Teso seeks Eelam referendum

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DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Monday revived the Tamil Eelam Supporters’ Organisation (Teso) with a couple of allies and got a resolution passed urging the Centre to get the United Nations to hold a referendum in the Tamil areas of Sri Lanka and also among the Tamil expats on creation of Eelam in the island.

The Sinhalese living in this region should not be allowed to vote, added the resolution.
It said countries such as East Timor, South Sudan, Kosovo and Montenegro had come into existence by way of such UN-sponsored referendum.

The Monday meeting was attended by its four other members, including party general secretary K Anbazhagan and Dravidar Kazhagam chief K. Veeramani.

Speaking to reporters after the Teso meet in his DMK headquarters in the morning, Mr Karunanidhi took great pains rebutting the charge that he grabbed the Eelam cause only when he ran out of issues when out of power.

He recalled that he had boycotted the reception given to the IPKF on its return from Sri Lanka (where it got mauled in a bloody confrontation with the LTTE) because the Indian soldiers had committed serious excesses against the Tamils there.

When asked whether his party would withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA government if it did not act on the Teso resolution, he said, “We are trying and we are hoping that our attempts will succeed.

” Claiming credit for India backing a US-sponsored resolution at the UN against Sri Lanka for alleged war crimes, he said it was the DMK which insisted that the Centre support the resolution.

Asked if Teso would support the LTTE if it regrouped, he said it would, provided the Tigers took to a struggle in democratic ways. Asked if slain LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran was alive, he said, “crusaders don’t die”.