Backing Delhi's stand on Sri Lankan ethnic conflict, ruling Dravida Muneetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, February 3 urged the Sri Lankan government to ‘extend its full cooperation’ to ‘work out a permanent solution which will ensure full devolution of powers and autonomy to Tamils living in northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka’ while washing its hands off the ceasefire demand saying the state government had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of a foreign country.
Spelling out DMK’s stand on the issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said he wanted a solution to the issue in "a democratic way", effectively distancing the party from Tamil freedom struggle.
It is for the first time that the DMK had openly backed autonomy and devolution of powers as a solution to end the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka.
The party had earlier rejected the 1987 Indo-Lanka accord which envisaged the concept of devolution of powers. The LTTE and the Tamils and rejected the accord.
Commenting Karunanidhi’s change of stance, Paataali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder-leader Dr. S. Ramadoss criticized the DMK Executive Council resolutions for not containing any ceasefire demand.
"Does Karunanidhi not know that ceasefire is a prerequiste for peace-talks? Does this omission not reveal that the Rajapakse Government and the Karunanidhi Government are no different at the ideological level?" he said.
The PMK leader said that the DMK Government had "washed his hands off" the Eelam Tamils. The creation of a welfare organization for Lankan Tamils was done as early as 1958 by the DMK. Ramadoss wondered why the DMK was pulling the Eelam struggle back by half a century.
The PMK leader said that the DMK Government had "washed his hands off" the Eelam Tamils. The creation of a welfare organization for Lankan Tamils was done as early as 1958 by the DMK. Ramadoss wondered why the DMK was pulling the Eelam struggle back by half a century.
