Stepping up pressure on the Centre, key UPA ally DMK today said it has received ‘only disappointment’ from the Union government with regard to its stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue.

“So far, we have got only disappointment from whom we have been expecting a strong and stable announcement (on the issue),” DMK President M Karunanidhi said in his party organ “Murasoli”.

He was referring to recent statements of External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi that India would not interfere in the internal matters of another country. “It (such comments) has saddened the Tamils living the world over,” the DMK patriarch said.

On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh advocating direct talks between Colombo and Tamils, he said Dr Singh too had not given any firm assurance on India’s stand on the issue.

Mr Karunanidhi recalled past instances when India had “intervened” as in South Africa when apartheid was prevalent in that country and also when late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi extended India’s support to secure the release of freedom fighter Mujibur Rahman in Bangladesh.

“Those who constantly follow history will not fail to ask the question on intervention of one country in the internal matters of another country,” he said.

Claiming that international agencies and investigations have held Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse solely responsible for the killings of Tamils in the island nation, he requested Tamils in the state to participate with “single-mindedness” to support the dawn-to-dusk general strike called by Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) on March 12.

DMK-backed TESO has called for a general strike in Tamil Nadu on March 12 to mount pressure on the Centre to support US-sponsored resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council.

Source: Press Trust of India