The whole of Tamil Nadu is on the boil over Eelam Tamils issue and India’s stand on the resolution against Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka before the on-going session of United Nations Human Rights Council UNHRC) for its genocide, war crimes and violation of human rights. Almost all sections of people of the state have come out in support of the cause of Eelam Tamils. Leaders of all political parties had issued statements urging the Government of India to take a firm stand against the Lankan regime in UNHRC. Conspicuous was the stand of the ruling ADMK and its authoritative leader and Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha did not speak even a word about the resolution in UNHRC.
For the first time since 1965, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a spontaneous upsurge of student community all over the state on the issue and the action of the ADMK government directing closure of all arts and science colleges and engineering colleges and students’ hostels was seen as an attempt to wean away students from the path of agitations. So also running of buses of transport corporations on the day of general strike called by the TESO and arrest of over 50,000 party workers who picketed the buses were also seen as throttling the voice of protest against the Sinhala regime in Sri Lanka.
However, after DMK President Kalaignar categorically declared that the Party will not continue to be in the ruling alliance at the Centre if it did not move amendments to the US resolution in the UNHRC and make it stronger and subsequent reports of three Union Ministers being deputed by the Prime Minister to meet Kalaignar on March 18, the entire focus of attention of the nation as well as Tamils all over the world shifted to the residence of the DMK President. That was an unpalatable development for Jayalalitha and unwilling to let the entire credit to go to her bete noire, she had written a letter on March 18 (which was not even 11th hour but much after the 12th hour because that was the last date for moving amendments) to the Prime Minister listing specific amendments to the resolution to make it stronger. The dailies reporting her letter to the Prime Minister rightly started their news report as “Jayalalitha joined other political leaders in the State to demand that India take a firm stand on the US resolution against Sri Lanka in the UNHRC….”.
Having all along taken stand against the liberation struggle of Eelam Tamils and going to the extent of defending the genocide of Tamils by the Sri Lankan army till two months prior to the end of war in May 2009, saying on January 17, 2009 that the intention of the Sri Lankan army was not to kill innocent people, but in wars collateral loss of lives of civilians was normal; and India had no right to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, Jayalalitha attempted to cover up her sins by taking ludicrously extreme posture on the eve of Lok Sabha election in May 2009 vouching to send Indian army to liberate Eelam Tamils. But she could only fool some fringe outfits and the wise people of Tamil Nadu decisively rejected her party in the elections.
After coming to power in Tamil Nadu in 2011 due to the costly blunder of people, her attempts to outdo others in the cause of Lankan Tamils led to disastrous consequences. Opposing Sri Lankan armed forces given training in India is acceptable, but she irresponsibly toed the line some fringe outfits which protested against boys from Sri Lanka participating in a kabadi tournament in Erode district and chased them away, (all of them were Tamil youths who resented that the Sinhalese there were sidelining them and in Tamil Nadu also they were not allowed to play), and directed in September 2012 that two football teams from a college and a school in Sri Lanka which came to play friendly matches with local Customs team and the team of Velammal Matriculation School be sent back. She also suspended the official in charge of Nehru Stadium in Chennai for allowing the team from Lanka to play a match there.
Now in February last, she refused permission to host the 20th Asian Athletic Championships conducted annually by the Malaysian Athletic Association in different countries, because athletes from Sri Lanka would participate in it. This decision of her was resented by sports lovers and hotel and tourism sectors because it was a loss for sports lovers to witness the athletic skills of athletes from 41 countries and for hotels and tourism sector because the event would have attracted tens of thousands of not only participants in the event but also spectators from all over the world and media persons.
The chief administrator of the State banning sportspersons from Sri Lanka, was more than a license for these fringe outfits to let loose hooliganism against pilgrims, men, women and children from Lanka, most of them Tamil-speaking people, who came to visit Velankanni shrine. They were attacked with stones, missiles, footwears and logs all the way from Velankanni to Tiruchi airport.
As ‘The Times of India’ in its editorial under the headline ‘Wrong kind of Activism’ on March 18 pointed out, “Fringe groups are emboldened to act in such a cavalier manner also because the political mainstream, including the party holding office in Chennai, are seen as approving of extreme public displays of anti-Lanka sentiments. Last year’s incidents were preceded by the state government disallowing a football team from the island nation from playing in Chennai. Now, IPL authorities are wondering if it would be safe for their Lankan recruits to tour India”
On March 16,19 archeological research students studying in Delhi University visited Big temple in Thanjavur for their studies. The students were from China, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and northern states. One among them was a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka, Ganaleka. When they were studying the sculptures of the temple, 15 persons belonging to Naam Thamizhar Katchi, Thamizh dhesa Pdhuvudamai Katchi and MDMK descended there and shouted slogans for the exit of the Buddhist monk. Taken aback the students were coming out of the temple when the demonstrators encircled the Buddhist monk and started assaulting him. The terrified Ganaleka took to heels but the demonstrators chased him beating all along. All the 19 students took shelter in the office of the Archeological survey of India office. On learning about the incident the police arrived there and took the 15 persons who attacked the monk into custody. But the attackers were not only unrepentant but also posed heroically to the press photographers and TV camera crew, who were given advance information by them about the attack. So, the media persons were mere spectators to the barbaric attack and did nothing to prevent it (Under Criminal law they are also punishable for abetting the crime). The ordeal of the students did not end there. The police sent them with protection to Tiruchi airport by two vans. This information was passed on to the counterparts of the hooligans in Tiruchi, where MDMK men led by their district secretary attacked the students near Ariyamangalam, followed the vans and again attacked the vans near G corner in Golden Rock. The wind shields of the van were broken and the students escaped by lying under the seats. There also the attackers proudly courted arrest as if they had accomplished a heroic act. Following this incident the students cut short of their programme of visiting Gangaikondacholapuram and other temples in TN and returned to Delhi by flight.
As the attackers had given prior information to the media to cover the ‘event’ without fail, it was a pre-planned attack. None of the leaders of the three outfits which resorted to this violent action against unarmed innocent people were repentant but the General secretary of the Tamil Desa Podhuvudamai Katchi P.Maniarasan had told reporters that they would launch similar attacks on any visitor from Sri Lanka.
Two days after this incident a 20 member group of pilgrims from Sri Lanka which included women and three Buddhist monks, who returned to Chennai by train after their visit their visit to Budhgaya in Bihar, were attacked by three functionaries of Naam Thamilar Katchi, led by director Seeman, a staunch supporter of Jayalalitha, in the crowded platform of Central station. This led to counter protest by Buddhists in Colombo in front of the Indian mission. These attacks were given wide and provocative coverage in Lankan media.
The protests against training imparted to Lankan armed forces degenerated into violence culture punishing members of the public in no way connected with the Lankan regime. The perverted enthusiasm shown by Jayalalitha to outdo others, particularly the DMK who were fighting for the cause of Eelam Tamils, by sending back football teams from the island nation and refusing permission for Asian Athletic championship, has served as performance enhancing drug (dope) for these vandals to let loose violence on tourists, pilgrims and sportspersons from Sri Lanka.
When the focus of not only people of Tamil Nadu but Tamils all over the world and many other nations is to bring the Rajapaksa regime to accountability for the atrocities committed against innocent Tamils during the civil war, such violent attacks inflicted upon innocent persons from Sri Lanka will take away our moral authority to question the dictatorial regime of Lanka.
The perpetrators of these attacks and their leaders like Vaiko and Seeman either do not think of the consequences of such unprovoked attacks or knowing the consequences well and the counter effects on Tamils in the island nation they are behaving like this.
These incidents encouraged by the irresponsible actions taken by Jayalalitha have cast aspersions on the efforts made by all to bring perpetrators of crimes in Sri Lanka to justice and such vandalism had to be unequivocally condemned by those having faith in honesty, fairness, civility and justice. When lakhs of Eelam Tamils are struggling for life and livelihood everyday there, these reckless actions will spell counterproductive effects on them.
Expectedly, Lankan Tamils have expressed opposition to the current trend in Tamil Nadu of attacking visitors from Sri Lanka, encouraged by the stupid actions taken by the Chef Minister. Two leading Tamil dailies ‘Virakesari’ and ’Thinakkural’ came out with editorials on March 20, saying that it had tarnished the image of the Tamil struggle for rights.
‘Virakesari’ went on to say that the attacks had had adverse reaction in Lanka which could affect the Tamils living on the island. Previously, a Sinhala-Buddhist party had called for a ban on visitors from Tamil Nadu, and a ban on travel to Tamil Nadu, the paper recalled. Other Sinhalese-Buddhist groups had taken up the issue with a view to blowing it up. The paper appealed to the people to be sensitive to repercussions in Sri Lanka.
‘Thinakkural’ said like the Tamils, the Sinhalese too had longstanding bonds with India, which could not be broken. But some elements were misusing the pro-Tamil movement for their own ends. It noted that majority of people in TN wanted to struggle peacefully, but some groups had made the Tamil community as a whole hang its head in shame. Groups indulging in such activities should realise that their activities would only add grist to the mill of anti-Tamil forces in the island, the paper warned.
These perverse elements and their outfits were neither contributing anything constructively for the militant liberation struggle nor to the remaining Eelam Tamils after the defeat of the valiant struggle by their misguidance all along the struggle. Now they are all in the good books of Jayalalitha itself speaks for their credentials!
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