Madurai: The CPI-M has said the Sri Lankan
Tamils should have an autonomous state within a united Sri
Lanka.
"Within united Sri lanka, Tamils should have a separate
state...like the federal set up in India. Tamils should be
given autonomy within the framework of united Sri Lanka and
not on the basis of a unitary nation. The term united is
different from unitary," senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury
has said yesterday.
The Sri Lankan government should work towards a political
solution to the long pending problem of Tamil minority, he
said at a seminar organised here by CPI-M on finding solution
to problems faced by the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
"They (Tamils) are now living in poor conditions the Sri
Lankan government must agree for an international supervisory
mechanism. It should also allow international agencies to
create conditions of resettlement of Internally Displaced
Persons," he said.
Any attempt to bring demographic change by asking the
majority population to migrate to minority area should be
discouraged as it would cause tension in the future, he noted.
The Lankan government must help Tamils start farm
operations and continue their studies. Simultaneously complete
autonomy should be granted to the Tamil speaking areas in the
north and east on basis of federal principles, he said.
Tamil must be again introduced as an official language of
Sri Lanka to restore confidence among the Tamil speaking
population, he added.
Later, participating in a protest organised by the party
against fuel price hike, Yechury said the date of announcement
of fuel price increase coincided with date of announcement of
emergency 30 years ago.
"While emergency is worst form of political
authoritarianism, the fuel price hike is worst form of
economic authoritarianism. The CPI-M will fight it out and
make them roll back the hike," he said.
He rejected the reason cited by the UPA government for
fuel price increase that oil companies were facing losses.
If the government withdrew heavy tax on crude then the
prices would automatically come down and oil companies would
not suffer any loss, he claimed, adding, government should
withdraw tax on petroleum products and import of petroleum.
The government could use Rs one lakh crore collected from
the sale of spectrum for 3G and broadband wireless access to
support welfare schemes. The government was creating "IPL
India" for the rich and "BPL India" for the poor.
The government could heavily tax IPL and help the poor.
It was creating more gap between the rich and poor, he said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 27, 2010, 14:06