Ministers briefed on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils

A meeting involving Indian-based NGOS in the country will be convened soon to discuss the form of assistance and support that could be extended to the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The meeting will be called by Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam who earlier today had raised the plight of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka at the weekly cabinet meeting.

He informed the cabinet of the sufferings of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka following the military onslaught against rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

"The cabinet was very sympathetic towards the human sufferings of the people who are caught in the middle of the onslaught," he said today.

The MIC secretary-general added that the cabinet supported any move to alleviate the sufferings of the Tamils in Sri Lanka on humanitarian grounds.

But he made it clear that the cabinet was only concerned about the sufferings of the Tamils in Sri Lanka and will not interfere in the internal affairs or the political situation in Sri Lanka.

"We are only concerned about the needs of the people there such as medical aid, food and other basic requirements," he said.

He said that proposals gained at the meeting of Indian NGOs will then be forwarded to the government for further action.

"We will hand over our proposals through the normal diplomatic channel via the Malaysian Foreign Ministry and the Sri Lanka High Commission in Malaysia,' he said.

Subramaniam's briefing of the Sri Lankan Tamil situation to the cabinet today was prompted by a request of MIC Youth advisor S Vel Paari who had sent him a letter seeking the government's assistance in helping the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Seeking international lobby

Vel Paari had wanted the government to initiate a parliamentary resolution - similar to the one it did to oppose the Israeli attacks in Palestine - in the Sri Lankan situation.

"I would like to request your good self as the Indian representative in the cabinet to call on the government to voice a similar condemnation to the United Nations via our UN representative," Vel Paari told Subramaniam in his letter dated yesterday.

"This condemnation of the Sri Lanka government is because of their punitive disregard and wanton violation of international laws, human rights, and also the 1948 Geneva Convention," he added.

When contacted later, Vel Paari said that he was happy that the cabinet had agreed to do something for the Sri Lankan Tamils on humanitarian grounds.

He was however still optimistic that the government can be pushed to move a parliamentary resolution condemning the Sri Lankan government.

"We will now have to get all interested parties together and put our heads together to see how we can help the suffering Tamils in Sri Lanka," he told Malaysiakini.

He said that he would like to play a leading role in this and would move the MIC Youth wing to start working on the ground.

"At the same time I will be trying to lobby for some international support so that we can force the Sri Lankan government in not terrorising the Tamils there."

He said that he was in talks with some Tamil groups in Australia, asking them to lobby their government to pressure the Sri Lankan government.

He also added that he would be meeting with Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanithi to discuss this matter.

"We want him to lobby the Indian government in doing something to help the Tamils caught in the civil war in Sri Lanka," he said.