Date:17/04/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/04/17/stories/2007041703481300.htm

National

Sri Lankan Minister offers prayers at Tirumala

Special Correspondent

Prays for restoration of peace in the island nation

TIRUPATI: P. Chandrasekaran, Sri Lankan Minister for Community Development and Social Inequity Eradication, on Monday offered prayers in the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara along with his family.

In an informal chat with The Hindu Mr. Chandrasekaran said he had come to seek the blessings of the Lord of Seven Hills so that bloodshed ended and peace was restored in the island nation, witnessing a fresh escalation of war between the Sri Lankan forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He said he expected the Indian Government to play a proactive role in the restoration of the derailed peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. India should give Sri Lanka moral support and take the initiative for hammering out a mutually acceptable compromise formula, Mr. Chandrasekaran said.

Underlining the need for the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE to get back to the negotiating table in the larger interest of the country and the innocent people on both sides, he struck a note of optimism that even LTTE might respond positively to India's peace initiatives in view of its `strategic position.'