As Sri Lankan troops swung into a “final assault” against LTTE, Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday mounted pressure on the UPA government by calling a general strike in the state on Thursday and asked the Centre to give an ultimatum to Colombo to declare an “immediate and permanent ceasefire” in that country.
Issuing a “final appeal” late on Tuesday night, he asked all Tamils irrespective of their political affiliations to join the 12-hour strike.
Karunanidhi, a key ally of Congress, said the strike was not only to demand that the Centre take measures for a permanent ceasefire to “save” Tamils from “massacre” by Sri Lankan army and “condemn” the Lankan government but also to sympathise with the plight of Tamils in that country.
Karunanidhi’s strike call hours after he sent telegrams to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee pressing India issues an ultimatum to Sri Lankan government for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to “save” lakhs of Tamils.
“I insist that the Prime Minister, UPA chairperson and external affairs minister give an ultimatum to Sri Lankan government for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and save lakhs of Tamils”, he said in the telegrams.
He followed it up with another statement–the first this evening–saying the need of the hour was an immediate ceasefire instead of debating whether LTTE chief V Prabhakaran was a terrorist or not.
The DMK chief, whose remarks that he did not see Prabhakaran as a terrorist had stirred the hornet’s nest, described the war situation in Sri Lanka as “alarming” and the predicament of the Tamils “very critical”.
“What we want now is to stop the killings of Tamils there. There should be a permanent ceasefire”, he said in the statement.
“When some youth in Ireland undertook a fast in England demanding that they be treated as political prisoners, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had told the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to consider the issue from a humanitarian angle. I expect the same from her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi on Sri Lankan Tamils issue,” Karunanidhi said.
“Our concern is not a debate on whether Eelam, a separate homeland for Tamils in the island republic, could provide a solution, whether the ban on LTTE is to be lifted or whether Prabhakaran is a terrorist or not. Only a permanent ceasefire can save Tamils,” he said.
Despite various nations demanding the ceasefire, Sri Lanka refused to accept the demand. “What is the way out?” he said, adding the Centre had a responsibility to save Tamils.
“We cannot do any thing except crying for the Tamils. It is for the Centre to act now,” Karunanidhi, who has come under fire from opposition parties for not doing enough on the Lankan Tamils issue, said.
Coming down on AIADMK-led opposition that DMK had not done anything for a ceasefire, he said “I had done a lot on Sri Lankan Tamils issue. I am pained by the remarks that I am enacting a drama on the issue.”
Karunanidhi said his opponents were saying that he did not pressure the Centre on the issue. “Have I not met the Prime Minister or the Congress president? Have I not discussed the issue with the external affairs minister and the home minister? For political reasons, they are saying that I am enacting a drama,” he said.
In the evening’s second statement, he issued the strike call saying the action “is not only a condemnation of the Sri Lankan government but also to shed tears for the dying members of the Tamil community,” he said.
The DMK chief said all Tamils irrespective of their political affiliations should participate in the strike in a peaceful manner. “This is my final appeal to Tamils”, he added.
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In a bid to woo the Tamil voters ahead of Lok Sabha elections in the state, DMK chief and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has called for a bandh in his own state. The Tamil Nadu bandh will be observed tomorrow to protest against the violence in Sri Lanka. Karunanidhi also issued a notice to Centre to give an ultimatum to Sri Lanka to declare an “immediate and permanent ceasefire”.
Just a couple of days ago, Karrunanidhi had backtracked from his support to LTTE and termed the outfit as a terrorist organization. He had said that it would not be possible to forget Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, which was carried out by the LTTE in 1991.
The Sri Lankan government is all set to launch a final assault against the LTTE after the deadline given to Prabhakaran and his associated to surrender. Over 35,000 people are said to be trapped in the war zone, while over 60,000 reportedly escaped to safer places. Even the United States has expressed its helplessness over the situation.
Karunanidhi, who expressed concerns over the plight of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, has already sent telegrams to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, putting pressure on them to act on this issue.
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