Vaiko courts arrest with thousands of cadres on Eelam Tamil issue

[TamilNet, Friday, 10 October 2008, 22:58 GMT]
Tamil leader Vaiko, General Secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) and a staunch supporter of the cause of Eezham Tamils, was arrested Friday along with thousands of his cadres in Chennai while staging a demonstration to condemn Indian involvement in the Sri Lankan military. He called upon the ruling DMK government in Tamil Nadu, headed by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, an important ally of the Central Government in India, to take the blame for every Tamil being killed in Eelam. "In the name of safe-guarding Sri Lanka's sovereignty, don't lose India's sovereignty and national integration," warned Mr. Vaiko in an emotional, vociferous speech, said media sources in Chennai.



More than two thousand cadres of the MDMK decided to take out a procession towards the Shastri Bhavan in the capital city. However, because the state police force refused to grant permission for their rally they courted arrest.

While addressing his cadres, Vaiko lamented that the Indian army was behind the genocide of Tamils in Sri Lanka. "Ever since the United Progressive Alliance formed the Government in India, the Sinhalese were eager to ink a pact with New Delhi. However, opposition from Tamil Nadu ensured that the military pact could not be signed. In spite of this, the contents of the military pact are being secretly implemented."

He blamed the Indian Government for supplying radars to Sri Lanka and for providing military training to the Sri Lankan army.

The MDMK leader expressed disappointment over the fact that the Indian Prime Minister, who had assured him that the Indian military would not act against the Tamils, had betrayed his word.

Vaiko added that 265 Indian military personnel were currently serving in Sri Lanka. Vaiko has charged that the Indian Government is responsibile for the genocide in the island.

He described the lived reality of Tamils in Sri Lanka: how school-children died in bomb-blasts, and how Tamil people went without food or medicine. He declared that the people of Tamil Nadu would always rally behind the Eezham Tamils.

Tamil Nationalist leader Pazha Nedumaran and AIADMK Organizing Secretary Muthusamy extended their support and congratulated Vaiko for organizing the massive protest.