India welcomed talks between the Sri Lankan government and the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the largest grouping of Tamil lawmakers, terming it a “positive development”, hours after Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met a delegation of the TNA leaders in capital Colombo.

Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to the island country, welcomed all these interactions and the positive developments regarding the issues on the Government-TNA agenda, according to a statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Colombo.

“The Government of India was consistently supportive of the realization of the aspirations of the Tamils of Sri Lanka for equality, justice, peace, and dignity within the framework of a united Sri Lanka,” the Indian statement added.

This came after Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa last week met the leaders of the TNA in Colombo—for the first time since coming to power in 2019—and discussed the issues of Tamils related to the release of political prisoners, land utilization, missing persons, 13th Amendment implementation and diaspora investment at the meeting. [Read More]

On Monday, the TNA delegation led by R Sampanthan met Jaishankar in Colombo and briefed him about the talks with the government. Jaishankar later received a more “detailed understanding on this subject” from his Sri Lankan counterpart G L Peiris, the statement said.

Earlier this month, during the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council, India urged Sri Lanka to fulfill its commitments to “protecting the interests of Tamils” by "conducting provincial council elections" and "meaningful power devolution" under the 13th Amendment of the Sri Lankan Consitution, a step, it said, is in the country’s own interest. [Read more]

On Monday, Jaishankar held a series of meetings with senior Sri Lankan leaders, including President Rajapaksa, to discuss the economic crisis the country is going through. New Delhi has so far extended $2.4 billion in assistance to the country.

During the ongoing visit, Jaishankar also assured Sri Lanka of New Delhi’s “continued cooperation and understanding.” President Rajapaksa also thanked India for its “invaluable assistance” to the crisis-hit country.

(SAM)