A humble appeal to Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh

Dr Ravi malhotra

There are many instances in the World history where well-educated and matured Prime Ministers and Presidents of various countries have made wrong decisions and serious blunders, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or by an oversight, causing significant downfall and irreversible damages to those countries. India has now reached a similar critical stage.

The Sri Lankan Government is in the process of systematically and successfully eliminating the terrorism from their soil and liberating the innocent Tamil civilians being held by the LTTE (better known as Tamil Tigers) as a human shield against their wish. We regret that the pro-LTTE politicians in the state of Tamil Nadu are pressurising our Prime Minister Shri Dr Manmohan Singh to pressurise the Sri Lanka Government to enter into a ceasefire agreement (CFA) with the world’s deadliest terrorist organisation, the LTTE.

It is a well-known open secret that it is India who created the LTTE for reasons known only to late Prime Minster of India Mrs Indira Gandhi and her close associates. It is a fact and not a fiction.

During the past three decades, the people of Sri Lanka, Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims have suffered enough from the terrorist activities of the LTTE.

Only a person who has seen the horrible scenes following either a bomb blast or a suicide attack could comprehend it. I have witnessed the consequences of terrorism three weeks ago when terrorists attacked my home city, Mumbai.

I have seen innocent people screaming, unconscious, dead and blown to pieces. Hon Prime Minister; You may have not seen those suffering from your own eyes. That should not have happened anywhere in the world, even to an animal.

At a time when Sri Lanka is about to eliminate LTTE terrorists following a prolonged period of suffering, it is unfortunate to see that few selfish politicians in South India, once again, are stepping out to drag Sri Lanka back to suffering by taking unnecessary actions, which will definitely help the LTTE and also the separatist movements in India.

Hon Prime Minister; you may recall that V. Gopalsamy (better known as VaiKo), glorified the terror act of LTTE when they attacked the Colombo International Airport in Sri Lanka. It is on record; while addressing the public at a meeting, Vaiko declared, the boys were all less than 20 years old, entered the airport with ease, devastated many aircraft, and caused extensive damage to the airport.

I am proud of the boys, since after causing huge loss all the boys returned safely without any loss of life’.

Hon Prime Minister; Do you approve this criminal statement?

Soon after the failed assassination bid of former President of Sri Lanka, Mrs Chandrika Kumarathunga, the racist pro-LTTE politician Vaiko publically said “She needs to be lucky every time, but we need to be lucky only once”.

Do you understand the hidden meaning of this criminal statement? Hon Prime Minister; Do you approve this criminal statement?

These two criminal statements should be more than enough to refresh your memory if you have forgotten the true colors of Vaiko. Now, it is the same Vaiko and the gang who are demanding you to pressurise the Sri Lankan Government. Has Sri Lankan Government ever pressurised Indian Government on our internal affairs? No. So, if that is the case, why should the Indian Government pressurise the Sri Lankan Government on their internal affairs? Is it fair?

Let them handle their own business, internal affairs etc. In this particular case, the Sri Lankan Government has proven without any doubt that they can successfully resolve this issue by themselves provided that other countries do not interfere. The leader of the LTTE, mass murderer, Velupillai Pirapaharan is wanted by INTERPOL. Are you aware Pirapaharan is wanted by India too for the assassination of our former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi ?

Under these circumstances, I cannot understand how a person like you, the Prime Minister of India, has not rejected the demands by Vaiko and the gang? In fact, you should have immediately ordered Indian law enforcement authorities to arrest Vaiko and the gang under the prevailing laws in India.

We are proud of your recent statement made at the Lok Sabha, “There are no good terrorists and bad terrorists.” Yes, terrorism any where is terrorism everywhere. Nothing could justify the killing of innocent civilians and the wanton destruction of property including national assets.

We expect you to implement your statement, not only to India, but also to other countries including Sri Lanka. Hon Prime Minister; In the name of humanity, our humble appeal to you is.

India has produced her greatest sons such as Mahathma Gandhi and Jawarlahal Nehru. Follow their foot-steps;

Our former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did the worst crime in the contemporary history to our friendly neighbouring country Sri Lanka by breeding, nurturing and training the LTTE-Tamil Tigers in Indian soil perhaps to destabilise the economically emerging Sri Lanka; Do not repeat the same crime again; Now you have the opportunity to undo it;

Leave party politics aside, do not surrender to the racist and unfair demands by pro-LTTE Tamil politicians in the state of Tamil Nadu;

People of Sri Lanka too are innocent human beings; Sri Lanka and India are blood relatives. We share common values and culture. Do not show the strength of your mussels to them; Practice the teachings of India’s icon, her greatest son, Mahatma Gandhi;

Sri Lanka is systematically and successfully eliminating the terrorism from her soil. Please leave them alone; do not interfere with their internal matters; Help them, if our assistance is sought by the Sri Lankan Authorities;

At this critical juncture, the whole civilised world is watching your actions. India’s future and credibility are in your hands.

Please do not let down India, the people of India and Indians successfully living in other parts of the world, in front of the civilised world community.

(The writer is President, Front Against Terrorist (FAT) Mumbai, India)