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Karunanidhi proposes Czechoslovak model for ending Sri Lankan crisis

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N Sathiya Moorthy in Madras

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has cited the Czechoslovakian model to end the ethnic strife in neighbouring Sri Lanka.

"The world hates bloodshed these days, and Czechoslovakia separated without bloodshed," he said at a public meeting to celebrate his 77th birthday in Madras on Saturday.

Karunanidhi's proposal of the Czechoslovakian model was a bolder statement of his veiled suggestion for a peaceful settlement to the war in Sri Lanka. "If a peaceful settlement is not found, the Czechoslovakian model is the only way out for a bloodless resolution to the Sri Lankan crisis," the chief minister said. What got highlighted was the Czechoslovakian example, though the burden on his statement was on a peaceful solution.

Litterateur that he is, Karunanidhi likened the Sri Lankan tangle to marital disharmony, saying, "You cannot force an unhappy wife to stay put with the man by force."

The chief minister said he was opposed to a violent resolution of the dispute. The search for a solution through violence had only led to militancy and the influx of refugees into Tamil Nadu, he said.

But he was firm that India should not send troops to help the Sri Lankan forces battling to keep the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam out of Jaffna, and referred to the failure of the IPKF [Indian Peace-Keeping Force] experiment.

Karunanidhi's proposal came the very day the Marumalarchi DMK, a member, like his own DMK, of the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre, heeded his appeal and postponed its 'Tamils protection rally' planned for Monday, June 5.

Citing the provocative possibilities of the rally, the chief minister, torn between politics and administration, had suggested its withdrawal as his birthday wish. MDMK general secretary and one-time Karunanidhi aide Vaiko reacted suitably, and made the announcement at the DMK headquarters, where he greeted the chief minister.

Coming as it does alongside Prime Minister A B Vajpayee's call for Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to come out with peace proposals for the Tamils, and the deadlock in Jaffna, Karunanidhi's public suggestion seemingly siding with the LTTE is seen as an open invitation for the two sides to start negotiations.

With the Lankan government already seeking Indian help to end the ethnic strife, the statements by Vajpayee and Karunanidhi, and the prime minister's reiteration of his resolve to keep Indian troops out of the imbroglio, are an attempt to egg the LTTE on to negotiations, say observers.

"The calibrated Indian attempt to bring peace through negotiations has succeeded thus far," an informed source said. "To the extent that India is not seen as a partisan peace-maker by the LTTE and the Tamils, which image needs to be lived down in the IPKF aftermath, New Delhi cannot be seen as arming the Sri Lankan government -- at least not directly. And by publicly urging Kumaratunga to come out with her proposals for the Tamils, Vajpayee is also urging the Sinhala majority parties to use the current deadlock in battle to force the LTTE to the negotiating table."

Involving the Tamil civilians in the process, as Kumaratunga had succeeded in doing while winning the election five years ago, is one option available to the Sri Lankan government. This would imply that if the government's offer is as good for the civilian Tamils as it was the last time, even the LTTE may find it difficult to reject it.

But the Sinhala offer has to be supported by all major political parties, including the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the opposition United National Party. Absence of such support had derailed the 'Chandrika package' the last time.

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