Jayalalithaa conveys deep sense of outrage

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Chennai: Chief minister J Jayalalithaa on Sunday took strong exception to the Centre’s “astounding insensitivity” in once again inviting two Sri Lankan military officers for training at the Defence Services Staff College in Wellington “despite the overwhelming gro­undswell of public opinion in Tamil Nadu against the continuing atrocities upon the Tamils in Sri Lanka”.
 
It was shocking that the Lankan officers began their training on the very day that Defence Minister A K Antony declared on the sidelines of a function at Thanjavur (May 27) that responding to the public sentiment in Tamil Nadu, the Indian Government had taken a decision not to provide training to the Lankan military personnel in Tamil Nadu.
 
“I am amazed that the Defence Minister was unaware that his policy announcement was being flouted by his own Ministry. “This is a very sorry com­mentary of the Gov­ernment of India’s am­bivalence and ad hocism on a serious and emotive issue that affects the people of Tamil Nadu”, Jayalalithaa said in a letter she wrote to the Prime Minister. Copies of the letter were made available to the media here.
 
She recalled to the PM that she had written to him on this issue thrice last year—July 16, August 25 and August 28—and regretted that despite her several protests and the strong public sentiment in Tamil Nadu, besides the resolutions passed in the TN Assembly condemning Colombo’s hostility aga­in­st Tamils, the Indian Gov­ern­ment had chosen to “cla­ndestinely” permit the two officers, Wing
 
Com­mander M S Bandara Dass­anayake and Major C S Harishchandra Hetti­ara­ch­chige, to the Wellington training programme. 
 
Strongly urging the PM to get the two Lankan officers immediately sent back to their country, Jayalalithaa reiterated her demand that Delhi should issue “a clear policy directive” not to provide training or engage in any form of cooperation with the Lankan armed forces until “satisfactory and credible action” is taken by Colombo to completely stop the human rights violations against the Tamils in Sri Lanka and also the illegal attacks on fishermen of Tamil Nadu.