The Editorial “Looking ahead” (Oct. 17) gives a clear picture of the plight of the Tamil ethnic population after the endgame. The five-day visit made by the State Parliamentarians could witness the effects of the Indian government’s efforts in pressuring the Sri Lankan authorities into taking a humane approach towards the displaced Tamil population during the crisis. It is hoped that a just and fair settlement will be reached soon with the continued interference from the Indian side in the matter.
Petson Peter C, Kochi
As rightly stated in the editorial, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has once again proved his statesmanship in arranging the five-day visit by a 10-member parliamentarians team from the State to Sri Lanka to ascertain facts based on an on-the-spot review of the conditions of the nearly 250,000 war-displaced Tamils. Likewise, the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s gesture in seeing that the team members were taken to the camps to see how far his country is interested in the welfare of the displaced Tamils is also reassuring. The President’s assurance that around sixty thousand displaced Tamils would be resettled in their homes soon is a positive signal. In the circumstances stated in the editorial what the war-displaced Tamils require is safety from the danger of landmines and a fairly reasonable infrastructure to lead their lives. Hope the Sri Lankan government takes the initiative to mobilise the funds to achieve this.
N. Srinivasan, Tirunelveli
The Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, deserves a pat on the back for his proactive actions vis-a-vis rehabilitation of Tamil IDPs in the post-Prabakaran period. The Indian delegation, which was given complete facility to visit the refugee camps and meet the affected people there, has also given its first-hand account of the prevailing conditions. It is also heartening to note that Sri Lanka’s first priority is to restore the basic needs and safety of these people.
K. Nehru Patnaik, Visakhapatnam
