Tamilnadu in show of solidarity

As the fighting escalated in Sri Lanka, the news of innocent Tamils civilians being killed and maimed by indiscriminate aerial and artillery bombardment by Sri Lankan forces and the revelation that Indian radar operators were assisting Sri Lankan military brought the plight of Eelam Tamils to the boil in Tamil Nadu in India, leading to mass agitations by political parties, students, lawyers, trade unions and film makers.

Tamil Nadu political parties including Paataali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Marumalarchchi Dravida Munntra Kazhagam (MDMK),  Viduthalai Chiruththaigal Katchi (VCK) and Tamil National Movement (TNM), sympathetic to the suffering of Eelam Tamils, have been protesting against the killing of innocent Tamils in Sri Lanka since Rajapakse administration returned the island to full scale war in 2007.

However the Eelam issue came to the forefront of the political scene in Tamil Nadu when a protest fast organised by the Communist Party of India for October 2 received the backing of major political parties including the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

Even though AIADMK did not participate in the fast, the General Secretary of the party Jayalalitha Jayaram released a statement recognising the Eelam Tamils right to self determination and Traditional Homeland and demanded the Indian government put an immediate stoppage of all military aid to the neighbouring island.

The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhgama (DMK) then organised a mass public meeting on Sunday, October 6. This followed by tens of thousands of telegrams being sent to New Delhi after the DMK  leader and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu urged the people of Tamil Nadu to send telegrams to Indian Premier Manmohan Singh with the message “intervene immediately and stop genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka”

On Tuesday October 14, the Tamil Nadu government convened an All Party Meeting to discuss the plight of the Eelam Tamils. For the first time an official government communiqué in Tamil Nadu used the word ‘Eelam’.

Although, Bharathiya Janatha Party (BJP), AIADMK and MDMK boycotted the meeting most parties including the Tamil Nadu chapter of the ruling Congress attended.

In a surprise move the All Party Meeting announced a resolution with four key demands and added that in the event of the Union government not meeting the demands within 14 days, the 40 Members of Parliament (MPs) from Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry would quit the Union government.

The support of the 40 Tamil Nadu MPs is crucial for the survival of the Congress government in New Delhi.

The protests gained further momentum after the All Party Meeting, with political parties blockading roads and railways, students boycotting classes, trade unions observing general shut downs and lawyers boycotting courts across the state.

The movie industry also joined in with over 2000 artists including producers, directors and technicians taking part in a mass rally in Raameswaram, on Sunday October 19, and actor and actresses announcing a protest fast on November 1.

All the while New Delhi restricted itself to making statements expressing concern at the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka and not acting on the key demands.

Finally, in a show of strength, the DMK organised a human chain protest with the backing of many political parties and community organisations, in which tens of thousands of people took part forming a staggering 60 kilometres long queue.

LTTE expresses gratitude

As support poured in from Tamil Nadu, on Wednesday, 08 October, the Liberation Tigers of the head of the political wing of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), B Nadesan released a statement Expressing gratitude on behalf of the Eelam Tamils for the solidarity shown by the leaders and the masses of south Indian state.

Nadesan, in his statement, said the Eelam Tamils, who are facing an onslaught by the indiscriminate shelling and bombardment by the Sri Lankan forces, are inspired by the expression of solidarity from Tamil Nadu.

He described the plight of thousands of Tamils uprooted from their homes and villages and forced to seek refuge in the open due to the "genocidal war".

"All the Sinhala forces and parties were giving support to the war being waged by the Rajapakse government with a wrong assumption that even Tamil Nadu would not come forward to voice for Eelam Tamils," Nadesan added.

Countries opposed to India were militarily assisting the Sinhala state and some countries

of the world are providing financial support, the LTTE statement charged. "Making use of the inter-state diplomatic relations, the Sinhala state has focused its efforts to crush the just freedom struggle of the Eelam Tamils."

The statement concluded that Eelam Tamils hoped that the solidarity extended by all the leaders of Tamil Nadu would transform into concrete political action.

In addition to the LTTE, Tamil parliamentarians belonging to the Tamil National Alliance, community organisations based in Vanni and numerous Diaspora organizations expressed their gratitude to the Tamil Nadu leaders and people for support.

Reluctant New Delhi

With protests continuing to gain momentum and the political parties in Tamil Nadu deciding to withdraw their MPs from the Union government if their four point demand is not met by October 28, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Congress was under pressure to show it cared about the wellbeing of Eelam Tamils.

The UPA Government was being forced to choose between a coalition partner and a neighbour. 14 DMK MPs including seven Union Ministers submitted their symbolic resignation to DMK chief Karunanidhi in Chennai on October 17.

Quitting of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry MPS from the UPA would precipitate a political crisis in New Delhi leading to the collapse of the central government and fresh elections.

So, when DMK joined in the protests the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called for steps to protect an estimated 220,000 civilians trapped by the fighting in the northern part of the island.

On Saturday October 11, according to an official spokesman in New Delhi, Singh called up Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and ‘expressed his deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, especially on the plight of the civilians caught in the hostilities’.

Foreign Secretary Shiv Shanker Menon also had a tough message for Colombo.

"We see it has a humanitarian crises which effects civilian population and it really needs to be addressed but there is a larger issue of settling the conflicts which requires a political settlement and it cannot be settled militarily," Memon said on October 14.

Whilst the Congress led government in New Delhi released statements and made some noise, it did not act on any of the demands put forward by the Tamil Nadu parties.

Infact the External Affairs Minister, Pranb Mukherjee, defended India’s policy of training Sri Lankan troops and arming the island nation and made it clear that India’s geopolitical interests are of more importance in comparison to the well being of Tamils.

Responding to clarifications sought by the members in the Rajya Sabha on India's stand on the current crisis in Sri Lanka, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said security cooperation with Colombo, including training of Lankan forces by India, was "necessary".

“We have a very comprehensive relationship with Sri Lanka. In our anxiety to protect the civilians, we should not forget the strategic importance of this island to India's interests,” he said in response to questions raised by a few members over the rationale of India continuing its military cooperation with Colombo in view of the plight of ethnic Tamils in that country and also incidents of firing on Indian fishermen entering Sri Lankan waters by mistake.

Sri Lankan tactics

Sri Lanka tried to subdue the pressure resulting the political upheaval in Tamil Nadu by taking number of steps.

Firstly it brushed off the Tamil Nadu protests as non events and warned Tamil Nadu to mind its own business.

Indirectly targeting Tamil Nadu and interestingly referring to the war effort s as ‘development activities’, Basil Rajapakse, younger brother and  senior advisor to President Mahinda Rajapaksa charged that `some foreign elements` were trying to disrupt the ongoing development activities in Sri Lanka and added that the island nation has `got maximum support from India to crush` the Tamil Tigers.

Meanwhile, a leading Sri Lankan daily has advised Indian leaders to keep off the Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka and look after the poor in their own country.

A front page editorial in The Island daily on Monday pointed out that the Global Hunger Index (GHI) had found that 200 million of India’s 1.2 billion people went hungry and the food shortage in Madhya Pradesh was comparable with Ethiopia and Chad.

The survey had further said that three-quarters of Indians were living on 30 cents a day. “Charity, Chief Minister Karunanidhi should be told, begins at home!”

“Terrorism thrives on well orchestrated false propaganda if not diabolical lies. The lunatic fringe in Tamil Nadu is accusing Sri Lanka of committing genocide.

Then whilst boasting that it had the maximum support of New Delhi, to put pressure on India it sent a defence delegation to Pakistan.

“The government, which has destroyed the LTTE, is getting adequate support from our foreign friends. Here, the support from our neighbour is very vital. India has been always with us. We got maximum support from India to crush the LTTE,” said Basil Rajapakse.

A Sri Lankan defence delegation led by Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa is scheduled to embark on a five-day official visit to Pakistan today.

According to media reports in Pakistan, during its stay in Pakistan the delegation will hold meetings with Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool, Defence Secretary Production Lt. General Shahid Siddiq Tirmizey and other senior Pakistani military and defence officials.

The delegation will also visit Pakistan’s Defence Industry with the hope of expanding bilateral cooperation between the two countries, the Pakistan media reported.

Finally, it continued with its genocidal offensive.