The DK and the DMK never failed to bad mouth the Brahmins and accused them of being the originators of casteism in India. The fact is that caste is equated with varna and thus the Brahmins have been taken to task and marginalised in this state of Tamilnadu. The caste proliferation took place under the British colonialists and perpetuated by the secularist beneficiaries of colonialism who assumed power when the Brits left India.
Today the Brahmins are insignificant minority in Tamilnadu and are marginalized and powerless. The anti-caste Dravidian outfits have ruled the roost for almost six decades yet we have caste wars taking place in Tamilnadu with increasing frequency. Has anyone asked these stalwarts of casteless society as to how this could happen?
The fact of the matter is that instead of treating people equal before law, the constitution has, in the name of pro-activism, has perpetrated caste divisions and caste wars. The best way to deal with this situation is to do away with reservations and bring about equality of all citizens. If anyone is going to argue that the Brahmins have caused it for thousands of years and therefore that there should be no equality provisions for thousands of years then such people must be banned from politics.
Here is the news item that triggered my thoughts:
‘We had to be violent’
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98We+had+to+be+violent%E2%80%99&artid=VfDpR5n|UJc=&SectionID=lifojHIWDUU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=rSY|6QYp3kQ=&SEO=
Dhanya Matsa
First Published : 15 Nov 2008 06:56:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 15 Nov 2008 10:09:21 AM IST
CHENNAI": “We were just like any other student when we entered the portals of the law college. If students of New College or Loyola are not conscious of their caste and we are, you (media) should examine the reasons rather than point a finger against caste Hindus when it com es to a Dalit issue. Do you think our parents injected caste feelings into our blood?” It was a final year student, Ashwathaman, venting his feelings when asked why students of Dr Ambedkar Government Law College were divided on caste lines.
Candid about the fact that everyone was aware of everyone’s caste identity, students of a caste Hindu community said the first thing they were asked as soon as they entered the college on the first day was: “What is your caste?” Ragging was based on caste. “The ragging I endured in their hands cannot be put on print and homosexual assault was the least of our worries,’’ said Satish, a final year student.
Vehemently opposing being termed as a caste Hindu, Muthukoo dalingam, a final year student, said: “Yes, we are Thevars. There are also Vanniyars, Yadavas, Nadars and Naidus among others castes and a large number of Christians and even Muslims. We are all united against the violence they perpetrate on us. Just because the college is named after Dr Ambedkar does not mean that they run the college or can get away with several acts of violence.” Asked why they omitted ‘Dr Ambedkar’ from the name of the college in the posters, Muthukoodalingam said Dalit students beat him up last year, when he was an organiser of ‘Thevar Jeyanthi’ celebrations in the college, for printing the name. “This year, they created problems becase we left out the name.” Other students contradicted him. Even last year, ‘Dr Ambedkar’ was omitted but the clash that broke out was not publicised.
Caste Hindu students said the attack on non-SC students in the hostel last year landed 30 of them in hospital with injuries and forced students to seek transfer to other colleges. Now, the hostel was completely for Dalits.
“We had to be violent as the college authorities turned a blind eye to our problems. Nobody wanted to be branded as anti-Dalits. Proof of which is that no action has been taken by the college against erring students in the last many years. If the college principal had taken steps three years ago, then the violence would have not escalated to such levels,” says Ashwathaman.
Showing posts with label Tamilnadu politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamilnadu politics. Show all posts
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
MK in a bind on Lankan Tamils
Express News Service
First Published : 03 Nov 2008 03:16:00 AM IST
Last Updated :
CHENNAI: DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has been literally caught in a catch-22 situation, being unable to antagonise the Congress, the only ally in Tamil Nadu, and being forced to do a tightrope walk on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, by renewing his call for unity among all parties.
The only weapon which comes handy to Karunanidhi now is the ‘unity mantra’, which he has been chanting time and again, ever since the Lankan Tamils issue took a serious turn in the recent past.
But the unity mantra has, in a way,united the entire opposition on one agenda: to criticise the DMK on the Tamils issue.
Despite the Centre’s diplomatic moves on the issue after the all-party meeting on October 14, the main demand for a ceasefire is yet to be realised and the truth is that the DMK can’t criticise the Union Government.
The PMK criticised the DMK leadership for the inaction on the issue, while the CPI, which gave a fresh momentum to the Lankan Tamils issue in the current situation, is also posing pertinent questions to the ruling DMK.
J Jayalalithaa, leader of the main opposition party, AIADMK, has been waging a fierce battle of words with Karunanidhi on the issue, while the MDMK chief, who is now in prison, has also condemned the DMK in unequivocal terms. Even the Congress is divided on the Lankan Tamils issue because of the LTTE.
Except for a few leaders, almost all of them have taken a firm stance against the Tigers.
CM hits out at Ramadoss
DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday took strong exception to the remarks of PMK founder leader S Ramadoss who had questioned the action of the DMK Government to raise funds for the cause of Lankan Tamils.
In a statement, he wondered how the PMK leader could criticise his action which was intended to help the suffering Tamils in the island nation. He said even the film fraternity had collected Rs 45 lakh for the Lankan Tamils at a fast in the city.
The fund thus raised would be given to the Tamils in Lanka through the International Red Cross and the United Nations’ representative, he said, and added that there was no need to harbour any fear that the money would be directly handed over to the Sri Lankan Government.
First Published : 03 Nov 2008 03:16:00 AM IST
Last Updated :
CHENNAI: DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has been literally caught in a catch-22 situation, being unable to antagonise the Congress, the only ally in Tamil Nadu, and being forced to do a tightrope walk on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, by renewing his call for unity among all parties.
The only weapon which comes handy to Karunanidhi now is the ‘unity mantra’, which he has been chanting time and again, ever since the Lankan Tamils issue took a serious turn in the recent past.
But the unity mantra has, in a way,united the entire opposition on one agenda: to criticise the DMK on the Tamils issue.
Despite the Centre’s diplomatic moves on the issue after the all-party meeting on October 14, the main demand for a ceasefire is yet to be realised and the truth is that the DMK can’t criticise the Union Government.
The PMK criticised the DMK leadership for the inaction on the issue, while the CPI, which gave a fresh momentum to the Lankan Tamils issue in the current situation, is also posing pertinent questions to the ruling DMK.
J Jayalalithaa, leader of the main opposition party, AIADMK, has been waging a fierce battle of words with Karunanidhi on the issue, while the MDMK chief, who is now in prison, has also condemned the DMK in unequivocal terms. Even the Congress is divided on the Lankan Tamils issue because of the LTTE.
Except for a few leaders, almost all of them have taken a firm stance against the Tigers.
CM hits out at Ramadoss
DMK president and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Sunday took strong exception to the remarks of PMK founder leader S Ramadoss who had questioned the action of the DMK Government to raise funds for the cause of Lankan Tamils.
In a statement, he wondered how the PMK leader could criticise his action which was intended to help the suffering Tamils in the island nation. He said even the film fraternity had collected Rs 45 lakh for the Lankan Tamils at a fast in the city.
The fund thus raised would be given to the Tamils in Lanka through the International Red Cross and the United Nations’ representative, he said, and added that there was no need to harbour any fear that the money would be directly handed over to the Sri Lankan Government.
If Kalaignar were a Bihari
Aditya Sinha
First Published : 01 Nov 2008 01:38:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 01 Nov 2008 07:32:05 AM IST
Sometimes I wonder: what if Mr Kalaignar was a Bihari. He is, as you know, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi; I am, as regular readers know, an American Bihari.We have something in common: the Shiv Sena. The Sena was born mobilizing unemployed Marathis by demonizing the “Madrasi”. Now that Sena founder Bal Thackeray is close to croaking, his nephew Raj and son Uddhav are wrestling for his political inheritance by demonizing the “Bihari”.
In the way that “Madrasi” encompassed all south Indians during the Sena’s birth, “Bihari” includes everyone from the Gangetic belt. This is confusing. South Indians refer to all north Indians as “Punjabis”, so for the “Madrasi”, are Marathis and Biharis sub-sets of “Punjabis”? And why does the “Madrasi” refer to those from the Northeast (like my wife) as north Indians when “Punjabis” refer to them as “Chinkies”? Should we refer to Kashmiris as “Extremely North Indians”? Since Pakistan is dominated by Punjabis, are they a subset of north Indians too? And since Hema Malini and Sridevi both married Punjabis, are they traitors? But I digress. The attacks on Biharis will likely continue for another year, till the Maharashtra assembly elections are due. In part, this is because both Raj and Uddhav think their incontinent old man is going to pop it sometime soon; he was too “leaky” to travel to election meetings far from his house “Matoshri” in Bandra during the 2004 elections. Their fight for the soul of the Sena means a bit of economy with the truth: the Maharashtra state labour commission apparently says there is no fight for jobs between Marathis and Biharis; Marathis dominate government jobs, Biharis do the low-level stuff, and the private sector (which can’t be regulated through quotas) is dominated by the folks from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Could Raj and Uddhav be jumping the gun? After all, their old man is a couple of years younger than our Mr Kalaignar who, Brahmanical Gods willing, will torment India for many years to come. And he hasn’t lost his touch: he recently wrote in the Sena mouthpiece, Samna, that Biharis were “an unwanted lot” in the country, or that the 16 Bihar MPs who have threatened to resign were “spitting into the plate they ate from”. It seems that my wife is not the only one who thinks Biharis are unwanted.
In fact, till my wife and I met, she, like the ULFA, thought all Biharis were either tea garden labourers or rickshaw drivers. In Punjab, at the height of terrorism in the 1980s, extremists used to gun down Bihari migrant workers, though Punjabi entrepreneurs are now trying to woo Biharis back since their own people are too prosperous to do manual farm labour.
In Delhi, Biharis will soon overtake Punjabis as the capital’s largest ethnic group; that the BJP has chosen a Punjabi candidate, V K Malhotra, for CM means the Biharis are likely to vote for Mayawati and thereby split the Congress tally. Even CM Sheila Dixit last year spoke of how “these Biharis” came to Delhi and stayed on.
Even in America. While I grew up, other Indian youngsters used to snort when I revealed I was from Bihar (you’d think that Indians would display more unity living halfway across the globe). Once, feeling demoralized I told my father, and he counseled me to buck up; “Tell them about Bihar’s ancient culture,” he said. “How it was the birthplace of Buddhism, and the centre of the empire of Chandragupta Maurya, the first unifier of India.” In fact,my parents are currently visiting from America; my mother comes annually for Chhath puja, this year on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the same time as the US presidential elections (anyway they would have split their votes between Obama and McCain). Chhath entails worship of the Sun; it is said to have started in the Mahabharata with Karna, the son of Kunti by the Sun God. Biharis celebrate it wherever they migrate to; in New York, my mother tells me, one of her friends does Chhath on the banks of the Hudson River. Though my mother stopped going to Bihar for Chhath during the lawless years of Laloo Prasad’s reign, she did the puja in Delhi, where I used to live.
In fact, the 16 MPs who were protesting against Raj Thackeray’s behaviour and who demanded a CBI inquiry into the police shooting of an angry young migrant, said they would quit Parliament after Chhath.
My father and I were watching the announcement on TV and I laughed; I further laughed when I saw Raj Thackeray ask his supporters not to disrupt Chhath in Maharashtra.
The resignation threat was as sincere as the recent DMK threat to resign (thereby threatening to pull down the UPA government) in case India did not ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
But Karunanidhi seems to have had his cake and eat it too. He gets away with his hypocrisy and remains the “champion” of Tamil Eelam, simply because there is nobody else to inherit his mantle (sons Stalin and Azhagiri are no patch on Raj and Uddhav, so Chennai’s Biharis need not worry).
After him, there will be a real crisis of leadership in opposition to Jayalalithaa. If Vaiko or Ramadoss were capable of the top job, they would have somehow got it by now; if they have not, they will never.Vijaykanth does not seem to have any depth, relying for advice on the discards from other parties.
He seems like nothing more than a popular face. Plus, he has no neck.
And if Karunanidhi had roared against the attacks against Biharis,would Raj or Uddhav have had the temerity to tell him to mind his own business, the way they did to Laloo or chief minister Nitish Kumar? Probably not. Of course, Mr Kalaignar takes his alpha-male role too seriously when he throws stones at women, the way his gang did at Jayalalithaa in Madurai on Thursday. His support to Tamil Eelam remains just a lot of lip service, done to ensure his family’s political and business survival, as the coming months may prove. And with Laloo around, Bihar isn’t big enough for two kalaignars.
Last week, my wife scolded me for bragging about my American heritage. I did it because Obama’s words made me proud of that heritage. The USA is lucky to have a leader like him. India’s luck can be gauged by the transcendence of its Thackerays, Laloos, Kalaignars, Amar Singhs, Sonias, Advanis, et al. Our luck is further eroded by the fact that we have a prime minister who is incapable of politically managing this vast land. I don’t buy the theory that at any given time, a chunk of India wants to secede. I think we lack the visionary leaders we had at independence, men and women who forged a nation out of so many peoples.
And if you want to see who’s to blame, you need just look in the mirror!.
editorchief@epmltd.com
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=If+Kalaignar+were+a+Bihari&artid=fAclz7FoN0o=&SectionID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&MainSectionID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg==&SEO=karunanidhi,%20tamil%20eelam,%20bal%20thackeray
First Published : 01 Nov 2008 01:38:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 01 Nov 2008 07:32:05 AM IST
Sometimes I wonder: what if Mr Kalaignar was a Bihari. He is, as you know, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi; I am, as regular readers know, an American Bihari.We have something in common: the Shiv Sena. The Sena was born mobilizing unemployed Marathis by demonizing the “Madrasi”. Now that Sena founder Bal Thackeray is close to croaking, his nephew Raj and son Uddhav are wrestling for his political inheritance by demonizing the “Bihari”.
In the way that “Madrasi” encompassed all south Indians during the Sena’s birth, “Bihari” includes everyone from the Gangetic belt. This is confusing. South Indians refer to all north Indians as “Punjabis”, so for the “Madrasi”, are Marathis and Biharis sub-sets of “Punjabis”? And why does the “Madrasi” refer to those from the Northeast (like my wife) as north Indians when “Punjabis” refer to them as “Chinkies”? Should we refer to Kashmiris as “Extremely North Indians”? Since Pakistan is dominated by Punjabis, are they a subset of north Indians too? And since Hema Malini and Sridevi both married Punjabis, are they traitors? But I digress. The attacks on Biharis will likely continue for another year, till the Maharashtra assembly elections are due. In part, this is because both Raj and Uddhav think their incontinent old man is going to pop it sometime soon; he was too “leaky” to travel to election meetings far from his house “Matoshri” in Bandra during the 2004 elections. Their fight for the soul of the Sena means a bit of economy with the truth: the Maharashtra state labour commission apparently says there is no fight for jobs between Marathis and Biharis; Marathis dominate government jobs, Biharis do the low-level stuff, and the private sector (which can’t be regulated through quotas) is dominated by the folks from Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Could Raj and Uddhav be jumping the gun? After all, their old man is a couple of years younger than our Mr Kalaignar who, Brahmanical Gods willing, will torment India for many years to come. And he hasn’t lost his touch: he recently wrote in the Sena mouthpiece, Samna, that Biharis were “an unwanted lot” in the country, or that the 16 Bihar MPs who have threatened to resign were “spitting into the plate they ate from”. It seems that my wife is not the only one who thinks Biharis are unwanted.
In fact, till my wife and I met, she, like the ULFA, thought all Biharis were either tea garden labourers or rickshaw drivers. In Punjab, at the height of terrorism in the 1980s, extremists used to gun down Bihari migrant workers, though Punjabi entrepreneurs are now trying to woo Biharis back since their own people are too prosperous to do manual farm labour.
In Delhi, Biharis will soon overtake Punjabis as the capital’s largest ethnic group; that the BJP has chosen a Punjabi candidate, V K Malhotra, for CM means the Biharis are likely to vote for Mayawati and thereby split the Congress tally. Even CM Sheila Dixit last year spoke of how “these Biharis” came to Delhi and stayed on.
Even in America. While I grew up, other Indian youngsters used to snort when I revealed I was from Bihar (you’d think that Indians would display more unity living halfway across the globe). Once, feeling demoralized I told my father, and he counseled me to buck up; “Tell them about Bihar’s ancient culture,” he said. “How it was the birthplace of Buddhism, and the centre of the empire of Chandragupta Maurya, the first unifier of India.” In fact,my parents are currently visiting from America; my mother comes annually for Chhath puja, this year on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, the same time as the US presidential elections (anyway they would have split their votes between Obama and McCain). Chhath entails worship of the Sun; it is said to have started in the Mahabharata with Karna, the son of Kunti by the Sun God. Biharis celebrate it wherever they migrate to; in New York, my mother tells me, one of her friends does Chhath on the banks of the Hudson River. Though my mother stopped going to Bihar for Chhath during the lawless years of Laloo Prasad’s reign, she did the puja in Delhi, where I used to live.
In fact, the 16 MPs who were protesting against Raj Thackeray’s behaviour and who demanded a CBI inquiry into the police shooting of an angry young migrant, said they would quit Parliament after Chhath.
My father and I were watching the announcement on TV and I laughed; I further laughed when I saw Raj Thackeray ask his supporters not to disrupt Chhath in Maharashtra.
The resignation threat was as sincere as the recent DMK threat to resign (thereby threatening to pull down the UPA government) in case India did not ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
But Karunanidhi seems to have had his cake and eat it too. He gets away with his hypocrisy and remains the “champion” of Tamil Eelam, simply because there is nobody else to inherit his mantle (sons Stalin and Azhagiri are no patch on Raj and Uddhav, so Chennai’s Biharis need not worry).
After him, there will be a real crisis of leadership in opposition to Jayalalithaa. If Vaiko or Ramadoss were capable of the top job, they would have somehow got it by now; if they have not, they will never.Vijaykanth does not seem to have any depth, relying for advice on the discards from other parties.
He seems like nothing more than a popular face. Plus, he has no neck.
And if Karunanidhi had roared against the attacks against Biharis,would Raj or Uddhav have had the temerity to tell him to mind his own business, the way they did to Laloo or chief minister Nitish Kumar? Probably not. Of course, Mr Kalaignar takes his alpha-male role too seriously when he throws stones at women, the way his gang did at Jayalalithaa in Madurai on Thursday. His support to Tamil Eelam remains just a lot of lip service, done to ensure his family’s political and business survival, as the coming months may prove. And with Laloo around, Bihar isn’t big enough for two kalaignars.
Last week, my wife scolded me for bragging about my American heritage. I did it because Obama’s words made me proud of that heritage. The USA is lucky to have a leader like him. India’s luck can be gauged by the transcendence of its Thackerays, Laloos, Kalaignars, Amar Singhs, Sonias, Advanis, et al. Our luck is further eroded by the fact that we have a prime minister who is incapable of politically managing this vast land. I don’t buy the theory that at any given time, a chunk of India wants to secede. I think we lack the visionary leaders we had at independence, men and women who forged a nation out of so many peoples.
And if you want to see who’s to blame, you need just look in the mirror!.
editorchief@epmltd.com
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=If+Kalaignar+were+a+Bihari&artid=fAclz7FoN0o=&SectionID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&MainSectionID=d16Fdk4iJhE=&SectionName=aVlZZy44Xq0bJKAA84nwcg==&SEO=karunanidhi,%20tamil%20eelam,%20bal%20thackeray
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Swamy alleges mala fide intentions behind arrests
www.hindu.com …
Coimbatore: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy has alleged male fide intentions behind the arrest of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko and party’s Presidium chairman M. Kannappan.
Talking to journalists here on Wednesday, Dr. Swamy said the Tamil Nadu government had resorted to a biased and arbitrary enforcement of law. Why the law had not been equally applied against those who spoke in favour of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, he asked, and sought the reasons for not arresting Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, Pazha Nedumaran and others, who had openly supported the LTTE.
“I am not opposed to the arrest of Mr. Vaiko and Mr. Kannappan. But my contention is that the DMK government is unfair in enforcing the rule of law and it was a clear case of political vendetta.”
Referring to the exclusive interview of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which appeared in The Hindu on Wednesday, Dr. Swamy said there had been a clear understanding from all sides on the need for a political solution, devolution of power and democratic rights. Reiterating the need for a federal constitution in Sri Lanka, with equal rights for the Tamils, Dr. Swamy said that in the absence of the same, he would form a movement for ensuring a federal constitution and equal rights for the Tamils.
Dr. Swamy said his party would field candidates in Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, but not in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
The question of supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party would be considered only if that party asked for support. Under such circumstances, the Janata Party would ask the BJP to take a firm stand on crucial issues, including the Ramar Sethu.
Dr. Swamy said the BJP had a feeble stand on the Ramar Sethu issue and pointed out that the project was cleared when the BJP was in power
Coimbatore: Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy has alleged male fide intentions behind the arrest of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam General Secretary Vaiko and party’s Presidium chairman M. Kannappan.
Talking to journalists here on Wednesday, Dr. Swamy said the Tamil Nadu government had resorted to a biased and arbitrary enforcement of law. Why the law had not been equally applied against those who spoke in favour of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, he asked, and sought the reasons for not arresting Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol. Thirumavalavan, Pazha Nedumaran and others, who had openly supported the LTTE.
“I am not opposed to the arrest of Mr. Vaiko and Mr. Kannappan. But my contention is that the DMK government is unfair in enforcing the rule of law and it was a clear case of political vendetta.”
Referring to the exclusive interview of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, which appeared in The Hindu on Wednesday, Dr. Swamy said there had been a clear understanding from all sides on the need for a political solution, devolution of power and democratic rights. Reiterating the need for a federal constitution in Sri Lanka, with equal rights for the Tamils, Dr. Swamy said that in the absence of the same, he would form a movement for ensuring a federal constitution and equal rights for the Tamils.
Dr. Swamy said his party would field candidates in Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, but not in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
The question of supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party would be considered only if that party asked for support. Under such circumstances, the Janata Party would ask the BJP to take a firm stand on crucial issues, including the Ramar Sethu.
Dr. Swamy said the BJP had a feeble stand on the Ramar Sethu issue and pointed out that the project was cleared when the BJP was in power
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
BJP has misgivings over relief for Lankan Tamils
http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=11800%20&%20section=5
Wed, 29 Oct, 2008,02:44 PM
.
Casting some doubts over the ongoing collection of relief fund for Sri Lankan Tamils, BJP State president L Ganesan today wanted to know whether the money would really reach the needy.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the relief materials sent to the tsunami victims in the island nation by the BJP was stopped.
‘Hence we have decided not to collect fund or other things for the affected Tamils. If a positive assurance is given by the authorities, we are ready to do so,’ he said.
Stating that the BJP would find a solution to the Lankan crisis in six months if voted to power, Ganesan said Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had failed to help the ailing people in the neighbouring country even after sharing the power in the Centre for four and half years.
‘At a time when just months are left for the tenure of the Union government, Karunanidhi has made a mockery that his party MPs would resign over the issue.’
The BJP leader said all those speaking in support of the banned LTTE organisation should be arrested.
On the fishermen issue, Ganesan said Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks that the Sri Lankan Navy would no more attack the Indian fisherman showed his ignorance. ‘The fishermen from India are entitled to fish anywhere as per an agreement between India and Lanka,’ he said.
He also said that the DMK should have properly briefed the Centre on the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka, as those in the power were unaware of the issue.
Ganesan said that the Indian government had every right to pressurise Lanka over the issue, as more than one lakh refugees from the neighbouring nation were being fed here.
On the recent remarks by Karunanidhi that the Sethu Samudram Shipping Canal project should be completed soon, the BJP leader said the Chief Minister was not trying to construct a bridge, but to destroy the one constructed by Lord Rama.
Wed, 29 Oct, 2008,02:44 PM
.
Casting some doubts over the ongoing collection of relief fund for Sri Lankan Tamils, BJP State president L Ganesan today wanted to know whether the money would really reach the needy.
Speaking to reporters here, he said the relief materials sent to the tsunami victims in the island nation by the BJP was stopped.
‘Hence we have decided not to collect fund or other things for the affected Tamils. If a positive assurance is given by the authorities, we are ready to do so,’ he said.
Stating that the BJP would find a solution to the Lankan crisis in six months if voted to power, Ganesan said Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had failed to help the ailing people in the neighbouring country even after sharing the power in the Centre for four and half years.
‘At a time when just months are left for the tenure of the Union government, Karunanidhi has made a mockery that his party MPs would resign over the issue.’
The BJP leader said all those speaking in support of the banned LTTE organisation should be arrested.
On the fishermen issue, Ganesan said Pranab Mukherjee’s remarks that the Sri Lankan Navy would no more attack the Indian fisherman showed his ignorance. ‘The fishermen from India are entitled to fish anywhere as per an agreement between India and Lanka,’ he said.
He also said that the DMK should have properly briefed the Centre on the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka, as those in the power were unaware of the issue.
Ganesan said that the Indian government had every right to pressurise Lanka over the issue, as more than one lakh refugees from the neighbouring nation were being fed here.
On the recent remarks by Karunanidhi that the Sethu Samudram Shipping Canal project should be completed soon, the BJP leader said the Chief Minister was not trying to construct a bridge, but to destroy the one constructed by Lord Rama.
Pepper MK with telegrams, ask him to quit, says Jaya
First Published : 29 Oct 2008 02:30:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 29 Oct 2008 10:32:02 AM IST
CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to send in telegrams to Chief Minister M Karunanidhi asking him to quit for staging a farcical drama.In a statement, Jayalalithaa, who mentioned a news item about Gangai Murugan, who got drunk, climbed the scaffolding of a billboard in Nellai and threatened to jump off and commit suicide, said, ``Some people enact various types of dramas to catch attention. Only when they are taught a bitter lesson, they will stop doing it.’’ She said Karunanidhi was “apparently unaware that India could not interfere in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka.’’ “His misconception was cleared by no less an authority than the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who had come down to Chennai on Sunday to tell him that it would not be possible for India to bring about a ceasefire in Sri Lanka as that would amount to interfering in the internal affairs of that island nation.’’ “Convinced that nothing more could be done for the Tamils in Sri Lanka, he decided not to hand over the resignation letters of all his party MPs, thereby avoiding a crisis for the Centre,’’ she said.She claimed that in return, the Congress would ensure that its MLAs in Tamil Nadu, who sustained Karunanidhi’s minority government in power today, would behave accordingly.Jayalalithaa, calling the whole affair as a drama and a farce, pointed out that ``On day one, when it was reported that Karunanidhi’s daughter Kanimozhi had handed over her resignation to her father and not to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, I had predicted this was how things would shape out. Even Karunanidhi, with all his ingenuity and theatre experience, could not come up with a better script!’’ She said “ Karunanidhi will continue to stage many more such farcical dramas and fool the people who trust him. He should know what the people think and this has to be done, if Tamil Nadu has to survive.’’ “He has to go. And we cannot expect the Centre to do anything about it. For, the persons in power at the Centre are also supporting actors in Karunanidhi’s play,’’ she said.Saying that Karunanidhi had taken nation for a ride, she said he conveniently forgot all about the thousands of Tamils who had been homeless or been displaced by the ongoing war in Sri Lanka.
DMK partners unhappy with 'soft' MK
Express News Service
First Published : 29 Oct 2008 02:53:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 29 Oct 2008 11:39:01 AM IST
CHENNAI: Two days after Chief Minister M Karunanidhi put an end to the question of MPs from Tamil Nadu quitting their jobs on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue after meeting External Affair Minister Pranab Mukherjee, voices of dissent are being raised by various parties in the state, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the island nation.
At a press conference here on Tuesday, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder Thol Thirumavalavan said that ensuring a ceasefire was of paramount importance. He said the resignation of MPs should not be given up but deferred until at least the ceasefire is announced.
P Nedumaran, coordinator of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Supporters Coordination Group, demanded convening of an all party meeting by Karunanidhi. Nedumaran said the people of Tamil Nadu were disappointed over Mukherjee’s silence on the demand made at the all party meeting on the cessation of military support to Sri Lanka.
Taking a dig at AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa, he said, “Those who are terming LTTE as terrorists do not know the real history of the 25 year-old liberation struggle’.
Quoting the recent Express survey, Thirumavalavan said 71 per cent of the state’s people favoured LTTE as a sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
PMK founder S Ramadoss said the revival of support to the Eelam cause in Tamil Nadu has led to some positive steps by Indian Government. After nearly 20 years, Chennai is being involved in the talks that were hitherto held between New Delhi and Colombo.
CPI leader T Pandian has also resented the Centre’s silence on the demand for a ceasefire.
He wanted representatives from Tamil Nadu in relief operations for Lankan Tamils.
---------------------
Thirumavalavan said 71 per cent of the state’s people favoured LTTE as a sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka. But he doesn't know that only close to zero percent of Srilankan Tamils in Srilanka supports LTTE.
Perhaps some expatriate Srilankan Tamils want the war to continue (of course not by their participation as they are safely away!) because they have 'invested' in the war either by choice or by force. Pity!
http://www.kanchiforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=31807#31807
Express News Service
First Published : 29 Oct 2008 02:53:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 29 Oct 2008 11:39:01 AM IST
CHENNAI: Two days after Chief Minister M Karunanidhi put an end to the question of MPs from Tamil Nadu quitting their jobs on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue after meeting External Affair Minister Pranab Mukherjee, voices of dissent are being raised by various parties in the state, demanding an immediate ceasefire in the island nation.
At a press conference here on Tuesday, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder Thol Thirumavalavan said that ensuring a ceasefire was of paramount importance. He said the resignation of MPs should not be given up but deferred until at least the ceasefire is announced.
P Nedumaran, coordinator of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Supporters Coordination Group, demanded convening of an all party meeting by Karunanidhi. Nedumaran said the people of Tamil Nadu were disappointed over Mukherjee’s silence on the demand made at the all party meeting on the cessation of military support to Sri Lanka.
Taking a dig at AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa, he said, “Those who are terming LTTE as terrorists do not know the real history of the 25 year-old liberation struggle’.
Quoting the recent Express survey, Thirumavalavan said 71 per cent of the state’s people favoured LTTE as a sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
PMK founder S Ramadoss said the revival of support to the Eelam cause in Tamil Nadu has led to some positive steps by Indian Government. After nearly 20 years, Chennai is being involved in the talks that were hitherto held between New Delhi and Colombo.
CPI leader T Pandian has also resented the Centre’s silence on the demand for a ceasefire.
He wanted representatives from Tamil Nadu in relief operations for Lankan Tamils.
---------------------
Thirumavalavan said 71 per cent of the state’s people favoured LTTE as a sole representative of Tamils in Sri Lanka. But he doesn't know that only close to zero percent of Srilankan Tamils in Srilanka supports LTTE.
Perhaps some expatriate Srilankan Tamils want the war to continue (of course not by their participation as they are safely away!) because they have 'invested' in the war either by choice or by force. Pity!
http://www.kanchiforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=31807#31807
Actors don't want new troubles - How convenient for them!
Sure, Sure! Actors want to show they are superior to the political actors when coming to acting!!
Tue, 28 Oct, 2008,03:18 PM
With the State government softening its stand over the Lankan issue by recanting on its resignation threat, the Nadigar Sangam, which has planned a fast on 1 November on the emotive issue, is looking to give the whole thing a different spin.
With the majority of top actors and actresses staying away from the hastily cvobbled up protest stage-managed in Rameswaram a few days back, the Nadigar Sangam-backed protest-fast on 1 November was expected to be a show of emotions and much more.
But with the DMK supremo and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi signalling a change of heart on the issue, the Lankan Tamil matter is off the boil in Tamilnadu.
In the event, the Nadigar Sangam event may turn out to be an event that is high on show but little of substance.
Sources in the Nadigar Sangam confirm emotions and tempers would not flare at the proposed one-day fast organised by the association over the Lankan issue.
'We are going ahead with the day-long fast at the Nadigar Sangam premises only to show our solidarity for the Tamils in the island nation,' the sources said.
Already, the Tamil filmdom is finding itself in a spot of bother after the rabble-rousing rally take on 19 October at Rameswaram.
Led by veteran director Bharathiraja, the rally was attended by directors and producers in large numbers. Representatives from the Nadigar Sangam, though expressd their solidaritry for the rally, did not turn up at Rameswaram.
Tempers flared at the meeting in which angry words were poured at the actors for noting attending the rally. Emotional speeches marked the occasio. Directors Ameer and Seeman, and a few others, crossed the line of acceptability.
Eventually cases of sedition were filed against them and they were arrested by 'Q' Branch police and remanded to judicial custody in Rameswaram leading to a series of protests in Chennai by film associations.
A similar protest organised by Nadigar Sangam for the 'vexatious' Hogenakkal issue ended up in controversy with actors like Sathyaraj spewing venom at their men.
But the Nadigar Sangam event will be decidedly low-key. Sources also said following the arrest of directors Seeman and Ameer, it has been decided that the members of the Nadigar Sangam would stage a silent protest and avoid controversial remarks.
A grand dais has been erected at the Nadigar Sangam for the fast which would be staged between 8 am and 4 pm and over 1000 members of the association are expected to attend. Rumours are doing rounds that both Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan have confirmed their participation in the fast.
Sure, Sure! Actors want to show they are superior to the political actors when coming to acting!!
Tue, 28 Oct, 2008,03:18 PM
With the State government softening its stand over the Lankan issue by recanting on its resignation threat, the Nadigar Sangam, which has planned a fast on 1 November on the emotive issue, is looking to give the whole thing a different spin.
With the majority of top actors and actresses staying away from the hastily cvobbled up protest stage-managed in Rameswaram a few days back, the Nadigar Sangam-backed protest-fast on 1 November was expected to be a show of emotions and much more.
But with the DMK supremo and Chief Minister M Karunanidhi signalling a change of heart on the issue, the Lankan Tamil matter is off the boil in Tamilnadu.
In the event, the Nadigar Sangam event may turn out to be an event that is high on show but little of substance.
Sources in the Nadigar Sangam confirm emotions and tempers would not flare at the proposed one-day fast organised by the association over the Lankan issue.
'We are going ahead with the day-long fast at the Nadigar Sangam premises only to show our solidarity for the Tamils in the island nation,' the sources said.
Already, the Tamil filmdom is finding itself in a spot of bother after the rabble-rousing rally take on 19 October at Rameswaram.
Led by veteran director Bharathiraja, the rally was attended by directors and producers in large numbers. Representatives from the Nadigar Sangam, though expressd their solidaritry for the rally, did not turn up at Rameswaram.
Tempers flared at the meeting in which angry words were poured at the actors for noting attending the rally. Emotional speeches marked the occasio. Directors Ameer and Seeman, and a few others, crossed the line of acceptability.
Eventually cases of sedition were filed against them and they were arrested by 'Q' Branch police and remanded to judicial custody in Rameswaram leading to a series of protests in Chennai by film associations.
A similar protest organised by Nadigar Sangam for the 'vexatious' Hogenakkal issue ended up in controversy with actors like Sathyaraj spewing venom at their men.
But the Nadigar Sangam event will be decidedly low-key. Sources also said following the arrest of directors Seeman and Ameer, it has been decided that the members of the Nadigar Sangam would stage a silent protest and avoid controversial remarks.
A grand dais has been erected at the Nadigar Sangam for the fast which would be staged between 8 am and 4 pm and over 1000 members of the association are expected to attend. Rumours are doing rounds that both Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan have confirmed their participation in the fast.
Monday, October 27, 2008
TN government denies plans to arrest Jayalalithaa
IANS
First Published : 27 Oct 2008 06:53:29 PM IST
Last Updated : 27 Oct 2008 07:06:48 PM IST
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government Monday denied the claims of opposition leader J. Jayalalithaa of her impending arrest by the state police. "The allegation is a figment of her imagination and not based on any fact," Director General of Police K.P. Jain said in a press release here. Jayalalithaa, AIADMK chief, said in a statement Sunday evening that she has been informed by top police officials that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has ordered her arrest "under any pretext" following her demand for dismissal of the DMK regime for its "anti-national acts". "Stung by my demanding the arrest of Karunanidhi and the dismissal of his government for anti-national crimes for which Marumalarchi DMK leaders Vaiko and M. Kannappan were arrested, the chief minister has exhorted reluctant police officials to immediately arrest me under some pretext or other. I have been informed about this by officials," Jayalalitha said in a statement. "Since MDMK leaders have been arrested after being accused of anti-national acts of supporting the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, for circulating elegies for the deaths of LTTE leaders Tamilselvan and Anton Balasingham using government machinery, Karunanidhi too deserves to be arrested," Jayalalitha said. "As I demanded that this be done by the central government after dismissing the minority DMK regime due to the impossibility of the state police detaining a chief minister, Karunanidhi is planning this vengeful action against me," Jayalalitha added. She also demanded, in her statement, the arrest of film personalities Ramanarayanan, director Bharti Raja and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan for their anti-national statements in praise of LTTE leader Prabhakaran
First Published : 27 Oct 2008 06:53:29 PM IST
Last Updated : 27 Oct 2008 07:06:48 PM IST
CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government Monday denied the claims of opposition leader J. Jayalalithaa of her impending arrest by the state police. "The allegation is a figment of her imagination and not based on any fact," Director General of Police K.P. Jain said in a press release here. Jayalalithaa, AIADMK chief, said in a statement Sunday evening that she has been informed by top police officials that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has ordered her arrest "under any pretext" following her demand for dismissal of the DMK regime for its "anti-national acts". "Stung by my demanding the arrest of Karunanidhi and the dismissal of his government for anti-national crimes for which Marumalarchi DMK leaders Vaiko and M. Kannappan were arrested, the chief minister has exhorted reluctant police officials to immediately arrest me under some pretext or other. I have been informed about this by officials," Jayalalitha said in a statement. "Since MDMK leaders have been arrested after being accused of anti-national acts of supporting the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, for circulating elegies for the deaths of LTTE leaders Tamilselvan and Anton Balasingham using government machinery, Karunanidhi too deserves to be arrested," Jayalalitha said. "As I demanded that this be done by the central government after dismissing the minority DMK regime due to the impossibility of the state police detaining a chief minister, Karunanidhi is planning this vengeful action against me," Jayalalitha added. She also demanded, in her statement, the arrest of film personalities Ramanarayanan, director Bharti Raja and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi leader Thol Thirumavalavan for their anti-national statements in praise of LTTE leader Prabhakaran
Tamilnadu politics and the LTTE defeat - they are dud as a damp squib!
October 27, 2008 by janamejayan ( http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/ )
Mutual survival resolves the conflict!
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: For the first time since the conflict in Sri Lanka besieged New Delhi, there were signs on Sunday that the crisis had blownover for the UPA. Pranab Mukherjee’s unscheduled meeting with Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi in Chennai in the evening seemed to have ended on a positive note, with the external affairs minister stating that the DMK chief had assured him that he would not precipitate a crisis for the UPA.
Mukherjee was rushed to Chennai hours after Sri Lanka’s special envoy, Basil Rajapaksa, assured him in Delhi that the authorities were going out of their way to ensure the safety of Tamil civilians in the war-torn island nation. Basil Rajapaksa, who is advisor to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was sent to New Delhi on Sunday to apprise the Indian government about the situation in the country.
The Mukherjee-Rajapaksa meeting on Sunday may have provided the safe exit passage for Karunanidhi as he was feeling increasingly alienated over the issue in the past few days.
With AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa slamming the DMK for its alleged support to LTTE and Congress keeping away from the human chain organized by the party, Karunanidhi clearly had been cornered.
After his meeting with Mukherjee, Karunanidhi indicated that his party ministers would not resign from the Congress-led UPA government. “The chief minister has assured that he will not precipitate any crisis in the UPA,” Mukherjee said at Karunanidhi’s residence after the hour-long meeting.
Asked about the resignation threat, Karunanidhi said Mukherjee had requested him to postpone any decision in this regard as it would lead to a lot of complications. “I will certainly not create problems for the Centre,” the chief minister said. Specifically asked if he was sending the resignation letters of his party MPs to the Speaker, he said cryptically, “You can infer from Mukherjee’s statement.”
However, the key DMK demand — that India ensure a ceasefire — remains unfulfilled. Mukherjee said: “As we are not a party to the ceasefire, we can’t ask them to (call a ceasefire).” All that he said was there could be no military solution. “During our interaction, both the Prime Minister and I have said there can’t be a military solution. We are asking them to find a political solution,” Mukherjee said.
Karunanidhi said, ” The question as to who will bring about a truce is yet to be answered. Will India lead the talks, or some other countries or some organizations will take the lead has to be decided,” he said, emphasizing that a climate conducive for negotiations would have to be created first. When told that reviving Norway’s facilitation might take time, he said: “It should not take much time.”
Both leaders agreed that the decades-old ethnic conflict could not be solved in a fortnight or five weeks. “We wanted a ceasefire to give effective relief to public,” the DMK chief said, expressing satisfaction at the pace and tone at which the Centre had got Sri Lanka to make a promise that the Tamil civilians would not be hurt anymore in the war against the LTTE.
In New Delhi, Rajapaksa also met NSA M K Narayanan and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon. As a gesture of goodwill, India has decided to send around 800 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka for the affected civilians in the North. Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan government would facilitate the delivery.
” Both sides discussed the need to move towards a peacefully negotiated political settlement in the island including in the North. Both sides agreed that terrorism should be countered with resolve. The Indian side called for implementation of the 13th Amendment and greater devolution of powers to the provinces,” the foreign ministry said in an official statement in New Delhi.
Rajapaksa emphasized that the Sri Lankan president and his government were firmly committed to a political process that would lead to a sustainable solution. The two sides also agreed to further nurture the democratic process in the Eastern Province.
During the talks with Rajapaksa, the two sides agreed to put in place practical arrangements to deal with bonafide Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line. As part of these practical arrangements, Indian fishing vessels will not venture into sensitive areas designated by the Lankan government. Further, there will be no firing on Indian fishing vessels.
“It was agreed that Indian fishing vessels would carry valid registration/permit and the fishermen would have on person valid identity cards issued by the Tamil Nadu government,” said the foreign ministry.
India and Sri Lanka also agreed to continue with their discussions, initiated in 2005, on the proposed Memorandum of Understanding on development and cooperation in the field of fisheries.
The following was posted by Dravidadwija in Kanchiforum:
Rajapaksa’s assurance on displaced in Wanni COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said his government has made arrangements for the safety of the displaced civilians in Wanni once they enter the “cleared areas” from the LTTE controlled territory amid reports of heavy fighting on Sunday. Mr. Rajapaksa gave the assurance when Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree called on him at the Presidential Palace on Friday and discussed the situation in Wanni and the political developments in South India. Mr. Rajapaksa briefed the TULF chief in detail the measures to ensure the safety of the civilians displaced in Killinochchi and Mullathivu. He told him the LTTE had blocked those innocent civilians from entering the cleared areas but is creating a wrong picture that the government was to blame. The TULF leader told the President that he had written a letter to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi on the Wanni situation and urged him to prevail upon the LTTE to let people trapped in the war zone go wherever they wished. In his letter titled “What should be done”, released here on Sunday, the TULF said the Tamil People of Sri Lanka were glad that Tamil Nadu had started showing interest in the Sri Lankan ethnic problem but were disappointed that the concerns of the trapped Tamil people had been ignored. “LTTE is using them as human shield to protect them. The people are also upset and worried that the enthusiasm displayed in Tamil Nadu is showing tendencies of confrontation with the majority community the Sinhalese, with whom the Tamils had been living from time immemorial and will have to live in the future as well. Early solution : “Long before his assassination, Mahatma Gandhi had warned that India and Ceylon can’t afford to quarrel [with] each other, but more than that being immediate neighbours and having several things in common, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka should maintain cordial relationship between the two.” Mr. Anandasangaree said the decision of the All Party Conference to seek the help of the central government to find an early solution was perfectly alright but it was not the immediate need of our people trapped and kept under compulsion in Killinochchi by the LTTE. The TULF said in the interests of the Tamils, the leaders of Tamil Nadu should forget their political differences and find a solution to the ethnic problem.
Now let’s see what has happened so far.
1. We all know that Pirabakaran has been cornered and has nowhere to go. His ‘fort’ being overrun is only a matter of time.
2. Pirabhakaran’s friends such as MuKa and the sundry Dravidian outfilts have tried their best to pressurize the Govt.of India into relieving Pirabakaran from his check-mate position. They employed such threats as their MPs quitting the parliament and some lower rung vishamis even threatening secession. Poor Vaiko did a oneupmanship on that and landed in jail.
3. The Congress thought it could get away with some initial moral support for it had reconed that the DMK is doing some ‘udaance’ to sooth its ‘Tamil chauvinists’ but did a big ‘jahaa’ when it realized that MuKa might be taking it for a ride.
4. The bravado talks of the DMK and its ilks to carry arms into Srilanka or its talk of pulling the plug on the UPA govt were big but stupid bluffs that were easily called.
5. The talk of secession of Tamils have found no takers.
6. DMK again got isolated with Congress and AIADMK arrayed against it. It still held the trump card of pulling the plug on the UPA which would also be committing harakiri for the Congress in turn would pull out and kill the DMK govt.
7. So Pranab Mukharjee jumps in to cojole Karunanidhi not to be stupid. So this straw of ‘truce’ and ‘negotiated settlement’ are being flown as their new kites. That was enought for MuKa to retreat!
But then what is this ‘truce’ and ‘negotiated settlement’ that is fancied about?
The grapewine talk is that the king of Tigers wants to escape to a safe haven (he seems to have stashed away huge wealth all over the world) and MuKa is prodding GOI to facilitate it!!
So either the ‘fort’ is run over or that the ‘brave’ beast escapes unhurt!! In the meantime his only choice is to hold those very people he swears to represent as hostage. But then we also see that the hostages are making noise in Jaffna. It is only going to get louder!
It is getting curiouser and curiouser isn’t it!
Yes of course, we are curoius too to see how this is resolved.
October 27, 2008 by janamejayan ( http://janamejayan.wordpress.com/ )
Mutual survival resolves the conflict!
NEW DELHI/CHENNAI: For the first time since the conflict in Sri Lanka besieged New Delhi, there were signs on Sunday that the crisis had blownover for the UPA. Pranab Mukherjee’s unscheduled meeting with Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi in Chennai in the evening seemed to have ended on a positive note, with the external affairs minister stating that the DMK chief had assured him that he would not precipitate a crisis for the UPA.
Mukherjee was rushed to Chennai hours after Sri Lanka’s special envoy, Basil Rajapaksa, assured him in Delhi that the authorities were going out of their way to ensure the safety of Tamil civilians in the war-torn island nation. Basil Rajapaksa, who is advisor to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was sent to New Delhi on Sunday to apprise the Indian government about the situation in the country.
The Mukherjee-Rajapaksa meeting on Sunday may have provided the safe exit passage for Karunanidhi as he was feeling increasingly alienated over the issue in the past few days.
With AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa slamming the DMK for its alleged support to LTTE and Congress keeping away from the human chain organized by the party, Karunanidhi clearly had been cornered.
After his meeting with Mukherjee, Karunanidhi indicated that his party ministers would not resign from the Congress-led UPA government. “The chief minister has assured that he will not precipitate any crisis in the UPA,” Mukherjee said at Karunanidhi’s residence after the hour-long meeting.
Asked about the resignation threat, Karunanidhi said Mukherjee had requested him to postpone any decision in this regard as it would lead to a lot of complications. “I will certainly not create problems for the Centre,” the chief minister said. Specifically asked if he was sending the resignation letters of his party MPs to the Speaker, he said cryptically, “You can infer from Mukherjee’s statement.”
However, the key DMK demand — that India ensure a ceasefire — remains unfulfilled. Mukherjee said: “As we are not a party to the ceasefire, we can’t ask them to (call a ceasefire).” All that he said was there could be no military solution. “During our interaction, both the Prime Minister and I have said there can’t be a military solution. We are asking them to find a political solution,” Mukherjee said.
Karunanidhi said, ” The question as to who will bring about a truce is yet to be answered. Will India lead the talks, or some other countries or some organizations will take the lead has to be decided,” he said, emphasizing that a climate conducive for negotiations would have to be created first. When told that reviving Norway’s facilitation might take time, he said: “It should not take much time.”
Both leaders agreed that the decades-old ethnic conflict could not be solved in a fortnight or five weeks. “We wanted a ceasefire to give effective relief to public,” the DMK chief said, expressing satisfaction at the pace and tone at which the Centre had got Sri Lanka to make a promise that the Tamil civilians would not be hurt anymore in the war against the LTTE.
In New Delhi, Rajapaksa also met NSA M K Narayanan and foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon. As a gesture of goodwill, India has decided to send around 800 tonnes of relief material to Sri Lanka for the affected civilians in the North. Rajapaksa said that the Sri Lankan government would facilitate the delivery.
” Both sides discussed the need to move towards a peacefully negotiated political settlement in the island including in the North. Both sides agreed that terrorism should be countered with resolve. The Indian side called for implementation of the 13th Amendment and greater devolution of powers to the provinces,” the foreign ministry said in an official statement in New Delhi.
Rajapaksa emphasized that the Sri Lankan president and his government were firmly committed to a political process that would lead to a sustainable solution. The two sides also agreed to further nurture the democratic process in the Eastern Province.
During the talks with Rajapaksa, the two sides agreed to put in place practical arrangements to deal with bonafide Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line. As part of these practical arrangements, Indian fishing vessels will not venture into sensitive areas designated by the Lankan government. Further, there will be no firing on Indian fishing vessels.
“It was agreed that Indian fishing vessels would carry valid registration/permit and the fishermen would have on person valid identity cards issued by the Tamil Nadu government,” said the foreign ministry.
India and Sri Lanka also agreed to continue with their discussions, initiated in 2005, on the proposed Memorandum of Understanding on development and cooperation in the field of fisheries.
The following was posted by Dravidadwija in Kanchiforum:
Rajapaksa’s assurance on displaced in Wanni COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said his government has made arrangements for the safety of the displaced civilians in Wanni once they enter the “cleared areas” from the LTTE controlled territory amid reports of heavy fighting on Sunday. Mr. Rajapaksa gave the assurance when Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader V. Anandasangaree called on him at the Presidential Palace on Friday and discussed the situation in Wanni and the political developments in South India. Mr. Rajapaksa briefed the TULF chief in detail the measures to ensure the safety of the civilians displaced in Killinochchi and Mullathivu. He told him the LTTE had blocked those innocent civilians from entering the cleared areas but is creating a wrong picture that the government was to blame. The TULF leader told the President that he had written a letter to Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi on the Wanni situation and urged him to prevail upon the LTTE to let people trapped in the war zone go wherever they wished. In his letter titled “What should be done”, released here on Sunday, the TULF said the Tamil People of Sri Lanka were glad that Tamil Nadu had started showing interest in the Sri Lankan ethnic problem but were disappointed that the concerns of the trapped Tamil people had been ignored. “LTTE is using them as human shield to protect them. The people are also upset and worried that the enthusiasm displayed in Tamil Nadu is showing tendencies of confrontation with the majority community the Sinhalese, with whom the Tamils had been living from time immemorial and will have to live in the future as well. Early solution : “Long before his assassination, Mahatma Gandhi had warned that India and Ceylon can’t afford to quarrel [with] each other, but more than that being immediate neighbours and having several things in common, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka should maintain cordial relationship between the two.” Mr. Anandasangaree said the decision of the All Party Conference to seek the help of the central government to find an early solution was perfectly alright but it was not the immediate need of our people trapped and kept under compulsion in Killinochchi by the LTTE. The TULF said in the interests of the Tamils, the leaders of Tamil Nadu should forget their political differences and find a solution to the ethnic problem.
Now let’s see what has happened so far.
1. We all know that Pirabakaran has been cornered and has nowhere to go. His ‘fort’ being overrun is only a matter of time.
2. Pirabhakaran’s friends such as MuKa and the sundry Dravidian outfilts have tried their best to pressurize the Govt.of India into relieving Pirabakaran from his check-mate position. They employed such threats as their MPs quitting the parliament and some lower rung vishamis even threatening secession. Poor Vaiko did a oneupmanship on that and landed in jail.
3. The Congress thought it could get away with some initial moral support for it had reconed that the DMK is doing some ‘udaance’ to sooth its ‘Tamil chauvinists’ but did a big ‘jahaa’ when it realized that MuKa might be taking it for a ride.
4. The bravado talks of the DMK and its ilks to carry arms into Srilanka or its talk of pulling the plug on the UPA govt were big but stupid bluffs that were easily called.
5. The talk of secession of Tamils have found no takers.
6. DMK again got isolated with Congress and AIADMK arrayed against it. It still held the trump card of pulling the plug on the UPA which would also be committing harakiri for the Congress in turn would pull out and kill the DMK govt.
7. So Pranab Mukharjee jumps in to cojole Karunanidhi not to be stupid. So this straw of ‘truce’ and ‘negotiated settlement’ are being flown as their new kites. That was enought for MuKa to retreat!
But then what is this ‘truce’ and ‘negotiated settlement’ that is fancied about?
The grapewine talk is that the king of Tigers wants to escape to a safe haven (he seems to have stashed away huge wealth all over the world) and MuKa is prodding GOI to facilitate it!!
So either the ‘fort’ is run over or that the ‘brave’ beast escapes unhurt!! In the meantime his only choice is to hold those very people he swears to represent as hostage. But then we also see that the hostages are making noise in Jaffna. It is only going to get louder!
It is getting curiouser and curiouser isn’t it!
Yes of course, we are curoius too to see how this is resolved.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Hindu Munnani’s call to save TN from separatists
Thu, 23 Oct, 2008,02:50 PM.
Hindu Munnani founder-organiser Rama Gopalan has demanded invoking POTA to save Tamilnadu from separatists who were trying to bifurcate the State from the Indian Union.
An MDMK leader had said at a seminar that the LTTE should not have been branded terrorists or enemies of Tamilians, Since, the cadre have taken to arms and not adopted non-violence, they were labelled so.
Not only Tamil Eelam but also a separate Tamilnadu would be born, the MDMK leader had said. A two-hour video show supporting the Tigers was also screened at the meet.
Above all, MDMK founder Vaiko had said Tigers and Tamils were one. Though he does not approve of violence against Lankan Tamils, he had said he was ready to take to arms.
‘ It could not be called violence, it was their rights,’ was what the party leader had wished to convey. And he had called upon the youth of the country to punish anti-Tamils and work for a Tamil Eelam. When film personalities protested at Rameswaram, directors Seeman and Amir spoke on separatism and terrorism and the Centre and the State remained mute spectators.
There is no difference of opinion that Sri Lankan Tamil should lead a life with self-respect and protection. But Tamil Eelam would come and later separate Tamilnadu would be born, Rama Gopalan apprehended.
He said that its was appreciable that a section of the Congressmen had opposed such designs. These separatists are under the impression that Tamilnadu was the Tiger’s headquarters wherefrom they could operate, he added.
In each village there were non-party partisan youth. And that Tamilnadu belonged to the nation, this truth would be proved once again as before, the Munnani leader said.
He also said Lankan Tamilans were killed more by the LTTE than the Sri Lankan military, this cannot be refuted.
As the Hindraf in Malaysia took to non-violence in support of Tamil Eelam they were behind the bars. Where then were a human chain or film personalities rally, he wondered. The Hindraf is full of Tamilians, then why has not the blood of political parties in Tamilnadu boil for their sake, he wanted to know.
The DMK government would not take action on those who support Tigers. It was obvious when the Chief Minister wrote eulogy when the LTTE cadre Tamilselvan died.
Some months back MDMK Velachery Manimaran said he would take to arms for Tamil Tigers and was arrested. But Tamilnadu government released him saying he had become emotional.
Viduthalai Chiruthai activist Vanni Arasu who shipped raw materials for arms- manufacture to the banned Tigers was arrested for it and was released the same day, why all this, Rama Gopalan wondered.
http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=11681%20&%20section=6
Hindu Munnani founder-organiser Rama Gopalan has demanded invoking POTA to save Tamilnadu from separatists who were trying to bifurcate the State from the Indian Union.
An MDMK leader had said at a seminar that the LTTE should not have been branded terrorists or enemies of Tamilians, Since, the cadre have taken to arms and not adopted non-violence, they were labelled so.
Not only Tamil Eelam but also a separate Tamilnadu would be born, the MDMK leader had said. A two-hour video show supporting the Tigers was also screened at the meet.
Above all, MDMK founder Vaiko had said Tigers and Tamils were one. Though he does not approve of violence against Lankan Tamils, he had said he was ready to take to arms.
‘ It could not be called violence, it was their rights,’ was what the party leader had wished to convey. And he had called upon the youth of the country to punish anti-Tamils and work for a Tamil Eelam. When film personalities protested at Rameswaram, directors Seeman and Amir spoke on separatism and terrorism and the Centre and the State remained mute spectators.
There is no difference of opinion that Sri Lankan Tamil should lead a life with self-respect and protection. But Tamil Eelam would come and later separate Tamilnadu would be born, Rama Gopalan apprehended.
He said that its was appreciable that a section of the Congressmen had opposed such designs. These separatists are under the impression that Tamilnadu was the Tiger’s headquarters wherefrom they could operate, he added.
In each village there were non-party partisan youth. And that Tamilnadu belonged to the nation, this truth would be proved once again as before, the Munnani leader said.
He also said Lankan Tamilans were killed more by the LTTE than the Sri Lankan military, this cannot be refuted.
As the Hindraf in Malaysia took to non-violence in support of Tamil Eelam they were behind the bars. Where then were a human chain or film personalities rally, he wondered. The Hindraf is full of Tamilians, then why has not the blood of political parties in Tamilnadu boil for their sake, he wanted to know.
The DMK government would not take action on those who support Tigers. It was obvious when the Chief Minister wrote eulogy when the LTTE cadre Tamilselvan died.
Some months back MDMK Velachery Manimaran said he would take to arms for Tamil Tigers and was arrested. But Tamilnadu government released him saying he had become emotional.
Viduthalai Chiruthai activist Vanni Arasu who shipped raw materials for arms- manufacture to the banned Tigers was arrested for it and was released the same day, why all this, Rama Gopalan wondered.
http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=11681%20&%20section=6
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Appeal to Tamil Chauvinism is Karunanidhi’s last resort
Congress, AIADMK flay pro-LTTE, secessionist moves
IANS
CHENNAI: The Congress, the main ally of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, and the state’s main opposition AIADMK Wednesday slammed “secessionist moves” by regional parties and the Tamil film industry under the guise of supporting the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.Congress Legislature Party leader D. Sudarsanam and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha decried attempts of organisations and individuals openly supporting the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and demanded their arrest and prosecution.”The Congress calls for stern action against pro-LTTE elements - regardless of their being politicians or media personalities as they have openly begun secessionist moves,” Sudarsanam told reporters after an urgent meeting of Congress legislators.”The National Security Act should be invoked against movie directors Seeman and Ameer for canvassing support for terrorists, espousing separatist causes in India and threatening to start an armed rebellion from a public platform in Rameshwaram Oct 19.”Failure to do so will result in agitations to prosecute persons like Seeman and Ameer who blatantly insulted Congress martyrs (late prime ministers) Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,” Sudarsanam added.Jayalalitha blamed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for allowing “secessionist movements” to take root in Tamil Nadu and allowing a free run for terrorist organisations with links to the LTTE for espousing separatist causes.”The LTTE is a terrorist organisation linked to several fissiparous outfits in India and abroad. While local outfits like the banned People’s War Group, United Liberation Front of Assam and at least three terrorist movements in Tamil Nadu are known to be open collaborators with the Tigers, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence also has an unholy alliance with this outfit,” Jayalalitha said.”While during Karunanidhi’s rule, such movements always manage to take roots, it is surprising that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi has tacitly allowed the LTTE to operate freely in India. Rajiv Gandhi’s killers like Nalini (Murugan) have adopted holier-than-thou attitudes and claim to be fighting for their birthright of freedom after assassinating the former prime minister in cold blood,” Jayalalitha added.The AIADMK leader, however, did not react to statements by its main ally MDMK leader Vaiko which termed as “Tamil traitors” all those who opposed LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran’s “fight for the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka”.A few days ago, Vaiko had demanded that apart from immediately stopping military aid, India also cut off diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, Karunanidhi issued a statement criticising the Sri Lankan regime for “killing Tamil civilians” and exhorting his supporters to make the human chain protest slated for Friday a success.”Men, women, children are felled cruelly by bullets of those inimical to the origins of Tamil race. Only those with treason against the Tamil nationality in their minds are opposing the spirited defence of the Tamil race’s origins rightful homeland - Eelam,” Karunanidhi said in an open letter addressed to his party workers, writing in Murasoli - the DMK party organ.
IANS
CHENNAI: The Congress, the main ally of Tamil Nadu’s ruling DMK, and the state’s main opposition AIADMK Wednesday slammed “secessionist moves” by regional parties and the Tamil film industry under the guise of supporting the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.Congress Legislature Party leader D. Sudarsanam and AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha decried attempts of organisations and individuals openly supporting the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and demanded their arrest and prosecution.”The Congress calls for stern action against pro-LTTE elements - regardless of their being politicians or media personalities as they have openly begun secessionist moves,” Sudarsanam told reporters after an urgent meeting of Congress legislators.”The National Security Act should be invoked against movie directors Seeman and Ameer for canvassing support for terrorists, espousing separatist causes in India and threatening to start an armed rebellion from a public platform in Rameshwaram Oct 19.”Failure to do so will result in agitations to prosecute persons like Seeman and Ameer who blatantly insulted Congress martyrs (late prime ministers) Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi,” Sudarsanam added.Jayalalitha blamed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi for allowing “secessionist movements” to take root in Tamil Nadu and allowing a free run for terrorist organisations with links to the LTTE for espousing separatist causes.”The LTTE is a terrorist organisation linked to several fissiparous outfits in India and abroad. While local outfits like the banned People’s War Group, United Liberation Front of Assam and at least three terrorist movements in Tamil Nadu are known to be open collaborators with the Tigers, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence also has an unholy alliance with this outfit,” Jayalalitha said.”While during Karunanidhi’s rule, such movements always manage to take roots, it is surprising that former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s widow Sonia Gandhi has tacitly allowed the LTTE to operate freely in India. Rajiv Gandhi’s killers like Nalini (Murugan) have adopted holier-than-thou attitudes and claim to be fighting for their birthright of freedom after assassinating the former prime minister in cold blood,” Jayalalitha added.The AIADMK leader, however, did not react to statements by its main ally MDMK leader Vaiko which termed as “Tamil traitors” all those who opposed LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran’s “fight for the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka”.A few days ago, Vaiko had demanded that apart from immediately stopping military aid, India also cut off diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.Meanwhile, Karunanidhi issued a statement criticising the Sri Lankan regime for “killing Tamil civilians” and exhorting his supporters to make the human chain protest slated for Friday a success.”Men, women, children are felled cruelly by bullets of those inimical to the origins of Tamil race. Only those with treason against the Tamil nationality in their minds are opposing the spirited defence of the Tamil race’s origins rightful homeland - Eelam,” Karunanidhi said in an open letter addressed to his party workers, writing in Murasoli - the DMK party organ.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Take firm action against those who menace freedom of expression: N. Ram
October 17, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/nic/eicstmt.htm
October 17, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/nic/eicstmt.htm
Dangerous pangs of proximity
Excerpts from the editorial of New Indian Express:
"The New Indian Express poll found that despite the remarkable groundswell of support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have, mobilising Tamil opinion on the Sri Lankan issue was certainly not on top of their wish list of things politicians needed to devote their energies urgently. They would much rather that Karunanidhi devoted more energy to contain the prices and ameliorate the power situation in the state, for example. Yet, the chief minister has personally raised the stakes in the game of competitive politics to an unsustainable level and by using the word Eelam set a disturbing political precedent in an atmosphere surcharged with pre-election political manoeuvres.
Many might wonder what the state Congress unit is coming to in a meeting devoted to partisan special pleading."
"The New Indian Express poll found that despite the remarkable groundswell of support the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have, mobilising Tamil opinion on the Sri Lankan issue was certainly not on top of their wish list of things politicians needed to devote their energies urgently. They would much rather that Karunanidhi devoted more energy to contain the prices and ameliorate the power situation in the state, for example. Yet, the chief minister has personally raised the stakes in the game of competitive politics to an unsustainable level and by using the word Eelam set a disturbing political precedent in an atmosphere surcharged with pre-election political manoeuvres.
Many might wonder what the state Congress unit is coming to in a meeting devoted to partisan special pleading."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
New antics of the DMK to further their power grab
Suddenly the DMK threatens to quit the UPA!
Anyways they had shared the booty with the Congress's UPA for almost 5 years and why hang in with them anymore if it is reconed that the Congress is the sinking ship as the communists portray.
Afterall it is the tradition of the DMK to do just this as they did it to Hajpayee's NDA.
So what are their options? Continue with the UPA or join hands with the UNPA?
It looks the choice is between the frying pan and the fire! Both are going to lose the next election unless Maino uses her ill stashed money abroad to buy and rig the election. Oh, yea! these guys may have some stashed away abroad too but who knows!
Before I forget, do they really love the Srilankan Tamils or anyone other than MK's family?
'Stop Lankan war or we quit' - MuKa
IANS
First Published : 15 Oct 2008 10:59:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 15 Oct 2008 10:17:55 AM IST
CHENNAI: An all-party meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday asked the central government to immediately halt all military aid to Sri Lanka and ensure an immediate ceasefire in the civil war on the island, warning that all MPs from the state would resign in two weeks if this didn't happen.
"The centre should stop the 30-year-old civil war that has resulted in thousands of Tamils' death in Eelam. Since Indian military aid is resulting in genocide of Tamils, this meeting urges its immediate stoppage," an official statement quoted a resolution adopted at the meeting as saying.
"This (all party) meeting informs the centre that if India does not fulfil the demands, (the inaction) may result in the resignation of all MPs from Tamil Nadu," another resolution said.
The meet also urged the central government to end the killings of Indian fishermen, allegedly in firing by the Sri Lankan navy, and sought the government's good offices to ensure that essential supplies reach the needy in the island through reputed international agencies like the Red Cross, the statement added.
Significantly, this is the first time the Tamil Nadu government has used the term "Eelam" in an official statement.
During the last three weeks, parties across the political divide have condemned Sri Lanka and termed as genocide the alleged mass murder of Tamils in that country.
Sri Lankan diplomatic sources, however, refrained from comment.
Now what does Manmohan Singh do to appease MuKa?
Sri Lanka situation cause for concern: PM
IANS
First Published : 16 Oct 2008 12:00:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 16 Oct 2008 12:08:03 AM IST
NEW DELHI: As Tamil MPs mounted pressure on the Centre over the incidents in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the situation in the island nation is a cause for "serious concern" and asked Colombo to find a negotiated settlement rather than looking for a "military victory".
Underlining that the human rights of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka must be respected, Singh said India has conveyed its views to the island government, including at the time when National Security Adviser M K Narayanan called Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner last week.
"Situation in Sri Lanka remains a cause of serious concern for India. We are concerned over escalating hostilities, losses suffered by civilians and increasing number of displaced persons," Singh said in reply to a question at a press conference after the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit here.
"We always believe that situation in Sri Lanka does not call for military victory. It calls for negotiated political settlement which respects the unity and the integrity of Sri Lanka and at the same time respects the essential human rights of minorities, particularly Tamil minorities," he said.
The Prime Minister said India is also "concerned over harassment and killing of Indian fishermen" while fishing in maritime area between India and Sri Lanka.
"We have made representations to the Sri Lankan government," he said and referred to the summoning of Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner by Narayanan last week to "let know of India's intentions".
The Prime Minister's comments came against the backdrop of an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu yesterday demanding that the Centre should act to stop military offensive in Sri Lanka failing which all MPs from the state would quit within a fortnight.
TN parties' concern conveyed to Sri Lanka: Congress
Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday said that it has conveyed the concerns of the Tamil Nadu parties to the Sri Lankan government but indicated that the Indian government had limitations on the issue of Sri Lankan army offensive in the Tamil-inhabited areas of the island.
"Those who make demands about other sovereign countries should know that India's sovereignty runs through the boundaries of India," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.
Singhvi said the Indian government cannot interfere with the sovereignty of other countries.
His comments came as a reaction to an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu asking the Central government to ask Sri Lanka to end the offensive in Tamil areas within a fortnight failing which MPs from the state would resign from Parliament.
Singhvi said issues of and conduct of foreign relations should be left for the Centre. "That is something in the exclusive domain of the Centre (foreign relation issue)," he told Times Now channel.
He said "while condemning any violent act in another country, I do not think anything should be done or asked from the central government."
Another spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters that the concerns of the parties in Tamil Nadu has been conveyed to Sri Lanka through the Deputy High Commissioner.
"The parties should also understand that you are not dealing with a part of India but a sovereign nation," he said.
Asked about the threat of DMK, Tewari said it should not be seen as a threat but a concern. "Their principal concern is civilian casualties," he added.
Anyways they had shared the booty with the Congress's UPA for almost 5 years and why hang in with them anymore if it is reconed that the Congress is the sinking ship as the communists portray.
Afterall it is the tradition of the DMK to do just this as they did it to Hajpayee's NDA.
So what are their options? Continue with the UPA or join hands with the UNPA?
It looks the choice is between the frying pan and the fire! Both are going to lose the next election unless Maino uses her ill stashed money abroad to buy and rig the election. Oh, yea! these guys may have some stashed away abroad too but who knows!
Before I forget, do they really love the Srilankan Tamils or anyone other than MK's family?
'Stop Lankan war or we quit' - MuKa
IANS
First Published : 15 Oct 2008 10:59:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 15 Oct 2008 10:17:55 AM IST
CHENNAI: An all-party meeting convened by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Tuesday asked the central government to immediately halt all military aid to Sri Lanka and ensure an immediate ceasefire in the civil war on the island, warning that all MPs from the state would resign in two weeks if this didn't happen.
"The centre should stop the 30-year-old civil war that has resulted in thousands of Tamils' death in Eelam. Since Indian military aid is resulting in genocide of Tamils, this meeting urges its immediate stoppage," an official statement quoted a resolution adopted at the meeting as saying.
"This (all party) meeting informs the centre that if India does not fulfil the demands, (the inaction) may result in the resignation of all MPs from Tamil Nadu," another resolution said.
The meet also urged the central government to end the killings of Indian fishermen, allegedly in firing by the Sri Lankan navy, and sought the government's good offices to ensure that essential supplies reach the needy in the island through reputed international agencies like the Red Cross, the statement added.
Significantly, this is the first time the Tamil Nadu government has used the term "Eelam" in an official statement.
During the last three weeks, parties across the political divide have condemned Sri Lanka and termed as genocide the alleged mass murder of Tamils in that country.
Sri Lankan diplomatic sources, however, refrained from comment.
Now what does Manmohan Singh do to appease MuKa?
Sri Lanka situation cause for concern: PM
IANS
First Published : 16 Oct 2008 12:00:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 16 Oct 2008 12:08:03 AM IST
NEW DELHI: As Tamil MPs mounted pressure on the Centre over the incidents in Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the situation in the island nation is a cause for "serious concern" and asked Colombo to find a negotiated settlement rather than looking for a "military victory".
Underlining that the human rights of ethnic Tamils in Sri Lanka must be respected, Singh said India has conveyed its views to the island government, including at the time when National Security Adviser M K Narayanan called Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner last week.
"Situation in Sri Lanka remains a cause of serious concern for India. We are concerned over escalating hostilities, losses suffered by civilians and increasing number of displaced persons," Singh said in reply to a question at a press conference after the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Summit here.
"We always believe that situation in Sri Lanka does not call for military victory. It calls for negotiated political settlement which respects the unity and the integrity of Sri Lanka and at the same time respects the essential human rights of minorities, particularly Tamil minorities," he said.
The Prime Minister said India is also "concerned over harassment and killing of Indian fishermen" while fishing in maritime area between India and Sri Lanka.
"We have made representations to the Sri Lankan government," he said and referred to the summoning of Sri Lanka's Deputy High Commissioner by Narayanan last week to "let know of India's intentions".
The Prime Minister's comments came against the backdrop of an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu yesterday demanding that the Centre should act to stop military offensive in Sri Lanka failing which all MPs from the state would quit within a fortnight.
TN parties' concern conveyed to Sri Lanka: Congress
Meanwhile, the Congress on Wednesday said that it has conveyed the concerns of the Tamil Nadu parties to the Sri Lankan government but indicated that the Indian government had limitations on the issue of Sri Lankan army offensive in the Tamil-inhabited areas of the island.
"Those who make demands about other sovereign countries should know that India's sovereignty runs through the boundaries of India," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.
Singhvi said the Indian government cannot interfere with the sovereignty of other countries.
His comments came as a reaction to an all-party meeting in Tamil Nadu asking the Central government to ask Sri Lanka to end the offensive in Tamil areas within a fortnight failing which MPs from the state would resign from Parliament.
Singhvi said issues of and conduct of foreign relations should be left for the Centre. "That is something in the exclusive domain of the Centre (foreign relation issue)," he told Times Now channel.
He said "while condemning any violent act in another country, I do not think anything should be done or asked from the central government."
Another spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters that the concerns of the parties in Tamil Nadu has been conveyed to Sri Lanka through the Deputy High Commissioner.
"The parties should also understand that you are not dealing with a part of India but a sovereign nation," he said.
Asked about the threat of DMK, Tewari said it should not be seen as a threat but a concern. "Their principal concern is civilian casualties," he added.
Karunanidhi plays ethnic card to win election
Sorry Karu! You may not succeed this time!
But then don't you feel sorry for the Congress?
IANS
First Published : 15 Oct 2008 06:20:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 15 Oct 2008 06:32:54 PM IST
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Wednesday reiterated an all-party ultimatum to the central government, saying all the state MPs, including those in the Rajya Sabha, will resign if the killings of Tamils allegedly by Sri Lankan Forces were not stopped. He, however, refused to comment on speculation that his daughter Kanimozhi had quit the upper house.
Kanimozhi too refused to confirm or deny the speculation.
An all-party meeting Tuesday night had decided that all MPs from the state would resign in two weeks if the central government did not end military aid to Sri Lanka and ensured the declaration of a ceasefire in the Sri Lankan civil war that has left over 70,000 dead since 1983.
The Congress, whose former president and late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also agreed to the resignation threat, the party's state unit president K.V. Thangkabalu clarified Wednesday.
"The Congress is part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance led by the chief minister and all the parties that attended the meeting yesterday (Tuesday) have unanimously agreed to do our bit for alleviating the suffering of the Sri Lankan Tamils," Thangkabalu said.
The other parties with representation in parliament that attended the all-party meeting Tuesday include the two Left parties, the PMK and the MDMK led by Vaiko which are arrayed against the state's ruling alliance.
Political observers, however, did not attach much significance to the threat.
"The whole thing is a ruse to strengthen the weakened base of the ruling DMK following the exit of the PMK and the Left from the UPA and nothing more. One can safely expect the extension of the two-week deadline next," political commentator Cho S. Ramaswamy told IANS.
But then don't you feel sorry for the Congress?
IANS
First Published : 15 Oct 2008 06:20:00 PM IST
Last Updated : 15 Oct 2008 06:32:54 PM IST
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi Wednesday reiterated an all-party ultimatum to the central government, saying all the state MPs, including those in the Rajya Sabha, will resign if the killings of Tamils allegedly by Sri Lankan Forces were not stopped. He, however, refused to comment on speculation that his daughter Kanimozhi had quit the upper house.
Kanimozhi too refused to confirm or deny the speculation.
An all-party meeting Tuesday night had decided that all MPs from the state would resign in two weeks if the central government did not end military aid to Sri Lanka and ensured the declaration of a ceasefire in the Sri Lankan civil war that has left over 70,000 dead since 1983.
The Congress, whose former president and late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), also agreed to the resignation threat, the party's state unit president K.V. Thangkabalu clarified Wednesday.
"The Congress is part of the Democratic Progressive Alliance led by the chief minister and all the parties that attended the meeting yesterday (Tuesday) have unanimously agreed to do our bit for alleviating the suffering of the Sri Lankan Tamils," Thangkabalu said.
The other parties with representation in parliament that attended the all-party meeting Tuesday include the two Left parties, the PMK and the MDMK led by Vaiko which are arrayed against the state's ruling alliance.
Political observers, however, did not attach much significance to the threat.
"The whole thing is a ruse to strengthen the weakened base of the ruling DMK following the exit of the PMK and the Left from the UPA and nothing more. One can safely expect the extension of the two-week deadline next," political commentator Cho S. Ramaswamy told IANS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)