Mukherjee rushing to Sri Lanka

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) India's External Affairs
Minister Pranab Mukherjee will Tuesday rush to Sri Lanka where
the military claims to have captured the last LTTE bastion of
Mullaittivu two days back.

During the two-day visit, Mukherjee will meet Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister
Rohitha Bogollagama and discuss the latest situation in the
northern part of the island nation, sources said.

Mukherjee is expected to impress upon Rajapaksa
government the need for finding a political solution to the
ethnic problem to ensure lasting peace.

He is also expected to press for early implementation
of the devolution package to ensure that the ethnic Tamils get
rights and privileges at par with others.

India has been maintaining that military victory will
not address the ethnic problem facing Sri Lanka and that the
government there needed to look for a political settlement
wherein all communities, including ethnic Tamils, can live
with respect and dignity within united Sri Lanka.

Mukherjees's visit comes in the back drop of strong
demands by Chief Minister of India's southern state of Tamil
Nadu, M Karunanidhi and some other parties from the state that
the external affairs minister should visit Sri Lanka and
prevail upon Rajapaksa government to go for ceasefire.

During the recent weeks, Sri Laknan army has made
rapid progress in its campaign to capture areas under the LTTE
control. The military claimed on Sunday to have captured the
garrison town of Mullaittivu, the last urban stronghold of the
LTTE asserting that the 25-year-long ethnic conflict was now
"95 per cent over". PTI