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India & the Struggle for Tamil Eelam

Text of letter to Indian Prime Minister on
by AIADMK Front MP's headed by AIADMK Parliamentary Party
Leader, Leader of PMK Dr S.Ramadoss, Gen Secretary of MDMK
Mr.Vai.Gopalasamy, Leader of Janata Party Dr Subramania Swamy

11 June 1998

"The plainly genocidal nature of this war has gone unreported
despite the magnitude of the atrocities and the high civilian death toll..."

Hon. A. B. Vajpayee,
Prime Minister of India,
Prime Minister's Office, New Delhi.

Dear Prime Minister,

We the undersigned members of the Lok Saba are deeply concerned about the conflict in the Island of Sri Lanka in which thousands of Tamil civilians (estimated to be 60,000 or more) have perished and several Hindu temples (estimated to be over 1,800) have been destroyed. Over 500,000 Tamils have fled the Island, while another 850,000 are displaced within the Tamil Homeland. Then there is the matter of the economic blockade imposed since 1990 to deliberately restrict essential food and medicine to the Tamil Homeland.

Since 1995 the Government of Sri Lanka has made matters worse by forbidding Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from distributing food, and with the exception of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), distributing medicines. Stringent controls have been imposed even on the ICRC on the medicines they provide.

The Sinhala-Buddhist chauvinist Sri Lankan regime has used rape, food and medicines as weapons of war against the Hindu-Tamils who, for more than 2000 years has been habitating the Tamil Homeland comprising of the North-East Province and its contiguous areas in Sri Lanka. Tamils from Sri Lanka escaping this genocidal onslaught continue to arrive in Tamil Nadu in search of refuge and sanctuary.

Our constituents on hearing of the atrocities being committed against fellow Tamils are agitated. The feeling for their Hindu-Tamil brothers in Sri Lanka is deep-seated. Mr. P V Narashimma Rao, the former Prime Minister, while giving evidence before the Jain Commission of Inquiry said, that the South Indian Tamils and the Sri Lankan Tamils share a history and cultural heritage of more than 2,000 years.

Given this background the Tamil Nadu Tamils expect the Indian Government to bring an end to the suffering of their brethren and have requested that action is taken immediately. Fishermen from Tamil Nadu have been subject to arrests and atrocities by the Sri Lankan naval forces operating with impunity within Indias territorial waters. Over 300 fishermen had been shot and killed by the Sri Lankan Navy during the past 4 years, more than 1,000 fishermen maimed and an estimated number of 200 fishing craft destroyed. As citizens of India our fishermen require the protection of the Indian Government.

The plainly genocidal nature of this war has gone unreported despite the magnitude of the atrocities and the high civilian death toll. The real nature of Sri Lankas war is not factually reported because the international media have no presence in the war-torn Tamil homeland, the actual theatre of war. The steady flow of arms from China, Pakistan and the US, countries usually hostile to India is only helping the Sri Lankan Government to persist with its attempt to impose a military solution to its conflict with the Tamil people and in that process continue to kill, maim and destroy Tamil lives by the thousands.

In view of the above we call upon the Government of India to,

(a) sponsor a parliamentary delegation from Tamil Nadu to visit the Tamil Homeland in Sri Lanka to assess the situation.

(b) persuade the Sri Lankan Government withdraw all its armed forces from the Tamil Homeland. (this process to begin with an immediate halt to the military offensive now underway)

(c) impress upon the Sri Lankan regime that the Tamil Homeland comprising the merged North & East Province is a contiguous geographic & political entity. And

(d) while arranging to implement the agreements in respect of Kachativu reflecting the letter and spirit of the two agreements, initiate a process to review the two agreements with a view of restoring our sovereign rights over Kachativu.

We are deeply grateful for taking note of our concerns and wish to extend our fullest co-operation to the government in formulating its policy encompassing the above positions on Sri Lanka.

Thanking you, We Remain, Yours sincerely,

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