India won't intervene in SL crisis: Pranab

Chennai: Rejecting the concept of Tamil Elan (separate homeland) advocated by LTTE, India favoured a solution to the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka within the territorial integrity and constitutional framework while meeting the legitmate aspirations of Tamils on Friday.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee ruled out any direct Indian intervention in Sri Lanka to resolve the ethnic crisis in the island nation.

"We have no intention of directly intervening in Sri Lanka," he told reporters after inaugurating the All India Passport officers meeting here.

Rejecting the concept of a separate Tamil Eelam, Mukherjee said that India's position was very clear and a solution had to be found within the territorial integrity and constitutional framework.

At the same time, the legitimate aspirations of ethnic groups, especially of Tamils had to be met, he said.

His comments came as a group of Sri Lankan Tamil MPs met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday and appraised him about the "pathetic and deplorable" conditions of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Mukherjee appreciated the Norway-brokered peace talks between LTTE and the Sri Lankan government and wished it all success.

He said that India had also decided to put on hold transporting and exporting explosives to the Island nation.

“Explosives are used for many purposes, including mining. Authorised export of explosives has been going on. But considering the sensitivity of the issue, in the present context, it has been decided to put on hold transporting and exporting explosives," he said.

On Sri Lankan armed forces being trained in India, the External Affairs minister said it was part of an ongoing process that had been taking place for a long time.

"We have institutions that train people from many countries. This is one of our strengths. Our academies are well-acclaimed world over and there is a huge demand," he said.

“Sri Lanka, like many other countries, has sought these training facilities. But we are providing only training programme. We are not providing any lethal weapons," Mukherjee emphasised.

On Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's recent remarks that his country would not stake claim for Kashmir, he said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had already reacted to this.