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Indian Tamils demand end to Sri Lanka's war
India's large Tamil population is demanding that New Delhi ensure the safety of 250,000 of their brethren boxed into the battle zone in Sri Lanka's north. Protesters have poured into the streets in Tamil Nadu state, home to 62 million Indian Tamils, in the past week to call for a ceasefire in the conflict and assurances about the safety of their fellow Tamils in the island nation. "Our prime concern is the safety of the Tamils" in Sri Lanka, said K Anbazhagan, a senior leader of Tamil Nadu's ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (DMK) party and state finance minister. The DMK has been spearheading the campaign to ensure the estimated 250,000 Tamil civilians trapped in the war zone are protected and is pushing for a ceasefire. It was at the party's insistence that Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee rushed to Colombo last week to seek safety guarantees for the Tamils. "Mukherjee's trip was a first step but New Delhi must do more to bring about sustained peace for the Tamil people" and end the hostilities, DMK Chief Minister M Karunanidhi said in Chennai, Tamil Nadu's capital. The regional opposition All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) party has joined ranks with the DMK and other pro-Tamil regional groups to back the cause of the trapped civilians. "All of us want this war to come to an end," said Tamil Nadu's Congress chief Peter Alphonse. An Indian Tamil man committed suicide in Chennai Thursday to protest against civilian casualties in Sri Lanka by pouring petrol on his clothes and setting himself ablaze after distributing anti-war pamphlets, police said. Posted by: Fred 2009-02-02 |
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