Krishna to talk resettlement of Tamils during Lanka trip

Foreign minister S M Krishna will visit Sri Lanka soon for a first-hand view of the situation there as India tries to expedite the resettlement process in the island nation. Government officials said Krishna's visit is likely to take place by the end of this month or early October.

Officials said Krishna will emphasise before the Lankan leadership the need to move from resettlement of internally diplaced persons (IDPs) to chalking out a political solution which is substantive and durable. The leadership in Colombo continues to maintain that a political solution is being delayed because of lack of genuine leadership among the Tamil community with whom the government can discuss and kickstart the process.
The Sri Lankan government has told New Delhi that it is not willing to carry out any dialogue with Tamil leaders who have earlier been closely associated with LTTE.
On a visit to the island nation, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had said on Wednesday that India would continue to work with the Sri Lankan government to help resettle people and rebuild their lives. While speaking about India's pledge to build 50,000 houses in northern and eastern Sri Lanka, she underlined that this would be done using local expertise and resources wherever available so that employment could be generated locally.
Rao said in Colombo that apart from the focus on resettlement, there was a need to keep in mind "a long-term perspective that also includes issues relating to the political settlement that would meet some of the needs of the minorities''.
The government is also likely to appoint a special envoy for Sri Lanka to look into the needs of the Tamil community and oversee resettlement. Officials said the government was considering having a special envoy as a permanent diplomatic fixture in relations with the important neighbour.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka has assured New Delhi that its army will return the land of displaced Tamils of Indian origin in the country's northern Vavuniya district. Rao said in Colombo she had taken up the issue with the top leadership in the country.

"I took it up with economic development miniser Basil Rajapaksa also. He has assured me that he is already looking into this matter. And he expects that it will be resolved and that these people go back," Rao told reporters on Thursday.