Shadow Internet edition of Tamil Alai launched

[TamilNet, Monday, 29 March 2004, 15:38 GMT]
A shadow edition of Tamil Alai, a newspaper controlled by the renegade Karuna group in Kokkadichcholai in Batticaloa, appeared on the internet on Monday with the name “Thamil Alai,” competing with the Karuna group’s internet edition and signaling growing disenchantment in the East with the renegade group, sources said.

Addressing the fighting cadres in the East who are currently with the Karuna group, the editorial committee of the shadow edition said in its introductory edition Monday that their shadow group had split from the renegade group’s Tamil Alai in order “to uphold truth and justice at a time when Tamil unity is facing dire threats" from the renegade group.

The editors said that their lives were in great danger as a result of their split from the Tamil Alai group, but they were sure that their path was just and part of the broader struggle for the success of the Tamil cause.

They said that in the past few weeks, they were under pressure to follow the orders of the Karuna group, but that they could no longer “remain silent in the face of the grossly anti-national activities of Karuna [Mr. Vinayagamoorthy Muraleetharan]. It would be a historic betrayal of the struggle.”

The editors also requested expatriate Tamils and media to desist from condemning the entire Tamil people of the Batticaloa-Amparai district based on the actions of the Karuna group.

The shadow edition said that the people in the East are clear about their commitment to Tamil nationalism, and though temporary pressures may not allow them to express it openly, leaflets and bills on the walls have started appearing in the region against the Karuna group.

“The people who are silent as a result of the renegade group’s actions should not be condemned as 'traitors,' as different people react differently under threats and pressure,” the editors said.

External Links:

Thamil Alai:

www.thamilalai.net