Ready to pay any price: Karunanidhi

“We are ready to pay any price to stop the annihilation of the Tamil race in Sri Lanka, whose future has become a question mark,” said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi here on Saturday.

In a statement, the Chief Minister said he was disturbed over the sufferings of the Sri Lankan Tamils. But there was a silver lining as both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had strongly backed the resolutions adopted at the all-party meet here on October 14.

The Prime Minister in an interview had categorically said India had been pressing for a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka as there could not be a military solution to the ethnic issue.

The Prime Minister also expressed his concern over the harassment and killing of Tamil fishermen by the Sri Lankan Navy. This showed the Prime Minister’s support to the Tamils.

Mr. Mukherjee in a statement on Thursday said the situation in the island was causing anxiety and innocent Tamils had become victims of circumstances for which they were not responsible. India wanted Sri Lanka to honour the rights of Tamils and no attempt should be made to prevent the movement of food and other essential commodities to them. He had reiterated that a political solution alone would satisfy the feelings of all people in Sri Lanka, Mr. Karunanidhi said.

These statements, the Chief Minister said, had given hope that the Central government would step in to save the suffering Tamils in the island.

Source: Hindu