The Tamil Nadu assembly on Wednesday demanded the Central government move a resolution in the UN Security Council for a referendum in Sri Lanka for a separate Tamil state and stop treating the country as a friendly nation, besides calling for economic sanctions on Colombo “till it stops oppression” against its Tamil citizens.
The state assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in this regard, which also called for an international probe into the allegations of “genocide and war crimes” in the island nation.
A UNSC resolution for referendum in Sri Lanka should suggest that all Tamils in that country and Tamils with Sri Lankan origin living in other countries should have the right to participate in the referendum, chief minister J Jayalalithaa told the assembly.
“The Sri Lankan government, even now, considers Tamils in Sri Lanka as second class citizens. However, the government of India is not paying heed to the demands of Tamils and is indifferent to the demands,” she added.
Jayalalithaa further lashed out at the United Progressive Alliance government, saying the coalition government at the Centre, which till early this month had the support of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), had remained a supporter of the Sri Lankan government during the war.
DMK revived the Tamil Elam Supporters’ Organisation only after the party lost power in the State, she said. While DMK still says it had sacrificed the alliance with the Central government in support for the Tamils, T R Baalu, the parliamentary member from DMK, sill heads the standing committee on railways, the chief minister added.
