India has not asked to stop the war - SL Foreign Minister

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 November 2008, 10:03 GMT]
India has not exerted any pressure on the Sri Lankan government to halt the war against the LTTE, said Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, while responding to a demand made by Joseph Michael Perera, chief whip of the main opposition United National Party to table the secret understanding reached in New Delhi between President Mahinda Rajapaksa's special envoy Basil Rajapakse and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjie on 26th October. 'As a step to strengthen the relationship of the two countries,' India has come forward to send 800 metric tones of food material to internally displaced people in Vanni region.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake Tuesday tabled a motion seeking permission to extend the State of Emergency for another month in the country, informing the SL parliament that during the last month 161 military personnel were killed in the offensive, while 1,121 personnel were injured. During the same period 38 civilians were killed and 62 were injured, he further said.

Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said the military operation would continue until the Sri Lankan armed forced forces 'liberate' Ki'linochchi.