Vijayakant to observe fast for cause of Sri Lankan Tamils

October 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday termed the central government's decision to send a team of MPs exclusively of the ruling coalition in Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka to observe the condition of displaced Tamils living in camps there as "partisan". The central government selected the delegation "without taking MPs from the opposition parties like AIADMK in Tamil Nadu", a statement from the CPI-M politburo said.

October 4th, 2009 CHENNAI - Pattali Makkal Katchi's founder S Ramadoss has demanded that the Indian Government should take steps to send back Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner Vadivel Krishnamoorthy. "The Sri Lankan Deputy High Commissioner here is functioning like Karuna and others there (in Sri Lanka).

September 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Actor-turned-politician and DMDK chief Vijayakant and his supporters observed a day-long hunger strike here Tuesday demanding "full freedom" for Sri Lankan Tamils in the island nation and protection for Indian fishermen against attacks by the Sri Lankan Navy. Hundreds of DMDK cadres travelled to Delhi from different parts of Tamil Nadu to participate in the strike that began at 9 a.m.

September 11th, 2009 CHENNAI - Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) leader V Gopalswamy, on Friday blamed the Government for failing to ease the plight of Sri Lanka's minority Tamil population. Gopalswamy accused it of maintaining double standards in dealing with the issue.

September 3rd, 2009 CHENNAI - Hundreds of activists of Dravidar Kazhagam party took to streets here against central government blaming it for not taking enough measures to urge Sri Lankan government in the resettlement of displaced Tamilians. The activists of the Dravidar Kazhagam party led by its President K Veeramani marched from the party office to the Chennai Central Railway Station raising slogans to stop the atrocities on their community member in Sri Lanka.

August 29th, 2009 CHENNAI - Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Saturday asked the Central Government to ensure more help for Sri Lankan Tamils. "The relief and rehabilitation steps being provided to Sri Lankan Tamils are not enough, many of the Tamilians in Sri Lanka are facing hardships and struggling with rain and therefore we demand more attention of the government towards this issue," Karunanidhi told reporters in Chennai.

August 28th, 2009 CHENNAI - An NGO in Chenai has demanded impartial international inquiry into war crimes against Tamils in Sri Lanka. The activists of "WE" held a press meet in Chennai city on Friday, condemning violent attacks on Tamils by Sri Lankan security forces.

July 25th, 2009 CHENNAI /COIMBATORE - Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief V. Gopalswamy has urged the UN to intervene in Sri Lanka for the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the island nation.

July 1st, 2009 CHENNAI - Safety and proper living conditions are the most important issues for the Tamil community in Sri Lanka at the moment, even if it means a change of stand for parties in Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi said in the assembly Wednesday.

April 29th, 2009 CHENNAI - Union Minister of State for Overseas Indian Affairs M Vayalar Ravi on Wednesday visited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi at his Gopalapuram residence to enquire about his health after the recent fast he kept for the Sri Lankan Tamil cause.

March 30th, 2009 CHENNAI - Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) would welcome creation of a separate 'Eelam', a homeland for the Sri Lankan Tamils provided it is created by a democratic process, said M Karunanidhi, DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Talking to the reporters here today, Karunanidhi said, "We will be glad if a separate Eelam is created (in Sri Lanka) by people voting for it." He accused the opposition parties of spreading rumours that DMK does not support Sri Lankan Tamils.

March 12th, 2009 CHENNAI - AIADMK Chief and former Tamil Nadu chief Minister Jayalalithaa has decided to go on a hunger strike for the Lankan-Tamil cause. Her huger strike will start in Chennai on Monday from 9 am to 5 pm.

March 10th, 2009 CHENNAI - Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and Leader of the Opposition J. Jayalalitha Monday said her party supported Sri Lankan Tamil's self-determination struggle within the island nation's constitutional framework.

March 10th, 2009 CHENNAI - Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and a staunch critic of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) J. Jayalalitha Monday observed a day-long fast, demanding 'equal status' for Sri Lankan Tamils in the island nation.

February 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Friday accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government of being 'insensitive' towards the cause of the Sri Lankan Tamils. 'The decades-old ethnic conflict of the country (Sri Lanka) can not be resolved by using brutal force and the central government is behaving insensitively towards the issue,' BJP's prime ministerial candidate L.K.