Front Page
T.N. to urge Centre not to concede LTTE plea
By Our Special Correspondent
CHENNAI, JAN. 9. The Tamil Nadu Government would urge the Centre not to concede the LTTE's plea for using either Chennai or any other part of the State as a venue for its peace negotiations with the Sri Lankan Government, the Chief Minister, O. Paneerselvam, said today.
Stoutly opposing any move to give space for the outlawed LTTE to reestablish its base in Tamil Nadu, the Chief Minister categorically asserted: ``The LTTE is a banned terrorist organisation. And, there is no scope for allowing them here.''
The question of permitting the Tamil Tigers to hold negotiations in Chennai was within the ``legal purview'' of the Union Government. Hence, the Tamil Nadu Government would write to the Centre, urging it not to heed the LTTE's request, Mr. Paneerselvam told the media at the Secretariat here.
However, the State Government had as yet not received any communication from the Centre on the LTTE's plea either for allowing its political adviser, Anton Balasingham, to stay in Chennai for medical treatment or using Chennai as the base for its negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Maanila Congress has shot off a letter to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, saying, the LTTE's ``dangerous request'' had ``sent a shockwave'' across Tamil Nadu.
However, the pro-LTTE MDMK, a constituent of the BJP-led Government, wanted the Centre to let the Tamil Tigers hold peace talks in Chennai. The party leader, Vaiko, told newspersons in Thanjavur that the ban on the LTTE could also be lifted to facilitate the peace negotiations.
The State Congress president, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, said the Centre should neither review the ban nor allow the terrorist outfit's leaders to stay in India for peace talks.
Don't get into the mess: Gujral
UNI reports from Delhi:
India should not allow its soil to be used by the LTTE for any purpose, including provision of a venue for peace talks with the Sri Lankan Government, the former Prime Minister, I.K. Gujral, has said. ``We paid a heavy price for interfering in the matter earlier. I don't think India should get into the mess once again,'' he told UNI here last evening.
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Front Page
|
