Only IN SRI LANKA..
In Tamil there is a say..'Suthillei adikei pallu vilunthutham'
(U hit on the back side and the tooth fell)
Observer Editor and not Army Commander Fired for Angering Tamil Nadu
In a bizarre twist the Sri Lankan government of President Mahinda Rajapakse has fired the editor of state controlled Sunday Observer newspaper instead of Army commander Sarath Fonseka for making remarks angering political leaders of Tamil Nadu in India in an interview given to the journal by the outspoken general.
The action came in the wake of strong protests by Indian envoy in Colombo Aloknath Prasad to President Mahinda Rajapakse, Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama.
New Delhi was compelled to protest as the remarks by General Fonseka had stirred a hornet s nest in Tamil Nadu where political leaders of different parties including DMK chief minister Muttuvel Karunanindhi reacted angrily to the remarks.
If the LTTE is wiped out, those political jokers like Nadumaran, Vaiko and whoever who is sympathising with the LTTE will most probably lose their income from the LTTE, the army chief had said in the interview published in The Sunday Observer.
Fonseka had also alleged the politicians were bribed by the LTTE to make allegations that Tamil civilians were being killed by the army in Sri Lanka.
The army chief s comments elicited strong condemnation from political parties in Tamil Nadu who demanded that the central government extract an apology from Sri Lanka.
Leaders criticising one another in Tamil Nadu is different, but we cannot accept someone from outside the country saying such things about our leaders, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said in Chennai.
Tamil Nadu political parties also threatened massive protest demonstrations demanding recall of Sri Lankan diplomats to Colombo.
With Sarath Fonseka s derogatory remarks against Tamil Nadu politicians sparking outrage, India said on Dec 9th that Colombo had expressed regrets and promised to look into the issue:
Our high commissioner in Colombo took up the issue strongly with the Sri Lankan defence secretary, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash told reporters.
The defence secretary Gothabaya Rajapaksa, is a a brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, he said.
The spokesman was responding to a question on remarks by Fonseka dubbing Tamil Nadu politicians as jokers for seeking a ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The defence secretary promised to look.
While tendering apologies in private Sri Lanka has refused to issue a public apology or reprimand Sarath Fonseka.
Edited By - Berty - 11 Dec 2008 01:21:37 GMT |
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