In a dramatic shift in her stand on the Sri Lanka issue, the AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa on Saturday said her party would strive for the establishment of an independent Tamil Eelam as that alone would provide a lasting solution to the three decade-long ethnic crisis.“It is now clear that the Sri Lankan government’s sole agenda is to wipe out the Tamil race from the island. They have no intention of giving them equal rights,” Jayalalithaa said at an election rally in Erode in western Tamil Nadu. She said that she had come to these conclusions after watching the video footage shown to her by Sri Sri Ravishankar, who had toured parts of war-torn Lanka and called on her recently on his return.
Blaming the UPA government at Centre and DMK government in state for the ‘genocide’ of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Jayalalithaa said talking anymore about finding a solution within the framework of the constitution of Sri Lanka and through devolution of powers would be a waste of time.
A virulent critic of the LTTE, Jayalalithaa had kicked off her campaign in Tirunelveli ten days ago with a pro-Eelam rhetoric and is trying to firm up her ground, on a belief that the issue had became a poll plank much to the discomfiture of the Congress-DMK combine. In fact in its election manifesto, the AIADMK had stated that “Tamils should be accorded equal status with that of the Sinhala majority, with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka. If these moves fail, then the AIADMK will press for a separate State of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the Island live a life of dignity.”
The AIADMK supremo cited Sri Sri Ravishankar’s recent visit to Vavuniya and Mullaitivu in northern Sri Lanka for the change in her stance. “Guruji met me at Chennai on Thursday and showed me the video footage. I was shocked to see them and came to know hitherto unknown facts. Through the footage I came to know that Tamils in army-controlled areas were being treated like prisoners and slaves,” she said.
Jayalalithaa vehemently dismissed the argument of Sri Lanka that they were trying to protect Tamils.
“In fact, the Sri Lankan Army is forcing Tamils to flee from their native land. They were lodged in camps and neither allowed to go out nor were visitors allowed to see them. It reminds one of the Concentration Camps run by Hitler to torture the Jews,” she said. The Sri Lankan government has no intention of providing them a normal life.”
Blaming the UPA government at Centre and DMK government in state for the ‘genocide’ of Tamils in Sri Lanka, Jayalalithaa said talking anymore about finding a solution within the framework of the constitution of Sri Lanka and through devolution of powers would be a waste of time.
A virulent critic of the LTTE, Jayalalithaa had kicked off her campaign in Tirunelveli ten days ago with a pro-Eelam rhetoric and is trying to firm up her ground, on a belief that the issue had became a poll plank much to the discomfiture of the Congress-DMK combine. In fact in its election manifesto, the AIADMK had stated that “Tamils should be accorded equal status with that of the Sinhala majority, with devolution of administrative power in the Tamil-dominated provinces of Sri Lanka. If these moves fail, then the AIADMK will press for a separate State of Eelam to ensure that Tamils in the Island live a life of dignity.”
The AIADMK supremo cited Sri Sri Ravishankar’s recent visit to Vavuniya and Mullaitivu in northern Sri Lanka for the change in her stance. “Guruji met me at Chennai on Thursday and showed me the video footage. I was shocked to see them and came to know hitherto unknown facts. Through the footage I came to know that Tamils in army-controlled areas were being treated like prisoners and slaves,” she said.
Jayalalithaa vehemently dismissed the argument of Sri Lanka that they were trying to protect Tamils.
“In fact, the Sri Lankan Army is forcing Tamils to flee from their native land. They were lodged in camps and neither allowed to go out nor were visitors allowed to see them. It reminds one of the Concentration Camps run by Hitler to torture the Jews,” she said. The Sri Lankan government has no intention of providing them a normal life.”
