THE HINDU SAYS COALITION PARTNER DMK’S DECISION TO PULL OUT OF LANKA TRIP IS A MAJOR EMBARRASSMENT

Onlanka News – By Walter Jayawardhana

The decision of the Drvida Munnetra Kazhagam Party(DMK), a constituent of the United  Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in New Delhi to keep out of a Parliamentary delegation going to Sri Lanka could be called a major embarrassment to Manmohan Singh led government  said the Hindu newspaper.

“In what could be a major embarrassment to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the Centre, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), a constituent of the UPA, on Sunday said it would keep out of a Parliamentary delegation going to Sri Lanka to understand the situation there”.the newspaper reported.

As a party of the coalition the DMK has been threatening to blackmail  the New Delhi government on the Sri Lanka issue for some time.

DMK threatened to walk out of the coalition if India did not vote for the UNHRC session in Geneva by US against Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Foreign Minister G.L.Peiris said immediately after the voting referring India’s voting against Sri Lanka,   to express his country’s ‘deep disappointment’ with India, and to rub in that it was due entirely to ‘strategic alliances and domestic pressure’, and had nothing to do with the issue’s merit.

Referring its decision this time not to go to Sri Lanka Karunanidhi said ,“There were examples in the past that tell us that such delegations would not serve any useful purpose. Therefore, the DMK will not be part of the delegation,” .

“It is wrong to ask whether the DMK will join the delegation as per plan. It never had any plan to join the team,” Mr. Karunanidhi said.

Originally, the DMK had nominated T.K.S. Elangovan to represent it in the delegation.the Hindu reported.

The Hindu report added. “A few days ago, the DMK’s principal rival, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), had withdrawn its nominee with Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa terming the proposed visit a mere “eyewash” and expressing the doubt whether there would be any genuine interaction between Indian MPs and Sri Lankan Tamils. Ms. Jayalalithaa had said the itinerary prepared by the External Affairs Ministry provided no opportunity for the team members to interact with Tamils there.

“With both the DMK and the AIADMK staying away from the delegation, Tamil Nadu will be represented by four Congress MPs – E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, Manick Tagore, N.S.V. Chitthan and M. Krishnasamy – and CPI (M) member T.K. Rangarajan.

“The delegation, headed by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj (Bharatiya Janata Party), will tour Sri Lanka between April 16 and 21. The team has a hectic schedule and will interact with representatives of the Sri Lankan government as well as political parties representing various sections of the Tamil community.

“On the agenda are meetings with Sri Lankan parliament’s Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Minister for Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris. The MPs would have a breakfast meeting with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on April 21.

“The team will inspect the progress made in various Indian projects in Sri Lanka. India is engaged in improving Sri Lanka’s railway system and the northern port of Kankesanturai, besides building houses for Tamils displaced by the war.

“This is the second time a delegation of MPs from India are visiting Sri Lanka after the end of the protracted civil war in 2009. In October 2009, MPs from Tamil Nadu visited camps for the displaced Tamils and interacted with some of them. The delegation comprised only members of DMK, Congress and Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK), a composition that drew criticism that it was not a parliamentary delegation but only a UPA team.

“The TNCC president B.S. Gnyanadesikan on Sunday urged both the AIADMK and the DMK to reconsider their boycott decision.

“The Union Shipping Minister, G.K. Vasan, on Sunday expressed concern over withdrawal of AIADMK from the parliamentary delegation visit to Sri Lanka, beginning from Monday.

Talking to reporters at Hosur Mr. Vasan said the team would visit the Tamils in Sri Lanka and hear their grievances. “It will see that the Tamils in Sri Lanka will get their due share in authority.”

“MDMK general secretary Vaiko has termed a ‘drama’ the Central government’s move to send a Parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka to assess the rehabilitation and political process there.

“The MDMK never had a plan to be the part of the delegation.

“The Centre’s effort to send a delegation was an eye-wash and it would do no good to the Tamils living in the island nation, Mr. Vaiko told reporters  on Sunday.

“If the Centre really wanted to help the Tamils, then it should urge the Sri Lankan government to withdraw the troops and police personnel in the Northern and Eastern parts of Sri Lanka. Then all the Sinhalese settlements, which were forcefully established in the traditional Tamil homeland, should be removed, he said.

“The MDMK leader wanted the international community to create a conducive atmosphere to hold a referendum on the question of Tamil Eelam.

“Modalities should be worked out so that the Tamil diaspora around the world could participate in the referendum, he said.”