TULF tells Karunanidhi:

Call to end war unjustifiable

by Our political correspondent

Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) leader, Veerasingam Anandasangari has pointed out to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M. Karunanithi that the demand of his State Government and the people of the State to stop the war against the LTTE and to go for a ceasefire, was an ill conceived and an unjustifiable one.

The TULF chief has written a letter to Karunanithi yesterday(24) in response to a decision taken by the Tamil Nadu State Assembly to put more pressure on the Central Government of India to insist on the Lankan Government to call for a ceasefire. The excerpts of the letter to TN chief by TULF leader follows:

“I come from the community affected by the ethnic conflict. I did not run away from my country.

The people who had suffered most during the final stages of the war in particular are the people of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.

My concern for the people of Vanni most of whom were represented by me in Parliament for a long time is no less than anybody else’s. In fact it is more. I am frankly of the opinion and with great reluctance I say that the demand of the State Government and that of the people of Tamil Nadu to stop the war had been ill-conceived and unjustifiable.

The Government of Sri Lanka is fighting a group of ruthless terrorists who had, apart from many others, ruined the economy, education and culture of the Tamils.

Hardly anyone in Tamil Nadu know is that people of Vanni had been agitating for a long time for liberation from the LTTE.

If all the efforts taken by various sections of the people of Tamil Nadu had been jointly diverted towards peaceful and friendly approach for an early and reasonable solution, Tamil Nadu would have got the full backing of the Central Government and the Sri Lankans who have several links with India would have responded positively toward finding a reasonable solution, resulting in Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka coming close to each other and becoming more friendly.

“I have quoted Gandhiji a number of times who had said during a visit to Ceylon before I was born. He said that “India and Sri Lanka cannot afford to quarrel”. “I say that it is more appropriate in relation to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

Furthermore you are the one who very often refer to the “umbilical cord relationship” of the Tamils of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.

I wonder whether you or anybody else in Tamil Nadu is aware of the “umbilical cord relationship” the Sinhalese have with the people of Madurai in Tamil Nadu and that Paththini worship (Kannagi) is very common among the Sinhala Buddhists in Sri Lanka.”