Southern States - Tamil Nadu   

Vaiko, a consistent LTTE supporter

By R. Ilangovan

Madurai July 13. The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader, Vaiko, riding a tiger has landed himself in trouble. Mr. Vaiko, a consistent supporter of the LTTE, made news only when he did not refer to `Tamil Eelam' or the LTTE. The Lok Sabha MP from Sivakasi never shied away from projecting himself as a protector of `Tamil Eelam'. He was a vocal supporter of this cause, which he championed in his public meetings whenever the DMK was in power.

A rabble-rouser from the stables of the DMK, he shot into limelight when he slipped into Jaffna to spend a month in the jungles with the LTTE leader, V. Prabakaran, in 1989. It created a furore and his `sly' act disturbed the DMK chief, M. Karunanidhi, who reacted sharply saying that he was "not aware of Gopalsamy's trip.''

Mr. Vaiko took pride in calling himself the "only Indian politician" who fought for the Tamil Eelam cause at international fora. He submitted a series of complaints against the Sri Lankan Government to the Human Rights Commission in Geneva. He toured many countries and addressed meetings mainly to sensitise people about the sufferings of the Sri Lankan Tamils after the 1984 genocide in the island nation.

Mr. Vaiko has equated the Tamil Eelam struggle with the Palestine movement. Making a speech at a cadre's wedding on October 30, 2000 in Madurai, he said he met the LTTE ideologue, Anton Balasingam, who underwent a surgery at a London hospital. Calling it a ``humanitarian gesture", he admitted that he had held discussions with him on certain issues.

He claimed that he found nothing wrong in supporting the Sri Lankan Tamils' struggle. "When a Palestine state could be formed why not Tamil Eelam?,'' he asked. He called the Sri Lankan Army in Jaffna an occupational force, which should "either be defeated or evicted.''

Both the MDMK and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) have strongly criticised the NDA Government's decision to seek the extradition of Mr. Prabakaran in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination. The MDMK has called it an exercise in futility. The two NDA partners have also criticised the move of the Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), which has called for the extradition of the LTTE leader.

Mr. Vaiko protested the deportation of Mr. Prabakaran's close friend, M.K. Eelavendan, from Chennai to Colombo for not possessing a valid visa.

A party worker here said that even now Mr. Vaiko sported a wristwatch presented to him by an LTTE cadre during his stay with Mr. Prabakaran.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• MDMK strategy session soon
• Tirumangalam magistrate acted within jurisdiction
• Brief freedom for voting
• Thiruvavaduthurai junior Adheenam arrested
• Ryots strengthen Govt. hand
• Small band, an advantage to Veerappan
• Vaiko, a consistent LTTE supporter
• Cash award for teacher
• Central Ministers supporting LTTE must be dropped: Chidambaram
• Speed up gauge conversion, MPs tell Moorthy
• Trade sore over `CM denial' of appointment
• Post-murder marriage in rival families helps to lower sentence
• Ramadoss uncomfortable with questions on POTA

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu