Published on - 11/19/2007
THERE IS NO CHANGE in the policy of the Central government towards the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said in a communication to Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy.
The Foreign Secretary, in a letter dated November 13, said: \'There has been no change in the Government\'s policy towards the LTTE which is a banned terrorist organisation. The Government has made formal requests for the extradition of V. Prabhakaran, leader of the LTTE, to the Government of Sri Lanka from time to time. The Government of Sri Lanka has informed us that our request is receiving their consideration.\'
Dr. Swamy had written to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee enquiring about the policy of the Centre towards the LTTE. Mukherjee had told him that there was no change in the policy, Dr. Swamy said in a release.
Meanwhile, Karunanidhi\'s eulogy for slain LTTE leader Thamilselvan has snowballed into a huge political debate and the Congress, which till now has been treading cautiously on the issue, seems to have taken on the DMK.
In a major snub to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minster, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) has passed a resolution making clear its displeasure over its ally's pro-LTTE stand.
The eulogy for LTTE leader S P Thamilselvan by Karunanidhi has now become a confrontation point between two alliance partners. Growing resentment amongst Congress members in Tamil Nadu found its echo at the AICC meeting too when in a resolution passed at the AICC meeting, the Congress has made its displeasure clear.
Denouncing those who support LTTE, the resolution says: “The LTTE, categorised internationally as a terrorist outfit, deliberately assassinated our beloved leader in a brutal manner. The sentiments of all Congress men and women especially are bound to get hurt if the LTTE is eulogised in any manner.\'
Undoubtedly, the DMK, Congress\'s single-biggest ally and a party with an overtly pro-LTTE viewpoint, is being taken head on.
\'Generally we said anyone who eulogises a terrorist that cannot be tolerated and we always condemn that,\' Veerappa Moily, AICC General Secretary in New Delhi told Times Now.
\'No reaction has come from the Chief Minister or the DMK after AICC passed the resolution. But this comes as no surprise given that the DMK chose to ignore a similar one passed by the Tamil Nadu Congress last week. Evidently DMK is in no mood to upset equations with the Congress.
Sources in the DMK say that the party does not want to precipitate the issue by reacting to the resolution. Some party leaders even argue that since no direct reference has been made to the DMK, the statement will be looked upon as a general warning to all Dravidian parties which sympathise with the LTTE.
But will Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, who was unapologetic for his poem when attacked by arch-rival J Jayalalithaa, break his silence over the issue ?
India\'s demand for extradition of LTTE supremo V Prabhakaran is under the consideration of the Sri Lankan government but the question arises only after the Tiger leader is captured, a top official said here on Sunday.
“The demand from India is under consideration. We need Prabhakaran in Sri Lanka for the Central Bank bombing in 1996 for which he has already been sentenced for a long prison term of over 100 years. We have to first get him to be able to consider India\'s request for his extradition,\' a senior Sri Lankan Government official told PTI.
The official was reacting to a question on Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon\'s letter to Janata Party President Subramanian Swamy where he said New Delhi had from time to time sought Prabhakaran\'s extradition.
\'We are not in variance with Mr Menon\'s letter. It is absolutely correct. We have been getting requests from time to time from India on Prabhakaran\'s extradition. But we have to lay our hands on him. Question of extradition arises after we apprehend him,\' the Sri Lankan official said. (Courtesy: Daily News)
