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Vaiko protests attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka, courts arrest

NAT92National/Diplomacy/Politics/RightsVaiko protests attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka, courts arrestChennai, Oct 10 IANS MDMK leader Vaiko Friday courted arrest here Friday, protesting against the central and state governments not doing enough to stop attacks against Tamils in Sri Lanka."Our protest is against both the central and state governments that are speaking with a forked tongue on the issue of the suffering Tamils of Sri Lanka. While the centre is colluding with Colombo's military machine indulging in genocide, the state government is issuing bland statements of eyewash," Vaiko told reporters before being arrested in the heart of the state capital.He was released later in the evening. AIADMK leader Jayalalitha had earlier blamed the LTTE for escalating the civil war that has killed "thousands of innocent civilians... including India's former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi", called for a halt of military aid to Sri Lanka and demanded that the minority Tamils of the neighbouring country be accorded opportunities to live honourably and peacefully in autonomous regions united by a federal government.The ruling DMK had Thursday called for an all party conference Oct 14 to discuss the issue, which both AIADMK and MDMK are slated to boycott. Jayalalitha had slammed Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi for not acting to save the minority Tamils of Sri Lanka from continuing suffering and quietly allowing the Indian government's collusion with the Sri Lankan military establishment.The Sri Lankan diplomatic mission here has, however, remained tight-lipped over the developments.During a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this month, Karunanidhi had demanded that India lodge a strong protest with the island's diplomatic mission in New Delhi against attacks on Tamils in Sri Lanka and Indian fishermen allegedly by the island's defence establishment.--Indo-Asian News Servicetsv/mv/vm306 Words10102322