Tuesday, May 16, 2000, New Delhi

Karunanidhi attacks LTTE
Chennai, May 15
(aGENCIES)

THE DMK today came out openly against the LTTE, asking how an organisation which had killed prominent Tamil leaders in Sri Lanka could claim to be the saviour of the ethnic minority community there.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK President M. Karunanidhi asserted in the State Assembly that the DMK had “distanced” itself from the LTTE after it murdered important leaders of “Tamil Eelam” movement, A. Amirthalin-gam of the TULF, Sabarathinam (TELO), K. Padmanabha of the (EPRLF) and Umamaheswaran of the PLOTE.

“How can a movement, which had killed the leaders of its own race, save Tamils from annihilation,” the Chief Minister asked while replying to the demands of grants for police. He said after the 1983 genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka, four or five groups had been fighting for their cause.

In 1986, when he wanted to distribute some money, collected in connection with his birthday, equally among all the Sri Lankan Tamil groups, LTTE refused to receive its share, he said, adding “this is the kind of link, we had with the LTTE.”

Mr Karunanidhi sought to clarify the statement he had made in the House on May 12 supporting the demand of a separate homeland for Tamils in Sri Lanka. “I had only pointed out that I would be happy if ‘Tamil Eelam’ was achieved through negotiations,” he said.

The State Government had banned a conference by the LTTE supporters at Chidambaram on May 7, he said, adding it showed government’s commitment to prevent LTTE supporters from holding such meetings in support of the outlawed rebel outfit.

The organisers, who had originally stated that the meet was for supporting the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils, had tried to change the agenda into one for hailing the LTTE victory at Elephant Pass. “Such activities of LTTE supporters will not be tolerated,” Mr Karunanidhi said.

TROOPS POUND LTTE POSITIONS: Sri Lankan troops, backed by Air Force cover, on Monday relentlessly bombarded LTTE positions and reported a "drastic drop" in the intensity of rebels' attacks on the embattled Jaffna town even as 15 guerrillas and three security personnel were killed in the fighting. A government statement said 15 rebels and three soldiers were killed.