Czech model can help to split Lanka — Karunanidhi

CHENNAI, JUNE 4: In a shift in emphasis on his stand on the Sri Lankan crisis, particularly as an ally of the BJP-led Government at the Ce...

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CHENNAI, JUNE 4: In a shift in emphasis on his stand on the Sri Lankan crisis, particularly as an ally of the BJP-led Government at the Centre, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has said that if Lanka does not grant more rights to the Tamils and a political solution cannot be found, the country should be split on the lines of the Czech and Slovak republics.Comparing the ethnic crisis in Lanka to the problems between a man and his wife on the verge of a divorce, the Chief Minister said it could be solved if the government offered more powers and rights to the Tamils. “How can a husband live with an incompatible wife?” he asked.

Pointing out that the former Czechoslovakia had split into the Czech republic and Slovakia without any bloodshed, the Chief Minister said these aspects should be taken into account before reaching any decision on the Lankan crisis.

Addressing a public meeting organised on his 77th birthday on Saturday, Karunanidhi made it clear that India should not help the Lankan government if it refused to give autonomy and powers to the Tamils.

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Stating that the question of granting more powers to the area dominated by Tamils or a separate Eelam should be studied carefully, Karunanidhi said Sri Lanka was facing an enemy from within and the country should examine the reasons for the present stalemate.

He said there was no request from Sri Lanka to the Indian Government for its intervention and even if the request came “we need not interfere in the family affair of a husband and wife”.

Another ally of the Government at the Centre, the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), today openly voiced its disagreement with the Centre’s stand that a solution to the Lankan crisis should not affect its territorial integrity.PMK leader S Ramadoss told reporters that Indians cannot dictate terms to the Sri Lankan Tamils for accepting slavery or second-class citizenship under the policy of maintaining territorial integrity. “They have a right to decide their own future,” he said.

Asserting that a separate Tamil Eelam was the only solution to the ethnic crisis, Ramadoss said though his party would fully abide by the Centre’s policy on the issue, it had the right to express its views. “Even Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee has said the Tamils should be given more rights,” he said and welcomed the Prime Minister’s suggestion to Chandrika Kumaratunga to give more powers to Tamils.

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Ramadoss said the Sri Lankan President had not revealed any details about her devolution package for the Tamils. “She has been deceiving the world by announcing a devolution package but not elaborating on it.”

He welcomed Karunanidhi’s suggestion for a solution using the Czechoslovakia model but said, “it is like a consolation prize for our stand.”

Dismissing the criticism of the PMK and MDMK’s support to LTTE, Ramdoss said LTTE was a “liberation movement” and “not a militant organisation”. The PMK would consider a joint agitation along with the MDMK in support of the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Tamils if the need arose, he said.

The Puthiya Tamizhagam (PT) has also welcomed Karunanidhi’s suggestion of a Czech-model solution in Sri Lanka. PT president K Krishnasamy told mediapersons that the party also welcomed Vajpayee’s remark about respect for Tamils in the island. He said the crisis would not have reached this state if India had taken such a stand a few years ago. “India should also ensure that no other country helped the Sri Lankan government.”

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Puthiya Tamizhagam is holding 100 public meetings starting today to protest against the human rights violation in Sri Lanka.