TN Assembly demands referendum for separate Tamil Eelam

Ratcheting up pressure over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Nadu Assembly today adopted a strongly-worded resolution asking the Centre to stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly nation and slap sanctions on it while demanding a referendum for a separate Tamil Eelam.

Chennai: Ratcheting up pressure over the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday adopted a strongly-worded resolution asking the Centre to stop treating Sri Lanka as a friendly nation and slap sanctions on it while demanding a referendum for a separate Tamil Eelam.

The Assembly adopted a resolution, moved by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, urging the Centre to take such firm steps against Colombo till the "suppression" of Tamils was stopped and those responsible for "genocide and war crimes" faced a credible international probe. The resolution was adopted by a voice vote after protesting DMK members were evicted from the Assembly which was boycotted by Vijaykant-led DMDK. It demanded that India move a resolution at the UN Security Council seeking a referendum for a separate Tamil Eelam (homeland) for Tamils in Sri Lanka. The resolution came close on the heels of Jayalalithaa writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying India should boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Colombo in November this year. She has also stated that Sri Lankan players should not participate in the upcoming IPL matches in Chennai in view of the prevailing anti-Sinhalese sentiments in the state, forcing the IPL governing council to accede to the demand. Moving the resolution, Jayalalithaa said the ongoing students protest was reflective of her government`s initiate on the Sri Lankan issue even as she requested them to withdraw the stir and resume classes. Launching a tirade against the Centre and DMK, she alleged that both had "failed" to ensure ceasefire in 2009 when hostilities were at the peak in Sri Lanka. She charged DMK supremo M Karunanidhi with adopting "duplicity" on the issue and said people were aware of it. Her remarks drew vociferous protests from DMK members. Speaker P Dhanapal ordered for eviction of agitated DMK members when his plea for restoration of order in the House went unheeded. The DMK had last week pulled out of the UPA coalition, accusing the Centre of watering down a US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka that was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Though India voted against Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu parties accused the government of letting down Sri Lankan Tamils by not persuading the UN to come out with stronger language against the island nation. PTI