Jayalalithaa reiterates her opposition to LTTE

CHENNAI - AIADMK chief J. Jayalalithaa Tuesday reiterated her opposition to the Tamil Tigers, noting it assassinated former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and several moderate Sri Lankan Tamil leaders.

Reacting to a statement by DMK chief and Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi earlier, she said: “Karunanidhi thinks that by making me appear as an opponent of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), he can paint me as anti-Tamilian.

“Right through the 1980s, (AIADMK founder) MGR and I supported the LTTE-led struggle for the rights and freedom of the Tamil masses of Sri Lanka.

“But when killings of Tamil moderates, members of rival Tamil militant groups and finally a much loved former prime minister of India took place, it was obvious the outfit of freedom fighters had turned into terrorists. From that point onwards, I had the courage to oppose the LTTE. Karunanidhi does not have that courage and never did,” she added.

Declaring that she never condemned the annihilation of the LTTE at the hands of the Sri Lankan military last year, Jayalalithaa said she, however, denounced the “wanton killings” of surrendering LTTE cadres.

“I condemn the killing of 50,000 unarmed civilians coming out of their bunkers, lured into believing that the war had come to an end,” she said.

Karunanidhi had questioned Jayalalithaa’s support for Sri Lankan Tamils, pointing out that her government had passed two resolutions in the state assembly - one urging Colombo to arrest LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran and hand him over to India to face trial in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and the second not to allow any LTTE member gain entry into India.