Sampanthan regrets neglected relationship

[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 June 2008, 15:23 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentary group leader R. Sampanthan, who on Saturday met the visiting Indian top officials at India House in Colombo, told the delegation that "Tamils believed all these years that they were the natural allies of India, but it is not so today." Even the human rights violations against Tamils, abductions and genocide are largely ignored by India.

"We feel very sad about this," he said.

"We thought both Tamils and Indians were together but we believe India do not think that we’re together. But today India got the oil tanks in Trincomalee but Tamils, nothing," he told media after the meeting.

"India has not been very concerned about Tamil grievances but are only interested in safeguarding their own interests," Mr. R. Sampanthan told the visiting Indian delegation.

"In 1987, the Indo-Sri Lanka accord merged the North and the East but today it has been de-merged. And it guaranteed devolution of powers to the Tamils. But even after it was de-merged, India is not worried about Tamil interests. Indians are only concerned about their own interests."

After listening to Mr. Sampanthan the Indian delegation invited him and his party members to visit Delhi for further talks.

M. K. Narayanan, Shivashankar Menan and Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Alok Prasad and two other officials were present during the discussions.

On Saturday morning EPDP leader Douglas Devananda had a breakfast discussion with the delegation. Earlier on Friday night CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman paid them a courtesy call.

In the meantime a Marxist political leader of Sri Lanka regretted for the continued Indian attitude of conducting important talks at the level of civil servants and intelligence officers, who are not answerable to the people of India, and for the meek submission of Sri Lankan politicians to such a diplomacy.

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