tamil nadu
& Tamil Eelam strugglE for freedom

Tamil Nadu Going Eelam Way?
September/October 2008

ஈழத்தமிழினத்தின் அவலமும் தாய்த்தமிழக எழுச்சியும்
-  குமுதம் இணையதள காணொளி

C.N.Annadurai - காஞ்சீபுரம் நடராஜன் அண்ணாதுரை - கடமை- கண்ணியம் - கட்டுப்பாடு  -  தெளிவு- துணிவு - கனிவு

"...if the fictitious concept of placing �country�s interests above human rights, ethnic pride and identity� continues to be promoted for long, it will be a matter of time for India too to meet the fate of USSR or Yugoslavia or now Sri Lanka... In 1965, when Tamil Nadu faced the possibility of military action from a powerful New Delhi, Annadurai opted to abandon his demand for full autonomy for states under a lose confederation with one currency but multiple ethnic, cultural and national identities.

Today, Tamil Nadu appears headed for revolutionary political changes in a culmination of a combination of events: For one, the two main Dravidian political outfits � Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), headed by three-time chief minister M Karunanidhi and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), headed by former two-term CM Jayalalitha � are both reeling under overwhelming outrage among the Tamil population...The ground reality in Tamil Nadu is that almost every Tamil � belonging to whatever religion or strata � has a primary affinity to other Tamil-speaking people of whatever domicile or religion. .. Dravidian leaders, in their zeal to get on the right side of Delhi bosses, are seen to be conniving with New Delhi�s policy of aiding Sri Lankan government in exterminating Tamils...Developments in October will decide if New Delhi will be adding to the Kashmir imbroglio another hopeless embroilment in the South."  Natteri Adigal in  Merinews, 9 October 2008
 

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Tamil Nadu Going Eelam Way? Natteri Adigal, 9 October 2008 together with Tamil Translation by M.Thanapalasingham.....

  Pattali Makkal Katchi - PMK Rally  in Tamil Nadu: Withdraw Military Aid to Sri Lanka  "இலங்கைப் போருக்கு நிரந்தர தீர்வு தமிழ் ஈழம் அமைவதே", 29 September 2008

One Day Fast & Protest Meeting Organised by the Communist Party of India against Sri Lanka's Attack on Eelam Tamils, 2 October 2008

  DMK sponsored public meeting calls for end to offensive against Eelam Tamils,  6 October 2008

Jayalalitha recognises Eelam Tamils Right to Self-Determination, 9 October 2008

Vaiko arrested in Chennai, 10 October 2008

Tamil Nadu Opinion Poll shows clear majority for lifting ban on LTTE, 12 October 2008

Tamil Nadu Government & New Delhi Play the Ultimatum Game  "The central government's policy (on Sri Lanka) will be the state government's policy." Chief Minister Karunanidhi, Times of India, 25 May 2006

Kanimozhi hands over 'conditional'  resignation. 15 October 2008

Break diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka: Vaiko tells India, 15 October 2008

On Malini Parthasarathy’s Malodorous Malady - Sachi Sri Kantha, 15 October 2008

தமிழகத்தில் எழுந்துள்ள ஈழத் தமிழர் ஆதரவு தொடர்பில் தமிழின உணர்வாளரும் இயக்குநருமான சீமான் வழங்கிய நேர்காணல். 16 October 2008

The Hindu Targeted in Tamil Nadu - Statement by N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu

சென்னை உயர்நீதி மன்ற வழக்குறைஞர்கள் உண்ணநிலைப் போராட்டம் - Boycott call hits work in Chennai High Court - 17 October 2008

ஈழத்தை உருவாக்குவோம்: இராமேஸ்வரத்தில் தமிழ்த் திரையுலகம் பிரம்மாண்டமான பேரணி- பொதுகூட்டம்

  "சிங்கள இனவெறி அரசின் கூலிப்படையாக இந்திய இராணுவம் - மார்க்சிய, லெனினிய, மாவோவிய, தமிழ் தேசிய அணிகளை நோக்கி காலத்தின் அறைகூவல்!"  தொழிலாளர் மக்களாட்சி, September 2008

Dravidam Kazhagam Rally at Periyar Thidal - பற்றி எரிகிறதே ஈழம்! 20 October 2008

Makkal Janayaka Ilainger Kazhagam, Chennai : Demonstrates in Support of Tamil Eelam - மக்கள் ஜனநாயக இளைஞர் கழகம் : ஈழத் தமிழர்களுக்காக கண்டன ஆர்ப்பாட்டம், சென்னை, 20 October 2008

வைகோ - ஈழத்தில் நடப்பது என்ன? / அரங்கக் கூட்டம், ராஜா அண்ணாமலை மன்றம், சென்னை , 21 October 2008

Part I

In 1965, when Tamil Nadu faced the possibility of military action from a powerful New Delhi, Annadurai opted to abandon his demand for full autonomy to states under a lose confederation with one currency but multiple ethnic, cultural and national identity.

Today, Tamil Nadu appears headed for revolutionary political changes in a culmination of a combination of events: For one, the two main Dravidian political outfits � Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), headed by three-time chief minister M Karunanidhi and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), headed by former two-term CM Jayalalitha � are both reeling under overwhelming outrage among the Tamil population. Discontent brewing against the leaders is peaking due to a general perception that both have betrayed the Tamil cause. The recent brutal military action by the government of Sri Lanka against an assertive Tamil population there has brought about an explosive situation.

According to reports from Colombo, Sri Lankan forces are closing in on territory controlled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Kilinochi, current political capital of the rebels, could fall in the hands of government. But, it is highly unlikely that the struggle against oppression will end. If anything, Tamil Nadu is at the risk of turning into a battleground, like Pakistan�s northwest.

Interestingly, both the outfits that rule in TN alternately swear allegiance to the ideals of DMK propounded by founder CN Annadurai. His mission was to fight for real autonomy to the states under a true confederation at New Delhi. He recognised India as a sort of present day Europe with one currency but multiple cultural, ethnic, linguistic and national identities. (Incidentally, the concept is advocated today by several regional parties, including Maharashtra Navnirman Sena).

Annadurai was a highly educated, scholarly, strategic thinker unlike the current day bosses of these remnant DMKs. When faced with the possibility of military action by a powerful New Delhi in 1965, he opted to abandon his demand for the status. He expertly avoided the fate of Hyderabad or Goa against a formidable enemy or perhaps, the risk of a genocidal oppression, similar to the one going on since 1980s in Sri Lanka.

Since then, TN has always been ruled by either the DMK or AIADMK, with no power sharing with allies. Any coalition has been limited to electoral alliance for seat adjustments. Even the cadre and the leadership of the Communist parties in TN, Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India � Marxist (CPIM), subscribe to Annadurai�s vision of �Self-rule in states, confederation at Centre�. The two main �national� parties � Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) � have only ceremonial presence. Their role is limited to investing the megabucks involved in electioneering of any one of the parties in return for seats.

Long periods in absolute power have inevitably led to a degree of autocracy and tyranny in both parties. Allegations fly thick about high level of corruption, amassing unaccounted wealth by cronies and infighting among senior leaders. �Kalaignar� Karunanidhi and �Amma� Jayalalitha are both known to indulge in undermining each other. They have done deals with whatever political outfit rules in New Delhi to get the other dismissed, harassed with raids and even jailed when out of power.

This has prompted several leaders to break away to form own parties like Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), Lakshiya Dravida Munnetra Kazaham (LDMK) etc � all swearing allegiance to �original� DMK. The latest is the MDDMK, floated by the �fans� of superstar, Rajnikant and it is sending a chill down the spine of opportunists.

The ground reality in Tamil Nadu is that almost every Tamil � belonging to whatever religion or strata � has a primary affinity to other Tamil-speaking people of whatever domicile or religion. This is somewhat true of the Malayalees (Keralites) whose identity transcends religion. The India they recognise as a collective identity includes the entire British India. The entity in New Delhi to them is more for administrative convenience and in no way above ethnic affinity and pride. Only a tiny minority -- mainly high-caste elite chosen by God to rule over serfs condemned to languish as pariahs even in next birth � believe in this age in the concept of paramountcy of the �sovereign� � personified by �Bharat Mata�.

Even though Sri Lankan Tamils, who are solidly behind LTTE have the sympathies of the people, they have long been scapegoats of self-serving politics. Dravidian leaders, in their zeal to get on the right side of Delhi bosses, are seen to be conniving with New Delhi�s policy of aiding Sri Lankan government in exterminating Tamils. Moreover, in its futile geopolitical ambitions, New Delhi is seen siding with Sri Lankan forces, which have indiscriminately been capturing, torturing and killing TN fisherman in the sea.

Almost all the political parties in Tamil Nadu have come together in demanding immediate halt to New Delhi�s covert support to the genocidal war against ethnic Tamils. CPI organised a massive rally and fast on the birth anniversary of Gandhi and invited every other party to raise the voice of Tamils. The rally expressed solidarity with the fishermen as well Sri Lankan Tamils and called upon the Central government to pressurise Colombo to stop hostilities and respect international law. Sri Lanka had unilaterally scrapped a Norwegian brokered ceasefire with LTTE.

CPI national secretary D Raja alleged that Sri Lanka has become a rogue state by continuing military action against the Tamils on the island nation. Panruruti Ramachandran who was interlocutor in India-initiated Sri Lanka process during AIADMK founder MGR�s reign in 1980s was one of the main speakers.

MDMK supremo Vaiko, TDI president P Nedumaran and Viduthalai Chiruththaikal (translating to Liberation Panthers) president Thol Thirumavalavan, who boldly and openly support the liberation struggle by LTTE were cheered by the huge crowd.

Jayalalitha had assured of supporting the party, however, pulled out at the last moment, apparently after some horse trading with saffron allies. PMK strongman Dr Ramadas, father of Central health minister Anbumani, simultaneously urged TN chief minister to come out in the open and support the Sri Lankan Tamils. He said New Delhi must be forced to stop anti-Tamil policies.

Most of the leaders openly admire LTTE and its chief Prabhakaran for his courage and determination. New Delhi wants him extradited to India for being put to a sham Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) trial and perhaps, a fake encounter. It was clear that the story peddled by the Congress government, framing Prabhakaran for the mysterious suicide bomb attack that killed former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, does not wash anymore.

Startled at the spontaneous public response transcending party lines, AIADMK has now announced that it would support a similar demonstration scheduled for October 10. [Comment by tamilnation.org see  -  Jayalalitha recognises Eelam Tamils Right to Self-Determination] It is being organised by MDMK chief, Vaiko and will stage a demonstration in front of Shastri Bhavan, the seat of New Delhi�s offices in Chennai. The former CM has assured Vaiko that her organising secretary, Muthusamy would speak at the demonstration.

Even apologists of the �Bharat Mata� concept are rattled at the mammoth groundswell. State unit president Ganesan of BJP demanded that the ruling DMK seek the Centre�s intervention in ensuring a political resolution to the ethnic conflict in the island nation. KV Thangabalu, president of TN Congress said, �Don�t try to isolate the Congress in Tamil Nadu from the issue. As the president of the TNCC, I am ready to lead an all-party delegation to Delhi to take up the issue.�

The octogenarian CM Karunanidhi has sensed the magnitude of public ire that may dethrone his government. He is seen as a shameless collaborator in New Delhi�s connivance in ethnic cleansing. He broke his ominously long silence and asked his cadre to send �millions of telegrams� to Manmonan Singh seeking a halt to collaborating with the Sri Lankan regime. He then spoke to Manmohan Singh and asked the Centre �to treat the appeal as a distress call and of national importance.�

�In an attempt to cool tempers in TN, National Security Advisor MK Narayanan was directed to summon Sri Lankan envoy and convey �India�s grave concern and unhappiness� at the growing casualties of unarmed Tamil civilians in the military action there.� The worthy advised Sri Lanka, �It is essential that vital supplies to the affected population are not disrupted in any manner.�

Reacting to the useless rhetoric that is no more than loud noises, Karunanidhi issued a veiled threat to pull out of the precariously positioned United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

 He declared, �If this atrocity against Lankan Tamils does not stop, then we will have to find answer to the question, �Whether we require this government?� I tell you with all humility that this meeting is to tell you this."

Are the hot-headed strategic planners in New Delhi � quite a few of them traditionally from TN, but viewed as traitors and black sheep there � driving TN to go the Eelam way? Developments in October will decide if New Delhi will be adding to the Kashmir imbroglio another hopeless embroilment in the South.

Karunanidhi heads the weakest government ever in TN. Opposition brands as eyewash the �all party� meet convened by him on October 14 to condemn Centre�s policies of colluding with Sri Lanka in genocide against Tamils.

Part II

The humiliating snub suffered by India at the hands of its tiny southern neighbour on October 10 was nothing new. It was deserved. That is the price the self-styled �emerging superpower� flaunting nukes and pipe-dreaming to lord over the region has had to pay a number  of times. Only a morbid amnesiac can forget how Sri Lankan president Jayawardene delayed seeing the credentials of high profile ambassador JN Dixit, making him wait for months in his court. The �royal� treatment that former India PM Rajiv Gandhi, who was falling head over heels to him, received while inspecting a guard of honour in Colombo has been recorded live in world media.

In an interview to Al Jazeera, President Rajapaksa stated that bombing of Northern towns will not stop till �terrorists� were crushed and a political solution to the civil war with liberation forces in Eelam can wait till then. He ridiculed New Delhi�s "grave concern and unhappiness" at the growing casualties of unarmed Tamil civilians and its counsel to negotiate a peaceful political solution. Rajapaksa loudly wondered, �What can we offer a terrorist outfit which wants a separate state?� and parroted what SL has been claiming since 25 years: �The only option left for the (Liberation) Tigers, who have reached the end of the battle, is to surrender.�

The previous day, foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama referred to the �summon� to deputy high commissioner GGAD Palithaganegoda at New Delhi from National Security Adviser (NSA) of India MK Narayanan in a suo moto statement in Parliament: �Hon members may also be aware of reports of MK Narayanan expressing concern on the situation in Sri Lanka. In this regard I wish to reiterate Sri Lanka�s policy. . . the onus is on international community to support Colombo by taking concrete and tangible measures to �combat terrorism�."

At the root of such trashing India receives in the neighbourhood is the aspiration among the powers-that-be in New Delhi to give a decent burial to federalism in the grossly mismanaged, unwieldy entity. They openly admire the haggard Sinhala Unitary State, which has failed even more miserably than India on socio-economic development front.

Its only �achievement� is of staying a Unitary State for 60 years, despite delivering nothing! Indian leaders, from the so-called cream of society, too crave for a unitary set up, where aspirations of different ethnicities can be nipped. These bosses have been prostrating before �powerful� tyrants in Colombo, despite being shown their place more than once.

Meanwhile, the Indian PM Manmohan Singh has had no time to spare, apart from the loud noises, he directed his NSA to make, to rescue Tamilnadu CM Karunanidhi, who is facing public outrage at the indiscriminate killings of Eelam Tamils.

Singh is too busy regularising the �give and take commitments� made by his government to get India stamped as a nuclear weapon �no-power�! Poised to demit office any time, his government is understandably focused on collecting �upfront benefits� for his friends and masters, from multi-billion dollar �deals�, which were enabled under US-India nuke agreement.

Karunanidhi heads the weakest government ever in TN, dubbed by the main opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), as a �minority government�. For the first time since 1966, the state government survives on �outside� support from Congress.

His Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is fighting hard to ward off local Congress wolves, who clamour for a direct share in the power pie. The huge response from people to a rally organised by Communist Party of India (CPI) on October 2 to protest the Sri Lankan oppression on Eelam Tamils had spurred him to act.

His gimmick of directing his party cadre to �flood the PMO� with �millions of protest telegrams� that prompted Narayanan�s �concern� fell through. Karunanidhi is also rattled by the mammoth support received by the influential Dravidian leader Vaiko�s plan for the rally on October 10.

The CM has now convened an �all party� meet of state leaders on October 14 to jointly express condemnation of New Delhi�s connivance in the massacre. But, this is seen as another drama, even as Sri Lankan Air Force and Army are readying to devastate Eelam for capturing the rebel capital Killinochchi.

Except for high-bred Tamils, who considered themselves among self-styled �Aryans� of the North, none in Tamilnadu relishes this prospect. Ironically, a major section of important people in the foreign affairs officialdom in New Delhi happen to be from this section.

Dravidian leader Vaiko heads Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), which is currently aligned with opposition AIADMK in the state. The one-time colleague of Karunanidhi has turned his bitterest adversary and is emerging as the central force in the new scheme of things. Vaiko was a senior union minister in the non-saffron coalition. The most vociferous advocate of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been consistent in the stand, whatever party he aligns to. He even travelled to Eelam to interview its leader Prabhakaran.

The LTTE leader has every chance to become the head of the state of a country, but New Delhi wants him extradited to India (if Lankans ever catch him)!

Vaiko seems to have planned a grand strategy and has switched to Jayalalitha�s AIDMK camp, which is considered to be a saffron ally. Interestingly, she had put Vaiko behind bars for more than a year, when she was the state CM on charges of sedition. He was charged with �inciting Tamils against the Indian government� and the ruling party in New Delhi helplessly watched. Incidentally, the governments of both Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha have been sacked by New Delhi, at a time, when they were enjoying absolute majority, courtesy the local Congress leaders.

Jayalalitha, drastically reversing her earlier tirade against LTTE of �escalating the civil war that has killed thousands of innocent civilians� including India�s former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi�, has extended full support to Vaiko.

She now wants a halt to military aid to Sri Lanka and has clarified, �We recognise the rights of the Tamil people of Sri Lanka to demand for equality before law, equality in educational institutions and equality in employment with their Sinhala brethren. We recognise their struggle for self-determination and an autonomous Tamil homeland in a truly federal set-up.�

The opposition leader slammed the �minority governments� at Chennai and New Delhi for preventing Vaiko from taking out his rally. Jayalalitha said that the CM had "no moral right" to convene an all party meet; he was just "watching� the attacks on Sri Lankan Tamils and Indian fishermen.

She dared him to withdraw support to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government �for providing training to the Sri Lankan army�. The AIADMK announced that it will boycott the �eyewash� all party meet on October 14.

Vaiko holds that the ruling DMK government in TN is to blame for every Tamil being killed in Eelam. He disclosed that he had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to demand return of HAL radars supplied to SL.
 

These were as part of military aid and the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) uses them to conduct civilian bombings. In his reply, the PM promised to do so if they had indeed been used against the Tamils.

�Yet, SLAF continues bombing civilian areas. Moreover, New Delhi is silent on my request for permission since 18 months to send relief supplies of food and medicines through Red Cross,� he charged.

He warned Karunanidhi and Singh,

�In the name of safeguarding Sri Lanka�s sovereignty, don�t lose India�s sovereignty and national integration.�

He charged that the �Centre is colluding with Colombo�s military machine indulging in genocide, while the state government goes on issuing bland statements of eyewash.�

A Tamil Congressman V Narayanasamy, who is a junior Union minister and an AICC general secretary, has called for a ban on the MDMK. He accused the party of championing the �cause of LTTE� and extending �open support to the outlawed Sri Lankan militant outfit�.

TN�s Congress leaders are apparently alarmed at the resurfacing of Rajiv Gandhi�s ghost as a result of these developments. Jayalalitha, who could be silenced all these years from speaking out, seems to have gone out of their control. She declared: �We are opposed to an armed struggle, which has lost its way, resulting in killing of thousands of innocent people on both sides. We are distressed that a former Indian prime minister was brutally assassinated on Tamil soil as a fallout of this struggle,� without implicating LTTE in it.

She was only expressing the general perception that the impulsive PM just paid the price for heeding to biased, high-bred foreign policy pundits. He sent Indian Peace Keeping Force to fight LTTE in the hope of installing an obliging puppet regime at Colombo. The soldiers, in frustration at being sent on what was clearly a suicide mission, committed grave atrocities against Tamil people.

"London's Daily Telegraph commenting editorially on the barbarism exhibited by the Indian army in Velvettiturai says that, if anything "this massacre is worse than My Lai. Then American troops simply ran amok. In the Sri Lankan village, the Indians seem to have been more systematic; the victims being forced to lie down, and then shot in the back". - Indian Cabinet Minister George Fernandes  in India's Mylai, 1989

 It eventually earned the most humiliating defeat to the mighty Indian Military machine when it was kicked out by the militia fighting for their home and hearth.

Already, the story peddled by Indian �experts�, framing the LTTE and Prabhakaran for the sake of �successfully cracking� the assassination mystery, is being increasingly trashed.

There were no credible corroborative or eyewitness evidences presented. There are not many takers for hush-hush trials by a TADA court that admitted extracted confessions for condemning two dozen poor refugees.

It was also far-fetched to imagine that so many persons nabbed alive could belong to LTTE, whose cadre are known to bite a locket of cyanide they wear if caught, as they �confessed�.

Indian authorities, including the judiciary, conveniently chose to ignore the question: �Why would the highly motivated outfit with limited resources, fighting for liberation against a formidable army, resort to an assassination which cannot help their cause in any way?�

On the other hand, it was the Congress that gained the maximum from the death of the mercurial PM. There was no other way for the party to have won the elections without exploiting the �sympathy wave� that the �sacrifice� generated.  No wonder, TN Congress bigwigs are keen to silence anyone, including Priyanka Gandhi, trying to dig out the truth!

The most prudent step for New Delhi now would be to not only stop covert aid to Sri Lanka to crush so-called terrorists.

It should wake up to the reality of outcry against hijacking of the federal concept in India. Overwhelming popular support is enjoyed by regional parties in every state of India, who protest this hijack.

If Eelam Tamil issue has become so explosive, it is because the Colombo regime felt militarily powerful enough to impose a Unitary Sinhala-controlled system in place of a federal structure, denying human rights to Tamils.

Mercifully, India is too big a country for its military to suppress such popular uprisings. Yet, if the fictitious concept of placing �country�s interests above human rights, ethnic pride and identity� continues to be promoted for long, it will be a matter of time for India too to meet the fate of USSR or Yugoslavia or now Sri Lanka.

"இலங்கைப் போருக்கு நிரந்தர தீர்வு தமிழ் ஈழம் அமைவதே"

The Pattali Makkal katchi (PMK, Toilers' Party) in Tamil Nadu staged Tuesday, 29 September 2008 a protest rally in front of the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission in Chennai, where more than 2000 Tamil activists took part. Welcoming the Tamil Nadu leaders who have extended their support to Eelam Tamils at a critical juncture, Dr. S. Ramadoss, the founder leader of the PMK, urged the remaining leaders to extend their support to pressurise the Central government of India to withdraw military support to the Sri Lankan government which is engaged in a genocide against the Eelam Tamils.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Ramadoss encouraged the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, who has earlier extended support to Eelam Tamils, also to come forward disregarding any pressure from the Centre in India to exert pressure on New Delhi to withdraw its support to the Sri Lankan government. Even if Delhi decides to remove Kalaignar from his office in Tamil Nadu as Chief Minister for the sake of his support to Eelam Tamils, we would get him in power, he proclaimed.

K.S. Mani, the leader of the PMK party, Poet Arivumathi, Artist Santhanam, and Film Director Seeman also addressed the participants. All of them were condemned New Delhi for extending military support to Sri Lankan instead of demanding Sri Lanka to resolve the conflict by peaceful means.

The rally, which began at 11:00 a.m. concluded at 1:00 p.m., resolving its support to the right to self determination of Eelam Tamils and condemning the Sri Lankan state for genocide and the New Delhi for abetting the anti-Tamil agenda of the Sri Lankan government.

ஈழத் தமிழர்களுக்காக இந்திய கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி தமிழ்நாட்டில் நடத்தவுள்ள உண்ணாநிலைப் போராட்டத்துக்கு மதிமுக ஆதரவளிப்பது தொடர்பில் அக்கட்சியின் பொதுச் செயலாளர் வைகோ வழங்கிய நேர்காணல், 2 October 2008

"We wish to point out that we are fighting against the Indian State not only for its Nuclear deal with the USA ; we are also opposing it for the role it plays in Sri Lanka...This struggle which expresses the sentiments of the entire Tamil people will continue and we will unite in the struggle continually." CPI National Secretary D. Raja

சென்னை அரசினர் விடுதி எதிரில்...
Photos: Courtesy Tamil News Centre

Thousands of people Thursday took to the venues in Tamil Nadu's capital city Chennai and other district capitals in the southern state of India to participate in a fasting campaign on Mahatma Gandhi's birthday demanding New Delhi to withdraw military assistance to Sri Lanka. Several Tamil leaders, including Panruti S. Ramachandran, who was actively engaged in the Sri Lankan process under the late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) in the mid-80's addressed the participants at Seappaakkam. CPI National Secretary D. Raja, in his address, charged that New Delhi was clandestinely assisting Sri Lanka in its war against Tamils and questioned what the Indian personnel who came under attack in the North of Sri Lanka were doing there.

"The lost rights of the Indian fishermen in the Kachchatheevu agreement should be restored," Mr. Raja declared and said: "We wish to point out to the leader of Dravida Munetra Kazhakam that we are fighting against the Indian State not only for its Nuclear deal; we are also opposing it for the role it plays in Sri Lanka."

T. Pandyan, the Tamil Nadu State Secretary of the CPI said the hunger-strike and the support by CPI to Eezham Tamils was not a political manoeuvre for forming an election alliance in Tamil Nadu. "It is a shame to think about forming political alliance on the death of Eezham Tamils," he said and urged all parties to exert pressure on New Delhi.

A wide range of Tamil leaders were present at the stage at Seappaakkam where Communist Party of India (CPI) had called for one-day hunger strike demanding the Central Government of India to stop not to provide military assistance to the Sri Lankan government, to exert pressure on Colombo to stop the military offensive and to resume peace talks to find a political solution.

Tamil Nadu CPI Joint Secretary C. Mahendran, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary N. Varadarajan, Chairman of Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam led by Actor Vijayakanth, Panruti S.Ramachandran, MDMK General-Secretary Vaiko, Tamil National Movement Leader Pala Nedumaran, Viduthalai Chiruththaikal Kadchi (VCK, Liberation Panthers Party) President Thol. Thirumavalavan, Puthiya Thamizhakam Leader Dr. Krishnasamy, World Tamils Organization President, Ira. Janarthanan, former Congress leader Thindivanam Ramamoorthy and Latchiya Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (LDMK) Leader Vijaya T Rajendhar were among the political figures of Tamil Nadu who took part in the hunger strike at the stage and also addressed the audience.

Several artists and poets from Tamil Nadu and three Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarians, Maavai Senathirajah MP, Sivajilingam MP, Suresh Premachandran MP and V.I.S Jayapalan, a Tamil poet from Eezham were also among the participants at the stage.

"This struggle which expresses the sentiments of the entire Tamil people will continue and we will unite in the struggle continually," Mr. T. Raja told the participants. "This issue cannot be brushed aside as an internal affair of Sri Lanka. The offensive against the Eezham Tamils will affect India too."

Streets were blocked as participants thronged the site at Seappaakkam

"Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said on Tuesday, 2 October 2008, that the Sri Lankan Tamils were fully aware as to who had stood by them from the beginning and who wavered in their support to the Tamil cause.

In a statement in Chennai, he said that from the beginning of the Sri Lankan crisis, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam has been supporting Tamils in the island nation. Referring to the October 2 fast planned by some political parties in the State, he said this could be the reason for the Communist Party of India not inviting the DMK while inviting parties that did not support the Tamil cause or supported them half-heartedly.

Recalling the kind of support that the DMK had extended to Tamils, Mr. Karunanidhi said that following the party's call for a rally for Sri Lankan Tamils, seven lakh people turned up the next day. Party MLAs resigned on the issue and the DMK government was dismissed in 1991 for supporting the Tamils.

"I do not have to recount all this to inform people anew," he said and added that the DMK's stand was made clear in a lengthy statement he made on the floor of the Assembly. He hoped that leaders who address the fast would also speak about the April 2008 resolution passed in the House on the Sri Lankan crisis. [THE END] "Sri Lankan Tamils know who stood by them from beginning" says Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi  [Tamil News Centre], 2 October 2008

[Comment by tamilnation.org - Yes, they do .  Eelam Tamils do know who stood by them from the beginning. see also "New Delhi's Policy on Sri Lanka will be Tamil Nadu's Policy says Karunanidhi  " Despite appearances to the contrary, Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi's policies in relation to the struggle for Tamil Eelam have always been within the frame work of New Delhi's policies - and therefore Mr.Karunanidhi  has not said anything new. At a meeting with a Gandhian organisation in New Delhi in 1984, a north Indian peace activist bitingly remarked to a Tamil lobbying group - "Do not imagine that you have the support of Mr.Karunanidhi. Please remember that when Indira Gandhi tells Mr.Karunanidhi to stop, the barking will stop." He added, "Indira Gandhi has enough ammunition to make Mr.Karunanidhi stop."  Today we may want to substitute Manmohan Singh for Indira Gandhi]

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state in Southern India, Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi, on Monday declared that his government would no longer tolerate Indian Central government aiding the Sri Lankan government against the Eezham Tamils, even if it aided Colombo unwittingly. The move comes after the veteran DMK leader urged his party members to telegram New Delhi to convey their displeasure with the attitude of the Central government. He has warned New Delhi that he would not hesitate to withdraw his support to the ruling UPA alliance, if Sri Lanka continued its war against Eezham Tamils.

 Following thousands of telegrams and a letter sent by him to Indian Prime Minister with four demands, the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh discussed with Mr. Karunanidhi over the phone Monday morning. Later, Mr. Karunanidhi addressed the people of Tamil Nadu in a public meeting called on to declare his support to Eezham Tamils in Chennai. Thousands attended the rally.

The four demands, which Mr. Kalaignar said he read out to the Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, when the latter contacted him over the phone, were:

1. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Delhi should be called on the carpet by the Indian Central Government against the killings of Tamils in Sri Lanka
2. Put an end to the military offensive and the killings by the Sri Lankan government.
3. Sri Lankan Government should enter Peace Talks
4. There should be no hardships imposed on Tamil Nadu fishermen by the Sri Lanka Navy.

Ms. Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and leader of the state's major opposition party, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), said in a press release, clarifying AIDMK stand Thursday that her party fully recognized Eelam Tamils right to Self-Determination. She also said that her party accepted the demand for Tamil homeland with self-governance within a united framework of a Sri Lankan constitution.

The AIDMK supported the prolonged struggle of the Eelam Tamils for their right to self determination, declared Ms. Jayalalitha. At the same time, she denounced terrorist activities that caused internal strife among the Eelam Tamils and disturbed the rule of Law within India...

Ms. Jayalalithaa has sought to clarify her stand and the stand of her party and specified AIDMK's policy on Eelam Tamils in four points:

Not Secondary Citizens: Eelam Tamils have equal rights as all other citizens of Sri Lanka. They are not secondary to anybody.

Equal Rights: We completely support the prolonged struggle of the Sri Lankan Tamils seeking equality before law and equal opportunities in education and employment.

Right to Self-Determination: We totally recognize their righteous struggle seeking the Right of Self-Determination.

Self-Governance within United Sri Lanka: We understand and accept the demand of the Tamils that they shall create a Tamil Homeland where they have the power of self-governance, under the framework of a Sri Lankan Constitution.

Last Saturday, Ms. Jayalalithaa had condemned New Delhi for supplying arms, radar and military training to the Sri Lankan government. Questioning why special commanders of the Indian military were engaged in providing secret training to around one-hundred Sri Lankan military personnel in the state of Haryana, Jayalalithaa asked why India was again involving in the Sri Lankan war contradicting its earlier conclusion that the war in Sri Lanka was to be regarded as an internal affair of that island.

She said that the war being waged by the Sri Lankan government was not only against the LTTE. The war was against the Tamil people, she said and went on challenging the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to withdraw his support to the ruling UPA government of India.

On Monday, Mr. Karunanidhi indirectly declared that his government would no longer tolerate New Delhi aiding Colombo against the Eezham Tamils, even if it supported Colombo "unwittingly".

However, Ms. Jayalithaa, in her policy statement issued on Thursday charged that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister who was earlier arms-twisting the offices of the Central Government to get "lucrative positions for his relatives and trusted followers," he was merely paying "lip-service" and stopped with issuing statements from Chennai when it came to the issue of the Indian fishermen being targeted by the Sri Lankan Navy; and Eezham Tamils being killed by the Sri Lankan forces.

The affected Tamils would not benefit in any manner if people send telegrams to New Delhi, or if the Sri Lankan diplomats serving in low rank in the high commission were given warnings, she said urging Mr. Karunanidhi to come forward to put pressure on his allies in the Centre.

Jayalalithaa urged the Centre and Mr. Karunanidhi to take measures to address the needs of the thousands of civilians who are languishing without food, shelter and medicine. Even the women and children have become victims of the indiscriminate attacks by the Sri Lankan forces, she said.