'Permanent ceasefire and not a humanitarian pause': APPG-T

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 April 2009, 13:02 GMT]
"We want an immediate and permanent ceasefire and not a humanitarian pause," said Virendra Sharma MP, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPG-T) in a statement issued on Wednesday.

APPG-T appreciates that the Foreign Secretary has been calling for a humanitarian ceasefire at many occasions in the recent past. However we now urge our government to take this very serious issue to the UN Security Council to pass a Resolution that will cover the following:

1. An immediate, permanent, internationally monitored ceasefire
2. Unfettered access by international humanitarian organisations and the UN
3. An unimpeded flow of humanitarian relief, especially adequate food and medicine, to the civilians in the conflict zone
4. Full and immediate access to the ‘safe zone’ for the international media.

There is a well founded fear that a large number of civilians will be killed, the statement by the APPG-T said.