Eezham Tamils face isolation after Jayalalithaa’s demise: ITAK Youth Leader

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 December 2016, 23:20 GMT]
The late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms Jayalalithaa, came forward with statesmanship to articulate the aspirations of Eezham Tamils to the Indian Government in New Delhi and to the powers elsewhere. Her untimely death has created a deep fear among the Eezham Tamils. They feel that they are about to face increased isolation without a strong leader in Tamil Nadu, said V.S. Sivaharan, the youth wing leader of Ilangkai Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (ITAK).



Eezham Tamils, without political leadership after Mu’l’livaaykkaal, have been struggling as if they were in a vacuum as their de-facto political structures were all destroyed in 2009.

But, Ms Jayalaithaa rose to the power in Tamil Nadu and articulated the real aspirations of Eezham Tamils in a number of landmark resolutions at Tamil Nadu State Assembly, including the unanimous call for UN plebiscite on Tamil Eelam, Mr Sivaharan said.

The nation of Eezham Tamils, both in the island and in the diaspora, is in total disarray after Mu’l’livaaykkaal in 2009.

The void created by her demise is being greatly felt by Eezham Tamils world over, the youth wing leader of ITAK said.

The need for a strong Tamil Nadu and proper guidance to the Tamil diaspora which is becoming increasingly astray is being increasingly felt on the ground by Eezham Tamils, Mr Sivaharan said.

A critic of ITAK’s Colombo-based politics and its collaborative path being adopted by leaders lacking statesmanship, Sivaharan, who hails from Mannaar, has been trying to course-correct the deteriorating ITAK from within its ranks.

Chronology: