Success of TESO Meet Even Before Beginning!

On the one side, the Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka resorted to all sorts of intimidations, threats and misinformation to prevent any citizen of the island nation from attending the Eelam Tamils’ Rights Protection Conference of the Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) in Chennai on August 12. On the other side, the anti-Tamil Jayalalitha regime went all out to deny permission for holding the conference at the originally planned venue, YMCA Grounds in Royapettah, Chennai, and sabotage the conference.

Just a few days prior to the conference on August 6, there were two reports in Lankan newspapers.

Under the headline, ‘Special attention would be paid on Lankans taking part in the TESO conference: SL government’ the report Stated:

“Government announced special attention would be paid on Lankans taking part in the TESO conference. TESO conference is organized against SriLanka. Lankan government would not grant permission to create separate or independent state in this country.

Only Tamil Nadu state stage various protests against SriLanka. Other states of India did not engage protest against our country. Indian central government need to pay special attention on Tamil groups which stage protest against SriLanka in the Tamil Nadu state.

On 12th of August DMK leader Karunanithi has organized special conference against SriLanka in Tamil Nadu. Lankan government thoroughly condemns this activity. Some of the Lankans have been invited to take part in this conference. Lankans schedule to take part in the TESO conference would violate the national policy of this country. In such situation government would pay special attention on these members said Minister Keheliya Rambukwella.”

Under the headline, ‘Sri Lanka government does not need to protest the Eelam conference – Minister’ another report stated:

“Government coalition Sinhala Buddhist party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) says Sri Lanka government needs to protest the conference. JHU spokesman Nishantha Sri Warnasinghe has said that the Tamil Nadu politicians are trying to revive the struggle to truncate Sri Lanka to establish a separate state of Eelam and the Sri Lankan government that crushed the armed struggle for Eelam appears to be turning a blind eye to this ominous threat. It is confirmed that the conference will be held in Chennai on August 12.

It has already been confirmed that Democratic People’s Party leader Mano Ganesan, New Left Front leader Dr. Wickramabahu Karunaratne and United Socialist party leader Siritunga Jayasuriya will attend this conference while major Tamil constituency Tamil National Alliance has not still taken a final decision on their participation.”

On Aug 12, Sri Lanka’s Collective of Nationalist Organizations staged a demonstration march in the capital Colombo to protest the TESO Conference.

The Chairman of Sri Lanka’s Sinhala nationalist Patriotic National Movement Gunadasa Amarasekera called the TESO Conference an attempt by India’s Tamil Nadu politicians to divide the country and is launched with the support of the central government of India. Patriotic National Movement was an active participant of the agitation held in the morning before the Indian High Commission in Colombo in protest of the TESO conference.

The activists carrying placards and shouting slogans marched to the High Commission and set fire to effigies of Kalaignar and Sri Lanka’s Tamil National Alliance Leader R. Sampanthan. The Chairman of the Sinhala nationalist organization linked to government coalition party National Freedom Front added that their doubt is proved by the fact that Central government of India allowing to use the word ‘Eelam’ which means a ‘separate homeland ‘ with the conference. “India’s central government Saturday reversed its earlier edict and told the court that it had no objection to using the word ‘Eelam’ in the title of the conference”, he said.

If the Sri Lankan regime openly worked to foil the TESO meet, Jayalalitha tried to sabotage the meet indirectly to begin with. She instigated an ADMK lawyer by name Balasubramaniam at the eleventh hour on August 7 to file a petition in the Madras High Court to ban the conference on national security grounds. Unsure about political grounds to prevent the meet another person R.Muthukumaraswamy claiming to be leader of the ‘108’ Free Ambulance Service Employees Union was arranged to file another petition claiming noise pollution to patients of Government Royapettah hospital

Their attempts to hurry up hearing of the petition on August 8 itself was negated by the High Court, which posted the hearing on August 10 (9th being a holiday).

Only when the petition was heard on August 10 by a Division Bench of Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and M.Venugopal, the design of the ADMK regime got exposed. During the course of arguments, Advocate General A.Navaneetha Krishnan said that the authorities were going to reject the application seeking permission. However, he said the commissioner had not passed any order so far. The application was given on July 29 and the police, on the directive of government, kept it pending. The ADMK regime would have wished the court to deny permission. But the Bench directed Chennai Police Commissioner to consider the application.

Counsel for TESO, P. Wilson, said wide publicity had been given in newspapers regarding the conference from July. The petitioner,  Ramachandran, had filed the petition only on August 7. He listed the recent events held on the YMCA grounds. No representation had been given by the writ petitioner to the police Commissioner raising objections.

Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and Venugopal said Section 41 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act would clearly establish the Commissioner’s power to grant or reject permission for such public meetings, taking into consideration public safety and security.

The Bench said before invoking the court’s extraordinary jurisdiction, the petitioner should have sent a representation to the Commissioner. That was lacking. Considering all facts and circumstances and the wide powers of the Commissioner, the Bench said, it did not want to usurp the official’s powers. Hence, it considered it appropriate to give the direction to him.

But by 1:45 AM on Saturday (August 10), the police served the CoP’s letter refusing permission at the residence of J.Anbazhagan, DMK South Chennai Secretary.

Difficulties in ensuring security for the expected large turnout, proximity of the conference venue to a government hospital and the possibility of sympathisers of the outlawed LTTE joining it were the among the main reasons cited by the Chennai police on Saturday (August 11) for denying permission for the conduct of the TESO meet at YMCA, Royapettah.

According to a letter issued by Joint CoP (East) S. N. Seshasai to the conference president and DMK MLA J. Anbazhagan, ‘Tamil Eelam’ was the objective of the proscribed Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, and there was information that LTTE members and representatives from other terrorists organisations might take part in the TESO conference. “This could lead to a threat to national security and public order, the letter said. The letter said the venue did not have the capacity to house over one lakh persons expected to attend the conference. The venue’s capacity was only 8,000 persons and accommodation of more would lead to a law and order situation.

The letter also stated that the YMCA ground has only two entry-exit points, one used by VVIPs, leaving only one for the participants.

Moreover, the traffic situation caused by the conference and the sound from speakers used in it would be a hindrance to patients at the Government Royapettah Hospital located opposite the YMCA grounds.

The Thousand Lights mosque, Wesley Church and cinema halls and shopping malls located close to the prescribed conference would attract large crowds on a Sunday and it would be a hindrance to public. Vehicular traffic will be thrown out of gear as main roads near the conference venue have been made one-way due to the ongoing Chennai Metro Rail Limited construction work. In case of over a lakh people attending the conference, more than 1,500 vehicles are expected to be present. The Wesley School grounds prescribed for vehicle parking arrangement would not be enough as it can accommodate only around 250 vehicles.

Even as the organisers of the ‘Eelam Tamil Rights Protection Conference’ continued their efforts on Saturday to ensure that the meeting was held here on Sunday as scheduled, as an alternative arrangement Kalaignar announced that it would take place at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, if the bar was not lifted by the police.

In the early hours of Saturday, the organisers were formally denied permission by the Chennai Police. Even as they moved the Madras High Court challenging the decision, the Ministry of External Affairs clarified that it had no objection to the use of the term ‘Eelam’ in the title of the conference, superseding its earlier objection.

In the affidavit, the petitioner submitted that several delegates from various foreign countries such as Canada, Nigeria, Turkey, Sweden, Morocco and Sri Lanka would attend the conference.

Leaders from North India had already come to Chennai to take part. As regards foreign delegates, the Centre had already given clearance. The conference was open only to 2,500 invitees and the expected crowd would not be more than 8,000. There need be no apprehension that more than one lakh persons would participate. There would be no traffic block either.

The petitioner’s counsel, P.Wilson, said the police had given new grounds for rejecting permission. Advocate-General A.Navaneethakrishnan said if the conference was allowed public safety would become a casualty. The government had received inputs which contained “highly explosive” information. He produced a document which contained “very confidential information” for perusal by the Judge. Taking note of the intelligence inputs, it was very difficult to allow them to hold the conference. He cited the Babri Masjid demolition in Ayodhya in 1992. It was the State government’s duty to maintain law and order.

After hearing the arguments for nearly an hour, Justice Paul Vasanthakumar said as the issue was pending before the Division Bench and the petitioner sought permission to conduct the conference, he was of the view that it might not be proper for him to consider the issue.

The uncertainty of conducting the conference at YMCA Grounds confirmed on Sunday morning. But in the meanwhile alternative arrangements were being made at Anna Arivalayam also.

After hearing the arguments for some time on a petition filed by the organisers, Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar said it was for a Division Bench to hear the case as the matter was still pending before it. The case will be taken up at a special sitting on Sunday.

In a statement issued later in the day, Kalaignar said that as part of the meeting, a seminar would be held at a hotel at 10 a.m. on Sunday to finalise the resolutions to be adopted at the conference.

Referring to the steps being taken through the court to overcome the hurdles placed by the police, he said that if the bar was not lifted by evening, the meeting would take place at Kalaignar Arangam of Anna Arivalayam at 4 p.m.

He said the contents of the resolutions would be disseminated through public meetings to be held all over Tamil Nadu from August 20 to 30.

Ending uncertainty over the venue just hours ahead of the beginning of a conference of the TESO, the Madras High Court on Sunday stayed an order of the city police denying permission to hold the conference at the YMCA grounds, Royapettah, and permitted the organisers to go ahead with the meet as planned in the same venue.

A special sitting of division bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and M.Venugopal was held on Sunday.

P.Wilson, senior counsel for the petitioner, said the Joint Commissioner had not given any opportunity before passing the impugned order of rejection. The police had relied on an over-enthusiastic statement by a party functionary in his individual capacity that more than one lakh people would attend the conference. He said only 2,500 invitations had been distributed and not more than 8,000 would attend it.

However, the Advocate General, A. Navaneethakrishnan, submitted that as per the press releases issued by DMK functionaries, more than one lakh people would throng the conference. In that situation, public safety and tranquillity would be in danger, besides there being the possibility of a stampede. He submitted that even the intelligence reports did not support conduct of any such conference.

After hearing the submissions, the Judges said, “In the impugned order, the Joint Commissioner of Police has nowhere mentioned the distance between the Royapettah Government Hospital and the venue so as to assess as to whether there is any truth attached to the stand taken by him that if the proposed meeting is permitted, it will cause disturbance or nuisance to the in-patients of the hospital.”

“He also has not properly taken into consideration the fact that from January 2010 till date, the YMCA ground witnessed many functions/seminars” said the Judges.

Pointing out the communications sent to the organisers by the Union Home Ministry and External Affairs Ministry, the Bench said, “When those ministries have given ‘No Objection’ for the conduct of the conference, we do not find any prima facie reason to reject the permission sought by the petitioner.”

After recording the petitioner’s stand that not more than 8,000 people would attend the conference, the Bench said it was in consonance with the capacity of the YMCA grounds, as noted and observed by the public works department.

In its interim order, the Bench imposed a condition that the petitioner should ensure that not more than 8,000 people assembled at any point of time during the conference and not more than 250 vehicles were allowed into the ground. The noise emanating from the sound systems should not in any manner affect patients in the hospital.

The Commissioner of Police was also directed to take all necessary steps to ensure smooth conduct of conference so as to avoid any untoward incident in the locality.

Earlier, disappointed that city police commissioner J K Tripathy had denied them permission to hold the conference at the YMCA Grounds, DMK worker S Sekar, standing along with other DMK cadres, said, The police decision is a vengeful, politically motivated act. Supporters, however, were optimistic that the meet would take place at any cost. It is meant to discuss the welfare of the Tamils, who were denied justice, said S Murugavel of Velacherry.

Just before the Madras high court took up the petition filed by the DMK, Party Treasurer Thalapathi M K Stalin visited the venue to check the arrangements and keep up the spirits. You ask the court, the DMK leader replied sarcastically, when asked about the fate of the conference.

But even after the High Court Bench stayed the City Police Commissioner’s order refusing permission, the Jaya regime tried its best, to get a stay for the HC order and at the directive of the government, Additional Advocate General Guru Krishnakumar tried to file a petition with the Registrar of the Supreme Court. But the DMK had already filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to stall a possible ex-parte order as soon as the Division Bench gave the green signal to the conference on Sunday afternoon. On the counsels for DMK telling that the conference was about to start, the Registrar refused to accept the petition of the State government.

While delivering his welcome address as the Chairman of the Reception Committee, Thiru M.K.Stalin’s claim that the TESO conference had scored success even before the proceedings of it were to begin, was perfectly correct, given the obstacles created by Jayalalitha regime to sabotage the conference, willingly or unwillingly, incidentally or coincidentally with steps taken by the Rajapaksa regime and protests by Sinhala chauvinists in Colombo.

Thanthai Periyar used to say that “If your enemies are opposing you tooth and nail, it means you are more and more treading the correct path”. Kalaignar and the DMK are always on it!