reaches Delhi

Protests over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue had its echo in the capital when a number of activists of a fringe pro-Eelam group from Tamil Nadu tried to enter the Sri Lankan High Commission agitating against the 'killing of innocent civilians' in that country.

Draped in black shirts and carrying banners with anti-Sri Lanka messages such as "Stop Killing Innocent Tamil Civilians" and "Stop the Genocide against Tamils", the protesters, including women, tried to force their way into the High Commission in Chanakyapuri.

The protesters, who belonged to Voice for Tamil Eelam Group, shouted slogans against the Sri Lankan Government and burnt the effigies of President Mahinda Rajapaksa before the police swung into action and detained them. They ghearoed the premises and tried to enter the building, which was prevented by the officials inside the High Commission and the police. Around 20-25 protesters, most of them students, were detained.

"The Sri Lankan Government is killing its own civilians. India is also helping the Rajapaksa Government in its war against the Eelam Tamils. This protest is to tell the Sinhala people what they are doing is wrong," said a protester.

'India a Part of Lankan War'


MDMK General Secretary Vaiko gives a speech near the Indian Parliament asking the Indian government to condemn the Sri Lankan offensive against LTTE

Meanwhile in Chennai, addressing a day-long protest fast undertaken by MDMK leader Vaiko, leaders including L. K. Advani, said that the focus of the entire nation at this moment should be towards "ending the sufferings of the innocent" Tamil civilians in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

Terming the Sri Lankan Tamils issue a 'national problem', leaders from various political parties, accused the Centre of being 'insensitive' to the sufferings of Tamils civilians and said that only a political solution can resolve the ethnic conflict.

They also demanded immediate intervention by India to stop the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka and to arrange a ceasefire in the island nation.

"I am sorry to say that those in office in New Delhi are insensitive towards the Sri Lankan Tamils' cause," Advani told hundreds of protesters from Tamil Nadu. Supporting the Tamils' cause, Advani said that the BJP wanted the issue to be resolved through negotiated political settlement and not by 'brutal use of force'.

"Instead of asking the Sri Lankan government to stop the war, India has made itself part of the war by providing military aid to the (President Mahinda) Rajapaksa administration," Vaiko said. The MDMK leader said he would soon submit to the Centre a memorandum signed by various leaders who took part in today's fast demanding India's intervention for a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.

Vaiko ended his fast after BJP leader Yashwant Sinha offered him some juice. CPI leaders A. B. Bardhan and D. Raja, FB leader Debandra Biswas, AIADMK MPs Maitreyan, Malaisamy, PMK MPs M. Ramadass, E. Ponnusamy, Dhanraj and A. K. Murthy also participated in the fast.

The leaders also explained about the plight of the Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka and said India cannot wash its hands off by saying that it is an internal problem of Sri Lanka.

'Can't Burn Sonia Gandhi's Portraits'

However, agitated over the burning the portraits of its leaders, the Congress, a key ally of ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, said that it could not remain a mute spectator to such incidents.

"The party can not remain a mute spectator if some groups continue to burn the portraits of Congress leaders Rajiv Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi and the party flag in the name of their agitation over the security of Lankan Tamils," said party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan.

" The Centre had several times made clear its stand that innocent civilians should not be affected in the war. The President's address to Parliament had also made clear the stand of the Centre. We want the Tamils in the island should be protected," she added.