Terrorist bombing incident in Sri Lanka

The Government of India unreservedly condemns the terrorist bombing incident outside Colombo, Sri Lanka today in which the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lankan Army, Major General Parami Kulathunga was tragically killed, along with other defence personnel. Several innocent civilians have been seriously injured.

This incident is the latest in a series of recent terrorist attacks which are aimed at undermining the ceasefire and vitiate the environment for a political dialogue.

The Government of India extends its sincere condolences to the Government of Sri Lanka and to the members of the bereaved families. India is determined to stand by the people of Sri Lanka in our common struggle against terrorism, of which both our countries are victims.

It is our view that political processes must be activated through sincere dialogue to arrive at a settlement which takes into account the aspirations of all the sections of the Sri Lankan society, while upholding the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.

We welcome the efforts being made by the Government of Sri Lanka to evolve a political consensus in this regard and stand ready to share our own constitutional experience to contribute to this process.

June 27, 2006

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Award of Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarships to young Sri Lankan students by High Commissioner, Mrs. Nirupama Rao

1. At a simple ceremony on Monday, 26th June, 2006, Mrs. Nirupama Rao, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, handed out the award letters to degree courses at prestigious Indian universities to around 70 Sri Lankan students. These scholarships are funded by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). They provide to the scholar a complete waiver of all tuition fees, a generous monthly stipend for living expenses and the international airfare between India and Sri Lanka.

2. These courses are in a variety of subjects - degree courses in engineering, humanities, pure and applied sciences, technology, commerce and accountancy and others. There are also diplomas and degree courses offered in music, dance and fine arts. A few post-graduate courses with scholarships are also provided every year to deserving young students of Sri Lanka. Around 3,000 students have obtained degrees under the ICCR scholarship scheme over the past five decades. Sri Lanka has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the ICCR scholarship scheme. The grant of this large number of scholarships by the Government of India (GOI) is a symbol of the importance that GOI attaches to its relationship with Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan people. High Commissioner Mrs. Rao spoke on the occasion and expressed her confidence that all the students going to India would enjoy their stay there and referred to the soft spot that India has for all Sri Lankans. She referred to the geographical proximity between the two nations and, regretting the information gap that nevertheless existed between the two countries, called upon the young scholars to close that information gap and to bring the two nations closer together.

3. This year's recipients include students from all parts of the country including Colombo, Galle, Gampaha, Batticaloa, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Hambantota, Polonaruwa, Jaffna and Trincomalee who will study at Indian universities in Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Osmania and Benaras Hindu University.

4. Three young students, Vindhya, Inosha and Kalhara who are going to the University of Pune to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry spoke after the ceremony of their happiness at having the opportunity to study the course of their choice and spoke of their excitement at going to Pune in India "where its all happening right now".

June 26, 2006

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Government of India expresses deep concern over the failure of the proposed meeting between Government of Sri Lanka and the representatives of the LTTE

The following is the text of the Press Release issued by the Government of India on this subject today:

Quote

The Government of India is deeply concerned over the failure of the proposed meeting between the Government of Sri Lanka and representatives of the LTTE, aimed at strengthening the role of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and ensuring the security of its members.

India has supported the role of the monitoring mission and believes it has made a significant contribution to the maintenance of the ceasefire and in preventing and limiting the violations of the ceasefire, which have, unfortunately, become more frequent in the recent past.

It remains our conviction that the ethnic issue in Sri Lanka must be resolved through peaceful dialogue and, in this context, any weakening of the role of the SLMM is likely to have adverse consequences.

The Government of India appreciate the willingness of the Government of Sri Lanka to engage in the talks in Oslo facilitated by Norway and express the hope that the dialogue process would be resumed at the earliest in order to avoid any further worsening of the situation.

Unquote

June 9, 2006

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