Separate Tamil Eelam not a threat to India: Vaiko

New Delhi, Dec 3: Maintaining that the creation of a separate Tamil Eelam is the only solution to the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka, MDMK General Secretary Vaiko says this will not pose any threat to the unity and integrity of India in the form of a separatist movement in Tamil Nadu.

Carving out a Tamil Eelam from Sri Lanka is like the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 which did not result in a separatist movement in West Bengal, Mr Vaiko pointed out in his interview to Mr Karan Thapar for the ''Devil's Advocate'' programme for the CNN-IBN news channel.

While the Tamils of Tamil Nadu feel they are very much part of India, the Tamils of Sri Lanka do not have similar sentiments due to their subjugation for several decades, the MDMK supremo said.

Fielding very uncomfortable questions, Mr Vaiko said armed struggle was the only trusted method to gain independence as it had worked in Cuba, Vietnam and many other countries and India was the only exception to this.

Asked about the possible role of India in Sri Lanka, he said Tamils of the island nation should be allowed to decide their own destiny.

Replying to queries, he said his support for LTTE chief V Prabhakaran did not come in the way of his party's ties with either the Congress or the AIADMK despite the fact that both Ms Sonia Gandhi and Ms J Jayalalithaa were dead against the LTTE and its armed struggle.

''This is an emotional issue. This does not come in the way of cordiality.'' At the same, his party had not sacrificed its stand on LTTE, which it considered the sole representative of the Sri Lankan Tamils, or its ideologies, the same way the Left parties had kept their's while extending outside support to the UPA government.

The MDMK also was not part of the government, but was supporting the UPA, partly on its own and partly due to a request from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, he said. ''We want to continue in the UPA provided we are properly respected and given due regards.'' Mr Vaiko denied that he had undertaken a secret mission to Sri Lanka in 1989 endangering the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) and thwarting the purpose of then Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's visit to the island at the instance of then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

He said he had left for Sri Lanka before Mr Karunanidhi met Mr Gandhi and that the DMK leader was telling a lie in this regard.

Strongly denying any links between LTTE and ULFA, Mr Vaiko said his support to the Tamil tigers was neither conditional nor unconditional and his consistent stand on the issue was known to the people.

Asked about his scathing attacks against Mr Karunanidhi and Ms Jayalalithaa and still forging alliances with them alternately, he said political tie-ups were decided collectively by his party forum, keeping in view the interest of the people.

To a question how he was supporting the Congress which was promoting dynasty, particularly after breaking away from the DMK citing Mr Karunanidhi's attempt to make his son M K Stalin to succeed the DMK chief as the reason, he said Ms Gandhi had in fact declined to become the Prime Minister. This showed that the Congress President was not for dynasty.

UNI

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