Advani wants food and medicine to be sent to Lanka

Expressing concern over "deterioration of situation" in the North and North eastern parts of Sri Lanka due to prolonged curfew imposed by the Sri Lankan government, senior BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani today said the Indian government should send humanitarian aid to Tamils in Sri Lanka by despatching food and medicine.

He told reporters that the aid, in consultation with the Sri Lankan government, should be routed through the Red Cross.

Opposing the LTTE's demand for a separate Tamil Eelam, Advani said solution to the ethnic problem should be found within a unified Sri Lanka. Ensuring justice to Sri Lankan Tamils was important in solving the ethnic strife in that country.

The Indian government should deploy the full weight of its political and diplomatic resources to ensure justice and dignified living for Tamils within the framework of a united Sri Lanka, he said.

Sri Lankan Tamils should be reassured that the government in Colombo was doing its best to care for their welfare without discrimination. Unfortunately, there had been widespread grievances about discrimination in the tsunami relief work, he added. (PTI)