Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jayanthi Natarajan has urged the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Naina Lal Kidwai to cancel the proposed trip by a delegation of Parliamentarians to Sri Lanka, “in solidarity with the sufferings of innocent civilian Tamils in Sri Lanka and out of respect for the feelings of the people of Tamil Nadu.â€
Port workers here today threatened to stop handling cargo from south Indian ports to protest the harassment of Sri Lankan monks and pilgrims in Tamil Nadu.
"We can''t silently watch the harassment of our monks and pilgrims in Tamil Nadu. We want to stop handling cargo from Indian ports as a result", Mahesh Samarawickrema, a dock workers'' trade union official told reporters.
The Sri Lankan government must find and prosecute those responsible for the massacre of 17 aid workers during the country's 25-year civil war, French charity Action Contre La Faim (ACF) has said.
The killing of the aid workers, who were shot at point-blank range outside their office in northeast Sri Lanka in 2006, was the worst attack on humanitarians since the 2003 bombing of the United Nations compound in Baghdad.
Three Sri Lankan Tamils, Prasanth (19) of Vallipunam in Mullaitivu, Vijayaraj (24) of North Meesalai near Paruthithurai and Vasantha Kumar (24) of chavakatchery, have been apprehended today by Tamil Nadu Police at Arichalmunai near Dhanushkodi. They were arrested following a tip-off from locals.
They said that they were facing hardships in Sri Lanka and so they have come to India in a boat. They were taken to Dhanuskodi police station for questioning. They have been charged under violation of Indian Passport Act.
Tamil movie stars in India, including superstar Rajinikanth, are fasting for a day to protest what they say is the mistreatment of ethnic Tamils in neighboring Sri Lanka and to demand an international probe into alleged wartime abuses there.
The actors were joined by directors and producers in Chennai, capital of India’s Tamil Nadu state.
