New York, NY (PRWEB) May 11, 2009
Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalitha promised that she will support efforts to create a Tamil homeland within the island nation of Sri Lanka. Her statement brought world-wide praise, including a letter from a Tamil American group calling her "The Protector of the Tamils."
Ms. Jayalalitha, who had formerly supported a united Sri Lanka, changed her position after seeing videos and news reports of Sri Lankan government atrocities inflicted on Tamil civilians.
The former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also raised the memory of Indira Gandhi's use of the Indian army to end similar atrocities in East Bengal, suggesting that she would favor armed intervention in Sri Lanka. "Did not Indira Gandhi succeed in the formation of Bangladesh?" she thundered in a public meeting in the southern Indian town of Erode.
Tamils for Obama, a politically active group of Tamil Americans, sent Ms. Jayalalitha a letter praising her stand on the matter of the Tamil homeland. The letter included the sentence "If no one has yet called you 'The Protector of the Tamils' let us be the first."
A spokesman for Tamils for Obama said "We applaud Ms. Jayalalitha's brave support of the cause of Tamil Eelam. We hope that Tamils in Tamil Nadu will support her with their votes, which of course we in North America can not do. "
The Indian political magazine Chennai Online wrote "This is an indication of her urge to transcend the local scene and enter the national vista." Recently the Sri Lankan issue, which was always of importance in Tamil Nadu, has gained national attention in India.
The text of Tamils for Obama's letter can be read in English at: http://www.tamilsforobama.com/Letters/English_jaya.html
Tamil language version of the press release and the letter can be read at: http://www.tamilsforobama.com/Letters/Tamil_jaya.html
Tamils are an ethnic group living mainly in the northeast of Sri Lanka and southern India. They are a minority population in Sri Lanka, and are currently bearing the brunt of a civil war they regard as genocide. One third of the Tamil population has fled the island and formed a substantial diaspora overseas. Tamils for Obama is comprised of Tamils who have settled in the U.S. or who were born in the U.S.
To contact the group, call at (617) 765- 4394 and speak to, or leave a message for, the Communication Director, Tamils for Obama.
http://www.TamilsForObama.com
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