Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing deep misgivings over the Indian Navy’s offer to train officers of the Sri Lankan Navy.
Explaining at length the reasons behind hostility to such training programmes for Lankan armed forces personnel in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa urged the Prime Minister to intervene to put an end to the “insensitive” policy. In her letter to the PM written on Saturday, Jayalalithaa pointed out that the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu were hurt at continued cooperation with the Lankan armed forces.
She cited the human rights violations against Sri Lankan Tamils during and after the island nation’s civil war and the continuing troubles of Tamil Nadu fishermen at the hands of the Sri Lankan Navy in the form of attacks and arrests as the primary reasons for the opposition.
“In utter disregard of the sentiments and emotions of the people of Tamil Nadu, the government of India is persisting with the policy of defence co-operation with the Sri Lankan armed forces. The commitment made by the government of India is tantamount to actively working with the Sri Lankan regime and providing them with the necessary wherewithal to act even more strongly
not only against the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka, but also against the poor Indian fishermen who regularly bear the brunt of the brutal attacks of the Sri Lankan Navy,” read Jayalalithaa’s letter.
“I wish to convey our strong protest against this insensitive policy, which totally ignores the impact it may have upon the feelings of the people of TN. I, therefore, request you to urgently review this policy and instruct the Ministry of Defence not to pursue the proposed training programme for Sri Lankan Naval officers.”