Special envoy to Sri Lanka this week: Chidambaram

CHENNAI: Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday said that an Indian official will be sent to Sri Lanka this week to assess the progress of rehabilitating Sri Lankan Tamils living in refugee camps there.

Speaking to reporters here after meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to apprise him of the steps India is taking on the rehabilitation of Sri Lankan Tamils, Chidambaran said a special envoy will be sent to the island nation this week.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had July 22 written to Karunanidhi about the move.

“As measure of our continuing interest and the importance we attach to this issue, I am sending a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs to visit Sri Lanka to consult with our High Commissioner and the local authorities, visiting the Northern and Eastern Provinces to measure the progress in these areas,” the Prime Minister had written.

Chidambaram also said that India was in talks with the Sri Lankan government to prevent attacks on the Indian fishermen by the island nation’s navy. – (IANS)