Deputy Minister urges Sri Lankan Tamils to return as peace prevails now

Sri Lankan deputy minister of national integration, reconciliation and official languages Seyed Ali Zahir Moulana on Wednesday appealed to Sri Lankan Tamils, who left the island nation during the three-decade-long ethic war, to return to the country as peace prevails there now.

Attending the annual alumni meet at Trichy’s Jamal Mohamed College where he studied B Com in the 1980s, the deputy minister said the Sri Lankan government had taken steps to facilitate those who want to return to the country, especially to the Tamil-dominated North-eastern province.

“However, people who are settled in different countries are hesitant to return, as they have settled down with families,” he said.

The minister said the Sri Lankan government was taking steps for demilitarisation by limiting military recruitments.

Later, asked about the continuing arrests of Indian fishermen by the Sri Lankan navy, the minister said, “Arrests happen only when Indian fishermen enter Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. The fishermen issue can be sorted out by bilateral talks between Sri Lanka and India,” he said.

Earlier, he met Indian Union Muslim League leader K M Kadar Moideen and handed over a condolence letter addressed to the family members of late Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.

Source: Times of India

-Agencies