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India will not recognise Eelam: Lankan paper

India is considering humanitarian aid drops to beleaguered Sri Lankan forces under attack from advancing Tamil Tiger rebels, the state-run Sunday Observer reported in Colombo today.

India will give "non-military logistical help" if requested by Colombo, whose forces are resisting a major offensive by the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the newspaper said.

It added that New Delhi would not recognise a separate Tamil state that the Tigers are fighting to carve out of Sri Lanka.

The LTTE has been mounting pressure on government forces in the northern Jaffna peninsula, although the last five days have seen a lull in fighting except for long-range artillery exchanges.

In the story headlined 'India poised to airdrop supplies', the Observer said New Delhi had made it clear that any humanitarian assistance would be in consultation with the Colombo government.

'Asked what India would do if the LTTE captures Jaffna and declares a state of Eelam while India keeps on saying that she respects the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, highly placed diplomatic sources said India would never recognise such a state,' the paper reported.

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