Asserting that the DMK has been supportive of Sri Lankan Tamils since 1956, party treasurer M.K. Stalin on Thursday criticised Chief Minister Jayalalithaa saying she was now shedding false tears after having demanded the arrest of LTTE chief V. Prabhakaran in the Legislative Assembly.
Addressing a well-attended protest meeting as part of the Statewide demonstrations to condemn alleged war crimes against Tamils in Sri Lanka and to demand implementation of the resolutions adopted at the recent TESO (Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation) meeting, Mr. Stalin said that ever since the organisation was formed in 1984, the DMK had conducted conferences in support of Sri Lankan Tamils in various parts of the State.
Stood for cause
It was the DMK that took up the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils with the United Nations after reviving TESO last year, he said.
India should boycott the meeting of the heads of Commonwealth countries in Colombo in November, and ensure that the island nation’s 13th Amendment on devolution of power for provincial councils as agreed upon in the 1987 Rajiv Gandhi-Jayawardane accord was not diluted, he emphasised, and sought protection for Tamil Nadu fishermen.
The former Ministers K.N. Nehru and N. Selvaraj, and a host of party functionaries including former MLAs and district-level office-bearers took part.