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In what is being seen as a veiled pointing of fingers at the UPA government, DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Sunday claimed he gave up his infamous six-hour long fast demanding cease-fire in the Eelam War IV in 2009 as he relied on the statement made by the External Affairs Minister, which in turn “was misguided by Sri Lanka” as it claimed that the war had stopped.
He made the comment in his speech at a conclave, which deliberated on the resolutions to be passed later in the evening at the Eelam Tamils Rights Protection Conference.
The fast that Karunanidhi referred to has been a thorn in his flesh for a while, with opposition parties and Tamil groups frequently referring to it as a farce enacted to cheat the people. The fast in 2009, undertaken at the Anna memorial, lasted barely six hours. Karunanidhi, in his address, said during the final stages of the war, DMK tried its best by taking a series of steps to end the bloodshed. “The Sri Lanka Security Council held a meeting immediately after I commenced my fast...and decided to stop the war,” he recalled.
Based on the Sri Lankan information that the war had been put to a halt, the External Affairs Minister of India issued a statement, a copy of which was sent to him at the fasting site. “The Sri Lankan government misguided the Government of India and indeed the whole world.
I had to rely on that version,” the DMK patriarch pointed out.
Tracing in detail the history of Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation (TESO) and also the struggle for liberation in Sri Lanka, Karunanidhi called for short, medium and long-term measures for a solution to the Tamils issue.
While the first two included resettlement, relief and rehabilitation, the long-term solution, he said, is a political solution that has been “discussed and debated for a very long time.”
The conclave was held at a time when the Madras High Court was hearing a petition seeking permission to hold the public conference at the YMCA grounds.
Although arrangements were made for media briefing at the conclave venue, Karunanidhi left the place minutes after the decision of the court granting permission trickled in.
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