 |
|
Vaiko is in trouble for supporting LTTE.
|
By
IOL South Asia Correspondent
NEW
DELHI, July 5 (IslamOnline) - A key ally of the ruling National
Democratic Alliance and member of Parliament, Mr. Vaiko, is the first
leading Indian politician to be charged under the anti-terrorist law
(POTA) passed early this year. Vaiko's support to the LTTE (Liberation
Tigers for Tamil Elam) brought certain action against him by Tamil Nadu
state government.
Both
the Minister of State for Home Affairs, ID Swamy, and BJP spokesman,
Arun Jaitley, former minister of law, came out openly Friday, June 5, to
claim that there is no case against their ally. The LTTE, which had
assassinated the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991, is
banned in India. Under POTA, even support to a banned organisation is a
crime.
“I
have asked my ministry to give a report. But it’s a matter concerning
the State Government. What can I say?” said Deputy PM and Home
Minister LK Advani.
A
central government official said here that Vaiko’s booking under POTA
by Tamil Nadu police was “expected” but “will not lead
anywhere…POTA cannot be used to settle political scores. This is a
classic case of its misuse. Vaiko’s stand on LTTE is well-known, so
why book him now for making speeches,” he said on the condition of
anonymity.
The
police in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu Thursday, July 4,
registered a case against the MDMK general secretary and member of
Parliament under various sections of POTA and the Indian Penal Code.
Along seven other members of his party, Vaiko has been charged for
making a pro-LTTE speech on June 29 this year.
Vaiko
represents Sivakasi constituency in the Indian Parliament. He is a known
supporter of a Sri Lanka terrorist organisation Liberation Tigers for
Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Reports of Vaiko being charged under POTA
immediately sparked tension in parts of his parliamentary constituency
in Virudhunagar district.
LTTE
had been fighting for a sovereign Tamil Eelam, a separate homeland for
Sri Lankan Tamil community to be carved out of the island-nation of Sri
Lanka. LTTE had been fighting a protracted guerrilla war with the Sri
Lankan government for the past two decades.
LTTE
was banned in India after the assassination of former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. LTTE accused India of helping the Sri Lanka
government in its fight against the Tamils. It alleges that ethnic
Sinhalese were dominant in Sri Lanka and the Tamils were compelled to
live under their subjugation. Rajiv Gandhi, during his tenure as prime
minister, had sent the ill-fated Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in
Sri Lanka to help the government fight the LTTE.
This
is for the first time that POTA has been invoked in the southern state
of Tamil Nadu which is inhabited by Tamils. The move came barely two
days after the state chief minister Jayalalithaa declared her
government’s resolve to arrest Vaiko for his pro-LTTE utterances.
Vaiko
made a speech at a meeting organised in Tirumnagalam on June 29 in which
he is alleged to have said that “I was, I am and I will continue to be
a supporter of the LTTE.” He is also accused of having claimed that
the LTTE was not promoting terrorism and its sole cause was the
liberation of the Tamils in Sri Lanka.
A
police report submitted to the state government said, “The speech of
the above said persons instigates the public, that it is not wrong to
support an organisation which has been banned and exhorts the public to
go against the law by supporting an outlawed organisation…The speeches
are likely to endanger nation’s security and integrity as per the
provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.”
The
invoked POTA provisions say that a person commits an offence if he
arranges, manages or assists in arranging or managing a meeting which he
knows is (a) to support a terrorist organisation, (b) to further the
activities of a terrorist organisation, and that a person commits an
offence if he addresses a meeting for the purpose of encouraging support
for a terrorist organisation or to further its activities. Anybody found
guilty under either of these provisions is liable to be sentenced up to
10 years.
According
to police officials, steps have been initiated by Intelligence officials
to collect the audio and video cassettes of the speeches made by the
MDMK leader and his party colleagues during the past year at various
places. A top police official said that Vaiko not only made pro-LTTE
speeches in public meetings, but also in meetings organised by various
Tamil fora, literary societies and pro-LTTE organisations.
Vaiko
is presently in Chicago, and is likely to be arrested when he lands in
state capital Chennai on July 12.
Speaking
to Star News TV channel from Chicago, Vaiko said that he would not be
browbeaten by the “fascist” government’s action. He alleged that
the chief minister Jayalalithaa was keen on putting her political
opponents behind bars. Dismissing Jayalalithaa’s threat as vindictive
and politically motivated, Vaiko argued that he and his MDMK party had
always spoken in support of the LTTE as the Lankan Tamil outfit had made
many “sacrifices” in its war against the “oppressive” Sinhala
regimes in Sri Lanka. He accused Jayalalithaa of indirectly helping the
Sri Lankan president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, who was bent on sabotaging
the peace initiative with the Tamil Tigers. “I am prepared to face any
eventuality,” Vaiko told.
The
MDMK has two ministers in the NDA government at the Centre. Vaiko had
vocally supported POTA when it was debated in Lok Sabha, the lower house
of Indian Parliament.
Tamil
Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s action against Vaiko has put the
NDA government in a spot. On one hand MDMK is an ally of the central
government and has two ministers in it, while on the other AIADMK of
Jayalalithaa is giving "issue-based support" to the central
government which, as a result, finds itself in a piquant situation. The
opposition parties stand vindicted since POTA seems to be misused to
settle “political” scores with opponents. It may also be recalled
that POTA was especially brought to clamp down on the terrorists after
December 13 attack on the Indian Parliament amid very strong popular and
political opposition.
