AS usual, the build-up of emotions on the Sri Lankan Tamil issue was as fast as the climbdown in Tamil Nadu. At the end of three weeks of fast-paced developments, the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) headed by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi did not act on its threat that its Members of Parliament would resign if the Centre did not take steps to force the Sri Lankan government to declare a ceasefire in its war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The DMK set October 29 as the deadline to carry out its threat. But on October 26, Congress president and United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi had a telephonic conversation with Karunanidhi, and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee flew down to Chennai to request the DMK leader not to precipitate a crisis for the government. Karunanidhi readily relented. Mukherjee told mediapersons that India could not demand a ceasefire since it was not a party to the ceasefire agreement.
Asked whether he was happy with New Delhis discussions with Colombo, Karunanidhi said he would be fully satisfied only when all the demands listed by the party were met. We sought a ceasefire to protect the people from hardship. The Sri Lankan government has now given an assurance that it will not attack civilians, he added.
About the DMK MPs threatened resignation, Karunanidhi said, He [Mukherjee] suggested that we defer the decision. I gave him the assurance. Sixteen Lok Sabha members and four Rajya Sabha members of the DMK had earlier submitted their resignation letters to Karunanidhi.
Informed political sources said the DMK was compelled to go back on its decision as a group of Congress legislators in Tamil Nadu, who support is crucial to the ruling party, met in Chennai on October 24 and decided to hand in their resignations to State Congress Committee president K.V. Thangkabalu if the DMK went ahead with its threat. The DMK is, however, taking comfort from the fact that its actions forced the Centre to take note of the sufferings of Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka.
The events of October once again proved that the Sri Lankan Tamil issue is ready meat for the political parties in the State in their game of one-upmanship. If the Sri Lanka Navys firing on fishermen from Rameswaram and Pudukottai was the cause of public anger in the previous months, the suffering of displaced Tamils engaged public attention in October. Tamil newspapers and magazines gave prominent coverage to the aerial bombardment of Tamil areas with pictures of civilians fleeing their homes or living in refugee camps. This led to a groundswell of support for internally displaced Tamil civilians.
On July 29, Karunanidhi inaugurated a DMK-organised hunger strike to protest against the firing on fishermen from Tamil Nadu. He said the State government would not hesitate to seek the return of Kachchateevu island from Sri Lanka, which was ceded by the Government of India in 1974 brushing aside the DMKs objections.
Actor-politician Vijaykants Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) and Vaikos Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) held demonstrations at Rameswaram condemning the frequent firing on Tamil Nadu fishermen. The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) led by Dr. S. Ramadoss and the Dalit Panthers of India headed by Thol. Thirumavalavan held demonstrations in Chennai on the issue.
The Sri Lankan Tamil issue came to the fore on October 2 when the State unit of the Communist Party of India organised a fast in Chennai demanding a ceasefire in northern Sri Lanka. Speaker after speaker highlighted the plight of Tamil civilians in the island nation and asked the Centre to take steps to bring about a ceasefire.
Although the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) agreed to send a representative to the fast, no one from the party turned up at the fast venue. Informed political sources said the AIADMK was peeved that a DMDKs representative was present at the fast. They said the DMK did not take part because it did not want to incur the displeasure of the Congress-led government at the Centre.
Worried that other parties had hijacked the Tamil issue, and incensed by allegations that the DMK was sleeping over the issue, the party decided to act. Karunanidhi appealed to the people on October 5 to send telegrams to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to intervene immediately and stop the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. He wanted the Centre to treat the appeal as a distress call and an issue of national importance.
The DMK government convened an all-party meeting on October 14. The meeting passed six resolutions: The Centre should stop supplying weapons to Colombo; it should initiate steps to enforce a ceasefire there; if the Centre did not bring about a ceasefire within two weeks, the MPs from Tamil Nadu would resign; the Centre should despatch relief material to displaced Tamils; it should take the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross to route relief to Tamil refugees; and it should find a permanent solution to the uncivilised actions and human rights violations of the Sri Lankan Navy firing on Tamil Nadu fishermen.
The DMK announced a human chain demonstration to be held all over Tamil Nadu on October 24 to press for the six demands. It was a huge success with lakhs of people from different sections of society and representatives from various parties taking part in it for two hours in pouring rain.
In an unexpected development, the police arrested Vaiko on October 23 on charges of sedition. At a meeting on October 21, Vaiko warned the Centre that providing radars to Sri Lanka would endanger Indias unity. Vaiko said he would take up arms and fight for the Tamils cause. MDMK presidium chairman M. Kannappan warned the Centre not to force the people in Tamil Nadu to secede. He too was arrested.
T.S. SubramanianCOMMents
COMMents
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