Tamil Nadu assembly adopts resolution: Centre must stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly country
Chennai: With emotions running high in Tamil Nadu over the Sri Lanka issue, the state assembly today adopted a resolution asking the Centre to stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly country.The resolution, moved by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, also demands India to move a UN resolution seeking a referendum on a separate Eelam among Tamils in Sri Lanka and those who have migrated abroad. Eelam is the separate homeland in Sri Lanka, Lankan Tamils are seeking.
The resolution also seeks credible international probe into the allegations of genocide of Lankan Tamils in the island nation. It also wants the Centre to impose an economic embargo against Sri Lanka till the alleged atrocities against Tamils are stopped.
There have been protests all over Tamil Nadu for days now, with all major political parties and students demanding that the Centre take a strong stand against Sri Lanka for its alleged war crimes in the final months of the civil war that ended when defence forces crushed the separatist Tamil Tigers in May 2009. The assembly resolution also asks the students to give up protests.
Last week the DMK pulled out of the UPA coalition at the Centre, accusing India of watering down a UN resolution against Sri Lanka that was adopted last week. India voted against Sri Lanka, but the Tamil Nadu parties say it let down Sri Lankan Tamils by failing to persuade the UN to use stronger language against the island nation and by not pushing for an independent rather than an internal inquiry into the alleged war crimes.
Just yesterday Ms Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the Prime Minister saying that no Indian Premier League (IPL) matches would be allowed in the state capital if they involved Sri Lankan players, umpires or officials. The tournament begins next week and at least 10 matches are scheduled in Chennai. The IPL governing council then decided at a hurried tele-conference with team owners that Sri Lankan cricketers will not play Indian Premier League matches in Chennai.
Last week the DMK pulled out of the UPA coalition at the Centre, accusing India of watering down a UN resolution against Sri Lanka that was adopted last week. India voted against Sri Lanka, but the Tamil Nadu parties say it let down Sri Lankan Tamils by failing to persuade the UN to use stronger language against the island nation and by not pushing for an independent rather than an internal inquiry into the alleged war crimes.
Just yesterday Ms Jayalalithaa wrote a letter to the Prime Minister saying that no Indian Premier League (IPL) matches would be allowed in the state capital if they involved Sri Lankan players, umpires or officials. The tournament begins next week and at least 10 matches are scheduled in Chennai. The IPL governing council then decided at a hurried tele-conference with team owners that Sri Lankan cricketers will not play Indian Premier League matches in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu Assembly resolves for UN referendum on separate Eelam
[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 March 2013, 10:03 GMT]
In a historic move, the Tamil Nadu State Assembly on Wednesday, unanimously passed a resolution for bringing in arrangements at the level of the UN Security Council to conduct a referendum among Eezham Tamils in the island as well as in the diaspora on the question of Separate Eelam. In addition, the resolution passed at the Tamil Nadu Assembly demanded the Government of India to stop calling Sri Lanka a friendly country. The resolution also included the earlier demands ie., Independent International Investigations on Genocide and War Crimes as well as imposition of economic sanctions on Sri Lanka. The resolution, unanimously passed, was moved by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa. Passing the resolution, Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa also urged the students of Tamil Nadu to end their current agitation and to return to studies, with the hope of winning their aspirations in the near future.
Following is the full text of the resolution.
