The first meeting of the revived Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO), an outfit launched by Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi in 1985 to express solidarity with the Sri Lankan Tamil cause, will be held on April 30 at Anna Arivalayam, the DMK headquarters.
Mr. Karunanidhi, who is also the TESO president, will chair the meeting, which will be attended by DMK general secretary K. Anbazhagan, Dravidar Kazhagam president K. Veeramani, former minister Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan and Tamilar Peravai leader Suba Veerapanidan, who have been included as members.
Mr. Karunanidhi, who has been advocating a separate Eelam vociferously in the last few days, in a statement, called for a peaceful struggle in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, C.N. Annadurai and Sri Lankan Tamil leader SJV Chelvanayagam, to set right the temporary setback to the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
Reacting to criticism that the DMK failed to take any sincere efforts to prevent the killing of thousands of Tamils in the last phase of the war and was belatedly expressing concern, Mr. Karunanidhi said the Sri Lankan Tamil groups failed to succeed in their objective because they were not united in their struggle.
“The fratricidal war among the militant groups led to such a situation. Though we made a fervent plea to them to stop the fighting among themselves neither were we able to root out their mutual animosity nor stop the consequent downfall. Who can avoid shedding tears over the internecine fight between the leaders of various groups and their deaths?”
He said that the DMK government made all possible efforts to prevail upon the Centre to intervene and stop the war in Sri Lanka and the Centre extended its cooperation. All DMK MPs in both the Houses of Parliament offered to resign to pressure the government to intervene in the war and this led to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh giving an assurance to find a political solution.
Recalling various protests organised by the DMK and a delegation of Tamil leaders being sent to Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi seeking India's intervention, Mr. Karunanidhi said he undertook a fast demanding a ceasefire by the Sri Lankan government.
“The same day Sri Lankan government issued a statement saying the war was over in the North and advised the Army not to use heavy weapons or shelling from the air. It also said priority would be given to evacuation of innocent people.”
Mr. Karunanidhi said despite the efforts made by the DMK and the Centre, the Sri Lankan government violated its promise and won the war. However, this was only a temporary setback. He urged his supporters to dedicate themselves to the cause of Tamil Eelam.
@ Gamini Lindagedera: Although I vigorously oppose Karunanidhi for various reasons, he is several thousand times better than the chauvinist and racist Sri Lankan regime. Your post is indicative of the superiority complex of the Sri Lankan regime and its propensity to oppose, character assassinate, defame and label political and cultural opponents as terrorists and anti-nationals. It is high time that your country's
political and cultural picture becomes more inclusive. If not, Prabhakaran II is inevitable.
MR M Karunanithi did not act in the interest Eelam Tamils in 2009; in my opinion he deceived the Tamils then, by blaming various Eelam Tamil factions. Now MK is setting himself ready for the next election in 2014 and he knows he has no choice but to embark on a seperate Eelam cause. MK is a cunning politician, using Eelam Tamil's pitty state in Sri Lanka & Tamil Nadu's sympathy for it to propel himself to the fore.
Mr.Anbazhagan during the war told that we neither supported nor opposed eelam
struggle of LTTE. Everyone in TN knew DMK's role during the war.. DMK supporters
also told that it is a war happening in another country. I am not sure whether ppl will
trust MK now on this issue.Also Mr.Anbazhagan recently told that he is hale and
healthy even at 90.So he cannot be removed like Arcot Veerasamy. So the only option
to clear line for Stalin is to get Mr.Anbazhagan into some other Tamil work.. and this
could be an opportunity.Let's wait and see ..what happens to senior leaders of DMK
The trend of events taking place in the North now, are that the Government is not going to implement the LLRC recommendations and there is no sign of reconcilliation with the Tamils. The army is securing vast lands along the coast in Valigagam North from Ponnalai to Thondaminar, formerly declared as High Security Zones. These lands were occupied by the Tamil people mostly farmers and fishermen and they were chased out of their homes by indiscriminate bombing and shelling those areas.The people had to flee their homes leaving all their positions. The government is not concerned about those people. The army administration in the North is in itself indicates the intention of the government . There is no other way to reconcile with the government except seperation.The International Community is wavering and dithering on the issue.The recent visit to Sri Lanka by the Indian Team is another eye wash.
What do you call a party leader of a country who openly advocates separatism in a neighboring country? MK has become the modern day Prabhakaran.
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