The demand by a section of Tamils in Tamil Nadu that India should boycott the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet (CHOGM) at Colombo in Sri lanka is nothing but a media blitzkrieg by pro-lTTE elements, point out leading political commentators.
“The media in Tamil Nadu, especially some of the prominent dailies and TV news channels are dominated by pro-lTTE journalists. They are blowing up the issue out of proportion as part of their efforts to form a separate Eelam State,” a widely respected journalist with more than five decades experience told The Pioneer.
He pointed out that the common man in the State is not bothered about Eelam. “There are the usual sentiments when we hear Tamils are attacked in the island nation. But these are all the consequences of what the lTTE was doing in Sri lanka for almost 25 years in the name of a separate Eelam,” he said.
The timing of the release of the TV documentaries “No Fire Zone” and “Sri lanka’s Killing Fields” too follow a certain pattern. “Whenever an international conference featuring Sri lanka takes place, these documentaries claimed to have been shot during the May 2009 Eelam War too make their appearance. last two times we saw such documentaries being released during the United Nations Human Rights Council meetings held at Geneva. The latest documentary features Isipriya, newsreader of a lTTE TV channel, who was found dead in 2009,” said Dr Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and former union minister for law and justice. He said Callum Macrae, the director of the documentaries is a man of doubtful character. “There are reports that he has links with lTTE,” said Dr Swamy.
Dr Swamy also pointed out that Chief Minister of Sri lanka’s Northern Provincial Council C V Wigneswaran himself is attending the CHOGM. “The demand by some of the political leaders in Tamil Nadu does not reflect the will of the people. While the Tamil National Alliance Government elected by Tamils of Northern Sri lanka attend the CHOGM summit, it is ridiculous that the lTTE elements in Tamil Nadu calling for boycotting the summit,” he said.
Though the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly has passed a unanimous resolution asking the Union Government to boycott the Colombo summit , it need be seen only in the backdrop of the Yercaud by election in the state scheduled for December. “It is nothing but political one-upmanship by the major parties in the State. The fact that Karunanidhi, the DMK leader, has issued a warning to the UPA government at the Centre itself is laughable. Is he a partner of the UPA governmentIJ What will he do if Prime Minister Manmohan Singh attends the Colombo meetIJ What did Karunanidhi do in May 2009 while the Eelam War was at its peakIJ “ asked N Kalyanasundaram, veteran journalist.
In May 2009, Karunanidhi, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, created a sensation by undertaking a three-hour fast at Mareena Beach in the company of both his Chennai-based wives. “What he gained by that fast still remains a mystery,” said Kalyanasundaram.
The propaganda wing of the lTTE is still strong in the state. During the run up to the last UNHRC meeting at Geneva, a 24X7 Tamil News channel beamed images of some youth picketing trains at Tiruchirappalli Railway Junction. Enquiries with the Railway authorities revealed some interesting information. One of the trains has a 10 minutes stop at Tiruchirappalli station. Some youth managed to reach the tracks where they waved flags and raised slogans which were shot by the camera crew. The same pictures were edited to look like the train was being picketed by the youth demanding India vote against Sri lanka in the UNHRC meeting.
Some of the Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu has asked Manmohan Singh to skip the CHOGM summit. “The Congress leaders in the State are clever enough to understand that they all stand to lose in the 2014 lok Sabha election. The demand to boycott CHOGM is like an anticipatory bail application filed with their eyes on the May 2014 election results,” said the senior scribe.