LONDON, May 16 (AFP) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today warned Sri Lanka there would be "consequences for its actions" if Colombo did not allow humanitarian agencies access to civilians and end the conflict with Tamil Tiger rebels.
Brown also called for the LTTE to lay down its arms and allow trapped civilians to leave, and said he was backing United Nations efforts to end the conflict.
Sri Lanka stands on the brink," Brown said in a statement. "We have called repeatedly for the violence to cease.
“The humanitarian agencies must be granted access to civilians caught in the crossfire of a dreadful conflict. We are backing UN efforts to secure an orderly end to the conflict.
The LTTE must lay down its arms and allow civilians to leave. Sri Lanka must understand that there will be consequences for its actions.” A spokesman for Brown's Downing Street office told AFP the British leader would speak to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by phone later this weekend, and added that Brown had already called Rajapaksa "several times to make his concerns clear." |
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