|
|
Karunanidhi`s Eelam dream
Wednesday, 18 July 2012 - 10:23 AM SL Time
 Share On Facebook
|
|
|
Following a much-hyped rap on the knuckles, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi is said to have heeded the Centre s call for refraining from supporting Eelam. But, one should not be so na ve as to fall for what he says hook, line and sinker. The DMK leader, in our view, knows more than one way to skin a cat! It may be that he has chosen to lie low without embarrassing his main coalition partner, the Congress, too much.
All indications are that Karunanidhi will go ahead with the scheduled Eelam conference in Tamil Nadu while pretending to toe the central government`s line. All roads lead to Rome! Having crossed the Rubicon in backing Eelam, the DMK leader cannot shun the LTTE dependent on him to gain political traction in India.
The Congress-led government is in an unenviable position. Last February, it succumbed to pressure from the DMK and made a mockery of its policy of not supporting country-specific UNHRC resolutions by voting against Sri Lanka to appease Karunanidhi and others of his ilk. But, the so-called coalition compulsions cited as the main reason for India`s diplomatic U-turn do not seem to work both ways if Karunanidhi`s commitment to the LTTE`s goal, in spite of his public statements to the contrary, is any indication. It was only recently that the Indian government extended the LTTE ban on the grounds of national security but it has its allies supporting the LTTE`s ideology and goal. Here is a case of the tail wagging the dog!
Meanwhile, it is reported that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has been invited to the Eelam event in Tamil Nadu. Hardliners in its ranks may want to grab the invitation and catch the first flight to Chennai. But, the TNA leadership trying to perform an intricate balancing act in a bid to secure substantial devolution finds itself in a dilemma. When TNA leader R. Sampanthan drew heavy flak over his ITAK convention speech last month in Batticaloa, which was considered inimical to national reconciliation, he tried to get away by blaming the translator who had rendered it into English. If either he or any other party member attends the Eelam conference in Tamil Nadu, the TNA will not only contradict itself but also unwittingly bolster its critics` claim that it is demanding devolution as a stepping stone to Eelam and therefore the government must be wary of implementing the 13th Amendment fully. In the event of its participation at the Eelam conference, the TNA will also embarrass the international community which advocates devolution while claiming to be opposed to Eelam.
If the TNA turns down Karunanidhi`s invitation to the Eelam confab, the overseas Tigers and their Tamil Nadu patrons campaigning for Eelam will feel badly let down and their event will turn out to be something like Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark! To attend or not to attend is the TNA`s question.
The TNA`s biggest problem, however, is at home. It wants the North and the East re-merged. But, with the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) on its side, the government now has a much better chance of bagging the Eastern Provincial Council at the upcoming polls. A loss in that strategically important province will be a worrisome proposition for the TNA. That will also be a severe blow to the Tigers and their fellow travellers who cannot think of Eelam without the East. In 1994, Prabhakaran, it may be recalled, rejected out of hand the then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga`s offer to hand over the entire Northern Province to him without elections for a period of ten years because he knew the East was a sine qua non of Eelam. This time around with the TNA in the fray, the Eastern PC polls will have all the trappings of a referendum on its call for a re-merger.
As for Karunanidhi`s pledge to refrain from promoting Eelam, let it be said that he should be judged not by his words but by his deeds.
|
|
|
|
Search All News and Discussions