lkdood
11-24-2008, 07:19 PM
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Monday called for a meeting of all state party leaders on Tuesday to discuss "the worsening situation of minority Tamils in Sri Lanka."
"Two members from each party that is represented in the assembly, including the leader and the head of its legislature, have been requested to attend. The meeting has been called following personal discussions with PMK leader S Ramadoss," Karunanidhi said.
Invitations have been sent to leaders of all parties, including MDMK head Vaiko. This urgent meeting has been called to discuss the "worsening situation of suffering Tamils of Sri Lanka," he added.
The PMK and MDMK have been demanding that Sri Lanka ensure that no member of the minority Tamil community in the country is killed during military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
PMK sources told IANS that Ramadoss had agreed to attend the meeting.
This is the second meeting of political parties called by Karunanidhi. The earlier meeting in October, demanding proactive action by India to force Colombo to halt military operations against Tamils and stop military aid to Sri Lanka, had resulted in a unanimous resolution by all political parties represented in the Parliament to resign from their seats by October 29.
Though all the MPs of the ruling DMK in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had handed in their post-dated resignations to the chief minister, they were not forwarded to the relevant authorities following a meeting between Karunanidhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on October 26.
Admitting that India supplied non-lethal military hardware to Sri Lanka which had the dual use of safeguarding Indian defence assets in southern Tamil Nadu, Mukherjee had said India believed in the solution of the Tamil problem in Sri Lanka through political negotiations.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited New Delhi earlier this month and ruled out cessation of the war against LTTE but promised to avoid killing of Tamil civilians and safeguard their interests.
sify (http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=14804326)
"Two members from each party that is represented in the assembly, including the leader and the head of its legislature, have been requested to attend. The meeting has been called following personal discussions with PMK leader S Ramadoss," Karunanidhi said.
Invitations have been sent to leaders of all parties, including MDMK head Vaiko. This urgent meeting has been called to discuss the "worsening situation of suffering Tamils of Sri Lanka," he added.
The PMK and MDMK have been demanding that Sri Lanka ensure that no member of the minority Tamil community in the country is killed during military action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
PMK sources told IANS that Ramadoss had agreed to attend the meeting.
This is the second meeting of political parties called by Karunanidhi. The earlier meeting in October, demanding proactive action by India to force Colombo to halt military operations against Tamils and stop military aid to Sri Lanka, had resulted in a unanimous resolution by all political parties represented in the Parliament to resign from their seats by October 29.
Though all the MPs of the ruling DMK in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha had handed in their post-dated resignations to the chief minister, they were not forwarded to the relevant authorities following a meeting between Karunanidhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on October 26.
Admitting that India supplied non-lethal military hardware to Sri Lanka which had the dual use of safeguarding Indian defence assets in southern Tamil Nadu, Mukherjee had said India believed in the solution of the Tamil problem in Sri Lanka through political negotiations.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited New Delhi earlier this month and ruled out cessation of the war against LTTE but promised to avoid killing of Tamil civilians and safeguard their interests.
sify (http://sify.com/news/politics/fullstory.php?id=14804326)