Sri Lankan defence ties: Jayalalithaa accuses Centre of 'callous' attitude

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Sri Lankan defence ties: Jayalalithaa accuses Centre of 'callous' attitude

Written by Sanjay Pinto, Edited by Samira Shaikh | Updated: July 16, 2012 12:26 IST

Chennai: In one of her strongest protests to the Centre over the presence and training of Sri Lankan defence officers in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has accused the UPA government of showing "utter disrespect to the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu".

This latest salvo comes in the wake of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris district, playing host to 2 Lankan officers - Air Vice-Marshal Jegath Julanga Diaz of the Sri Lankan Air Force and Rear Admiral S. Ranasinghe of the Sri Lankan Navy, as part of a 25 member delegation for a one day session. Pro-Tamil parties and outfits have already staged protests outside the hotel where the officers are staying. More demonstrations are expected today.

Just last week, Jayalalithaa had objected to the technical training of nine Lankan airmen at the Indian Air Force Station in Tambaram, Chennai and had urged the Prime Minister to have them sent back. However, the trainees were shifted to the Yelahenka Air Force Station in Bengaluru.

"People of Tamil Nadu are frustrated and outraged by this callous and adamant attitude of the Government of India in persistently giving training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in India," she told the Prime Minister requesting him to "give suitable instructions to the Ministry of Defence to desist from giving any training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces anywhere in India and send such personnel back to Sri Lanka immediately."

Jayalalithaa also mentioned her Assembly resolution passed last year demanding an economic embargo on Sri Lanka till Tamils were resettled in their own places and are allowed to live with dignity and equality.

"Tamils across the world feel that the sentiments of the Tamils have been trampled on by the Government of India not only by its inaction on this resolution, but also by continuing to give preferential treatment by way of providing technical training to defence personnel belonging to Sri Lanka," she said.

Incidentally, the DMK is in the process of holding a massive meet to re-launch the Tamil Ealam Supporters Organisation (TESO) in Chennai, next month. The move has made its ally Congress- that has just extended the ban on the LTTE by another 2 years- quite uncomfortable. Home Minister P. Chidamabaram is reported to have conveyed the Centre's disapproval of the event to DMK Chief M Karunanidhi last evening.

Sri Lankan defence ties: Jayalalithaa accuses Centre of 'callous' attitude | NDTV.com

 

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Its all politically motivated. It remains a truth that Tamil speaking people who are living in Srilanka for ages are citizens of that country no matter where they originated from. However I am not sure whether LTTE fight was actually for a cause or it was merely to gain power and control over a piece of land. But it is quite natural when you start dividing people on base of language or their origin you get biased. You start seeing things which are not happening in reality. No doubt Srilankan army killed and raped lot of civilians, as shown in one of the BBC documentaries, which is not justified at all but it does not mean that you start justifying what LTTE was doing there. Even LTTE used civilians as a cover to save themselves when army was getting close to them. This situation is similar to the situation of Kashmir, where Pakistani government supports Kashmiri militants but always denies to support them openly. We Indians always justify, what is happening in kashmir is not our neighbour's concern and they should stop supporting militants. The same stands true for present Srilanka situation. We should not support building of an independent state with in. However we can condemn the act. And at least now we should stop supporting those militants, militants of that state because they speak our language.

 

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Full text of Jayalalithaa's letter to the Prime Minister

NDTV Correspondent | Updated: July 16, 2012 12:40 IST

In one of her strongest protests to the Centre over the presence and training of Lankan defence officers in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has accused the UPA government of showing "utter disrespect to the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu".

Find below the full text of Jayalalithaa's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:

"You may recall the resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly in June, 2011, urging the Government of India to take up with the United Nations Organisation the issue of declaring those found guilty of war crimes as war criminals, and also to initiate action by working with other Nations for the imposition of an economic embargo on the Government of Sri Lanka till the Tamils, who are now living in camps in Sri Lanka, are resettled in their own places and are allowed to live with dignity and with equal Constitutional rights on par with the Sinhalese citizens.

Tamils across the world feel that the sentiments of the Tamils have been trampled on by the Government of India not only by its inaction on this resolution, but also by continuing to give preferential treatment by way of providing technical training to defence personnel belonging to Sri Lanka.

When nine personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Air Force were undergoing technical training at the Air Force Station, Tambaram, Tamil Nadu, I had issued a Press Statement condemning this action of the Government of India and requesting that these Sri Lankan Air Force personnel should be sent back to Sri Lanka. Instead of sending them back to Sri Lanka, the Government of India is now providing training to these personnel at the Yelahenka Air Force Station, Bengaluru.

Again, it has now come to my notice that Air Vice Marshal Jegath Julanga Diaz of the Sri Lankan Air Force and Rear Admiral S. Ranasinghe of the Sri Lankan Navy, who are undergoing training at the National Defence Academy, New Delhi, along with 25 other trainees belonging to various countries have arrived at Coonoor, The Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, on 15.7.2012 and are visiting the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, on 16.7.2012 as part of their training programme. Imparting training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in Defence Training Institutions in India and allowing them to visit Tamil Nadu reveals the utter disrespect shown to the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu.

The people of Tamil Nadu are frustrated and outraged by this callous and adamant attitude of the Government of India in persistently giving training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces in India.

I, therefore, request you to give suitable instructions to the Ministry of Defence to desist from giving any training to personnel belonging to the Sri Lankan Armed Forces anywhere in India and send such personnel back to Sri Lanka immediately."

Full text of Jayalalithaa's letter to the Prime Minister | NDTV.com