EU concerned over worsening situation in Sri Lanka

May 15th, 2009 LONDON - Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Friday reiterated his deep concern at the escalating humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka, saying there can be no justification for the continued plight of Tamil civilians. Tens of thousands of civilians are reported to be trapped on a six-km stretch of land between a lagoon and forests in northern Sri Lanka - with the army and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accusing each other of shelling them.

May 15th, 2009 NEW YORK - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to send Vijay Nambiar, the UN chief of staff, to Sri Lanka to request the government to bring an end to the conflict with the Tamil Tigers and help ease the worsening humanitarian crisis in the island's north, a UN spokesperson said here. The UN deputy spokeswoman, Marie Okabe, told a news briefing Thursday that Nambiar is to leave for Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.

May 14th, 2009 NEW YORK - The UN Security Council has strongly condemned Tamil rebels for acts of terrorism and for using civilians as human shields in their war against the Sri Lankan government. The council said Wednesday it was concerned about the worsening humanitarian crisis in northeast Sri Lanka with reports of hundreds of civilians trapped by the fighting.

May 9th, 2009 CHENNAI - India is doing what it can to help the beleaguered Tamil community in Sri Lanka lead 'a life of dignity and honour', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Saturday. The prime minister told journalists while on a campaign tour here that he was 'deeply concerned over the very difficult situation in Sri Lanka' where thousands have died in a military onslaught aimed at crushing the Tamil Tigers.

April 24th, 2009 BRUSSELS - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Thursday expressed his concern over the deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka and repeated his appeal to the Tamil rebels to lay down arms to end the nation's 25-year civil war. 'I am most concerned at the rapid deteriorating situation in Sri Lanka.

April 24th, 2009 NEW DELHI/COLOMBO - India said Friday it was hopeful of a 'positive outcome' in Sri Lanka after two of its envoys met President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo and conveyed New Delhi's concerns over the rising casualties and the plight of more than 100,000 Tamil civilians who fled the war zone this week. National Security Advisor M.K.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the worsening humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka triggering an uproar in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday night reviewed the situation in the island nation where the military has launched a 'final assault' to wipe out the LTTE. Manmohan Singh discussed the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Sri Lanka at a special meeting that was attended by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K.

April 23rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - With the killings of Tamil civilians continuing in Sri Lanka, India Thursday underlined the need for 'an immediate cessation of all hostilities' and announced that it will send two special emissaries to Colombo. 'We are very unhappy at the continued killing in Sri Lanka.

April 23rd, 2009 BRUSSELS - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is 'most concerned' by the recent upsurge of fighting in Sri Lanka, he told journalists in Brussels Thursday. 'I am most concerned at the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Sri Lanka,' Ban said on the sidelines of a conference dedicated to the piracy crisis in Somalia.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US is 'extremely concerned' by the political crisis in Pakistan but doesn't believe there is a 'high probability right now' of the military intervening. The situation 'continues to deteriorate very, very slowly under a political leadership which is very challenged because of the totality of the crisis,' Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen, said in an interview with PBS, the public broadcaster.

March 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US is 'extremely concerned' by the political crisis in Pakistan but doesn't believe there is a 'high probability right now' the situation will prompt the military to intervene. The situation 'continues to deteriorate very, very slowly under a political leadership which is very challenged because of the totality of the crisis,' Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen, said in an interview with PBS.

February 12th, 2009 COLOMBO - Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has appointed his former defence minister Des Browne as his special envoy for Sri Lanka to focus on 'the immediate humanitarian situation' in the island's north, the British high commission here said. 'In this new role, Des Browne will focus on the immediate humanitarian situation in northern Sri Lanka and the Government of Sri Lanka's work to set out a political solution to bring about a lasting end to the conflict,' it said in a statement Thursday.

February 12th, 2009 LONDON - A leading member of the European Parliament says the situation in Sri Lanka is now so critical that the UN must send a peacekeeping mission to prevent a civilian massacre. Robert Evans, Chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with South Asia, called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send a peacekeeping mission as soon as possible.

February 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Indian government Thursday voiced 'deep concern' over the situation in Sri Lanka and called upon both Colombo and the Tamil Tigers to end their hostilities. Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Home Minister P.

February 2nd, 2009 CHENNAI - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) senior leader Lal Krishna Advani Tuesday alleged the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government was insensitive to the plight of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Advani attended a meeting of the representatives of the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, a BJP press statement said.