CPI asks Centre to change policy towards Sri Lanka

NEW DELHI: The CPI asked the Centre to change its policy towards Sri Lanka and demanded that India intervene and stop the "war" in the island nation and insist for a political solution to the over 25-year-old ethnic crisis in that country.

Party secretary D Raja also said India should immediately stop providing all kinds of military assistance to Sri Lanka.

"The war between two sides in Sri Lanka has caused immense hardships to innocent Tamil civilians in the northern part of the island. India should take steps to stop the war," he told a protest rally organised by the Delhi Tamil Students Federation here.

He said India should tell the Sri Lankan Government that the decades-old ethnic conflict can be resolved only through a political solution.

Raja said both the LTTE and Sri Lankan Government should come forward to hold negotiations on the issue and resolve it "politically".

"India should stop providing arms to Sri Lanka. The government says it is providing only non-lethal weapons. But, whatever we provide during a war time will be used against the people in northern Lanka," he said.

Sri Lankan Tamil MP M K Sivajilingam said India should intervene and stop the "killings of innocent civilians" in the country.

Earlier, the students belonging to JNU, DU, PUSA and Jamia Milia Islamia marched from Barakhamba Raod to Jantar Mantar shouting slogans against the Sri Lankan Government.