India did not ask Lanka to halt ops against LTTE: Rajapaksa

T V Sriram

Colombo, Oct 21 (PTI) Contending that relations between
India and Sri Lanka remain "friendly", President Mahinda
Rajapaksa Tuesday said New Delhi has not asked Colombo to halt
operations against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(L.T.T.E.) in the island's embattled north.

Speaking to newsmen here, Rajapaksa said no reference was
made to halting operations against the Tiger rebels in his
telephonic conversation with the Indian Prime Minister last
Saturday.

The President also said that he was aware of the
political pressures associated with coalition politics in
India and the "diverse interests that surface in such
situations", referring to Tamil Nadu politicians' expression
of concern over civilian casualties in Sri Lanka's
Tamil-dominated areas.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had asked President
Rajapaksa to ensure that Tamils do not get "enmeshed" in the
conflict with L.T.T.E. and that their rights and safety are
upheld.

In response to a question, President Rajapaksa said
relations between Sri Lanka and India remain "friendly and
strong".

"India had always helped us when necessary," he said.

Meanwhile, a release issued by the President's office
said that Rajapaksa had made it very clear to the Indian Prime
Minister that the operations were against the L.T.T.E.

Rajapaksa said contrary to the impression "being created
in Tamil Nadu", the food supplies from the Sri Lankan
government continued to reach the L.T.T.E. areas.

"We continue to supply food even to the L.T.T.E. because
our responsibility is to the civilians, the farmers and the
rural producers of the region who are trapped by the
L.T.T.E.," he said.

"Our primary responsibility as a government is to look
after all our citizens. I carry out this responsibility to the
fullest especially with regard to the people who are
temporarily displaced in the North, due to the ongoing
military operations to defeat terrorism," he said.

The President said there was a wrong impression created
in Tamil Nadu that this not been done.

He also described as "inflated", figures of the
Internally Displaced Persons (I.D.P.s) as result of the
military operations in Wanni.

He said recently when the World Food Programme (W.F.P.)
turned back a convoy of essential supplies to I.D.Ps because
of damage to a culvert road, the government agencies had
ensured that the supplies were delivered within two days.

At present there are food supplies for two months in the
affected areas where the I.D.Ps are not more than 1,50,000, he
said.

Meanwhile, dismissing recent protests in Tamil Nadu
against the military offensive in Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister
Rohitha Bogollagama said these activities did not reflect the
policies of New Delhi.

Referring to a demonstration held by Tamil film industry
people at Rameswaram, Bogollagama said the police had
intervened to prevent the L.T.T.E. flag being raised during
the protest.

"This showed that although there were pro-L.T.T.E.
politics in Tamil Nadu, the official position was different,"
he said.

"The message of New Delhi has been that it stands for the
rights of the Tamil people and against the L.T.T.E.," the
foreign minister said.