TRICHY: Sri Lankan member of parliament V S Radhakrishnan has dismissed theories about Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rearing its head again in his country. “Any chance of revival of LTTE in Sri Lanka is remote because the government is rehabilitating Sri Lankan Tamils,” he told reporters in Trichy on Saturday after calling on Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) national president K M Kader Mohideen.
“On the other hand, Sri Lankan Tamils face no threat to their safety and security under the government led by President Gotapaya Rajapaksa, though their wishes such as freedom of movement were not fulfilled. There is a sense of frustration among the people including Sinhalese towards the government,” he said.
The Sri Lankan Tamil MP appreciated the DMK government led by M K Stalin for rechristening the refugee camps as Sri Lankan Tamil rehabilitation camps and taking steps to provide better infrastructure to their people here. In this regard, Radhakrishnan also recalled the help rendered by the previous AIADMK government to Sri Lankan Tamils back home.
While insisting on dual citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India, Radhakrishnan said refugees in Tamil Nadu willing to return are welcome as the SL government will be providing all facilities to them. He described the BJP-led central government as friendly towards the Sri Lankan government but that some actions of the then Congress government in India were reasons for oppressing protesters in Sri Lanka during the final wars in 2009.
Radhakrishnan said his party had voted against the bill on the China-backed Port City. The MP linked the shortage of food in his country to the economic impact of Covid-19. “Sri Lankan economy is fully dependant on tourism. Our economy will revive in a matter of six months,” he said.