LTTE has caused damage to Tamils, should lay down arms: Pranab

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) Denouncing the LTTE, India
Wednesday said the outfit had caused "much damage" to Tamil
community and it should lay down arms as there is a political
opportunity after 23 years to restore normalcy in northern
parts of the island nation.

Making a suo motu statement in Lok Sabha, External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India remains concerned
over the safety and welfare of civilians, most of them Tamils,
caught in the conflict and is ready to facilitate their
evacuation.

He underlined that full implementation of the 13th
amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution, which entails
devolution of powers, would be a significant first step
towards bringing about a political settlement to the issue.

"India continues to support a negotiated political
settlement in Sri Lanka within the framework of an undivided
Sri Lanka acceptable to all the communities, including the
Tamil community," he said.

"The LTTE remains a proscribed organisation in India and
has done much damage to the Tamil community," Mukherjee said
in the statement over which members of Marumalarchi Dravida
Munnettra Kazhagam (MDMK) and Pattali Makkal Katachi (PMK)
expressed unhappiness and forced two adjournments of the House
by creating uproarious scenes.

"As the conflict enters what may be the final phase of
military operations, the LTTE would best serve the interest of
the Tamils by immediately releasing all civilians and laying
down arms," the External Affairs Minister said.

He said during the last two weeks, nearly 35,000
civilians have come out of the LTTE-held areas and around
70,000 are still estimated to be trapped in an area of about
150 sq km still under control of the Tamil Tigers.

"The LTTE were reportedly using them as human shields,"
Mukherjee said, adding "sadly, some of those escaping from the
conflict have been caught in crossfire and, in recent
incidents have been stopped and even killed by LTTE cadres."

Mukherjee said India is ready to facilitate evacuation of
civilians from the area of conflict, working with the
government of Sri Lanka and the International Red Cross.

Red Cross should "take the responsibility for the
security, screening and rehabilitation of these internally
displaced persons," he said.

Noting that India has "strong concerns" over the safety,
security and welfare of civilians caught in the conflict, he
said this has "led us to stay actively engaged to prevent a
further deterioration of humanitarian conditions."PTI