12.10.2008
India
should not help the Tigers from escaping from the hands
of the Sri Lankan military. If the Tamils have to get
equal rights along with the Sinhalese, if the Tamils need
a federal set up, then it means that the Tigers have to
be totally silenced. India should not interfere in this
situation. India can only insist that the Sri Lankan Government
deal with their Tamils fairly.
In
an exclusive interview with the Editor of Asian Tribune,
Cho Ramaswamy said, “Well … my opinion is very
clear. India should not help the Tigers from escaping from
the hands of the Sri Lankan military. If the Tamils have
to get equal rights along with the Sinhalese, if the Tamils
need a federal set up, then it means that the Tigers have
to be totally silenced. India should not interfere in this
situation. India can only insist that the Sri Lankan Government
deal with their Tamils fairly.
Cho
Ramaswamy is one Tamil intellectual who loves to swim
against the tide. And he does it at all times. His acid
tongue keeps his detractors off him quite too often and
he cashes in on that advantage fully to the delight of
his admirers who are quite significant in number.
Journalist,
Play writer, actor and above all a maverick political
thinker and commentator, Ramaswamy played a very important
role in contemporary Indian politics. Cho is a known critic
of Jayalalithaa both then and now but his disagreements
with her brand of politics. Yet, he had brought the AIAIDMK
and the BJP together and the lady of Poes Gardens help
the Hindutva party form its first government in Delhi.
Once his job done, he reverted back to his old arm chair
and resume his hobby horse of pot-shots at politicians,
Jayalalithaa including.
He
has much to say on the current political situation in
Tamil Nadu that has a bearing on Sri Lanka's fight against
Pirabakaran in the Kilinocchhi forests. In a long interview
to the Asian Tribune over long distance telephone, ‘Cho’
summed up the Chennai scene with a big chuckle –
'It is all posturing my dear'.
Excerpts
Asian
Tribune: Tamil Nadu politicians appear to be exercised
these days very much over reports from Sri Lanka, particularly
over the reports from the war against the LTTE Tigers?
We read reports that Tamil Nadu is worried over the Tamils
in Lanka. Even the Chief Minister Karunanidhi and Communist
Party of India (CPI) appear to speak up for the LTTE.
What do you say?
Cho
Ramasamy: Until recently, the Government of India was
almost at their (Left Parties- CPI and CPI-M) command.
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh danced to their
tunes. Mrs. Sonia Gandhi (Congress President) always carried
out whatever they wished. During all those days and months
and years ( almost four and a half years when they were
part and parcel of the Government of India they (CPI and
CPI-M) never raised these questions about Tamils of Sri
Lanka. But now when they are totally out of the Government,
they make all these demands about Tamils and all that.
They know that they don't have an issue here (Tamil Nadu).
That's all. It is just a political stunt. It is in fact
just political posturing. Nothing else.
Asian
Tribune: What about Chief Minister and DMK leader Muthu
vel Karunanidhi, the tallest leader in Tamil Nadu? What
about his recent comments….?
Cho
Ramasamy: He (Mr Karunanidhi) too is not going to do anything
about this (Lankan Tamil issue). When only one newspaper
out of all the news papers in India published that he
had virtually threatened to pull out of the Manmohan Singh
led coalition and thus bring down the Central government,
Karunanidhi immediately denied the report. He had in fact
given a one –page long reply ( to the charge) in
his 'Murasoli ( DMK's Tamil daily) saying that he had
never said so, and that people who say that he would withdraw
from the Delhi Government and bring down the Manmohan
Singh government are 'all traitors'. What does this mean?
It means that he is anxious to tell the Centre that he
will not do anything drastic. He is more worried about
that than about the Lankan Tamils' plight.
Asian
Tribune : You know I am a Sri Lankan Tamil. So I know
the ground situation. Let me tell you the real situation
in the war ravaged areas controlled by Pirabakaran. There
are about 200,000 Internally Displaced Persons -- almost
100% of them are Tamils, in the areas controlled by Pirabakaran.
He is treating Tamils as Human-Shield and is not allowing
them to leave the war zone to safe areas.
Cho
Ramasamy: I know. This is what I had told BBC in an interview
I gave to recently. You see, If the people here in Tamil
Nadu, if they are genuinely interested in the plight of
the Tamils in Lanka, then they must unanimously demand
Pirabakaran to desist from using innocent civilians as
Human-Shield and allow them to get away from the battle
field. They are not doing it.
Asian
Tribune: Let me tell you something probably you may not
be fully aware of. Right from the very beginning of the
insurrection, it is the Sri Lank Government which is sending
food, and other essentials to the North, to the areas
under Pirabakaran; providing medical assistance to the
displaced families living in temporary shelters and those
still living in the war Zone and nearby. After the Tsunami,
Pirabakaran and his LTTE collected millions and millions
of dollars from the international community, as well as
from the Tamil Diaspora. We do not know what he had done
with the money. Because it is Sri Lanka government that
had undertook the rehabilitation work as a responsible
government. We do not know what Tigers did with all the
money that had poured into their coffers to alleviate
Tamils' misery?
Cho
Ramasamy: We know very well that he (Pirabakaran) did
not distribute those (Tsunami) funds he received for the
welfare of the Tamil civilians.
Asian
Tribune: If you remember from 1984 up to 1987 the whole
Tamil Nadu was supporting Pirabakaran. The Tamil Nadu
leaders prevailed on Rajiv Gandhi to send in Indian Army
to safeguard Lankan Tamils. What happened thereafter?
Pirabakaran challenged the Indian Army and 1400 or more
Indian military men were killed and in the end Pirabakaran
and Pottu Amman plotted against Rajiv Gandhi, sent in
a suicide squad and Rajiv Gandhi was blown to pieces on
this very Tamil Nadu soil. I wonder whether the same scenario
is being repeated today in Tamil Nadu under the same political
leader M.Karunanidhi. What are they trying to do? They
wanted Dr. Manmohan Singh also killed by Pirabakaran?
Do they want the widow of Rajiv Gandhi be blown to pieces
like her husband by Pirabakaran? I want your comment
Cho
Ramasamy: Well … my opinion is very clear. I already
spoke my mind. India should not help the Tigers from escaping
from the hands of the Sri Lankan military. If the Tamils
have to get equal rights along with the Sinhalese, if
the Tamils need a federal set up, then it means that the
Tigers have to be totally silenced. India should not interfere
in this situation. India can only insist that the Sri
Lankan Government deal with their Tamils fairly.
I
think this is not the time to worry over issues related
to rights of the Tamils and their aspirations for a Federal
set up; these can wait for a while now when the Sri Lankan
military is very near Kilinochchi.
Asian
Tribune: I think the army is just two kilometers short
of Kilinochchi.
Cho
Ramasamy: Yes, I know. That is why I say this is not the
right time for India to interfere (in Sri Lanka). You
see after all we do not want Pakistan to interfere in
Kashmir. Therefore we cannot have one rule for us and
another rule for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka Army has to be allowed
to do away with Pirabakaran and his Tiger cadres and then
India could well take up the issue of the plight of Lankan
Tamils in case Rajapakse Government has not taken measures
to solve the ethnic issues in that country.
Asian
Tribune:Thank you
Cho
Ramasamy: Thank you.
Courtesy - Asian
Tribune