The Hindu : Front Page : Police stop Nedumaran’s boat journey

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 13, 2007
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Police stop Nedumaran’s boat journey

S. Ganesan and C. Jaishankar

Tamil Nationalist Movement leader and 300 others arrested, released

— Photo: M. Srinath

RELIEF MATERIAL: Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P. Nedumaran and Supporters of Freedom for Tamil Eelam Coordination Committee members showing medicines and food collected for Sri Lankan Tamils.

NAGAPATTINAM: The Tamil Nationalist Movement leader P. Nedumaran, along with over 300 members of various affiliate organisations of the Co-ordination Committee of Supporters of Freedom for Tamil Ealam, was taken into custody by the police at Nagapattinam on Wednesday when he resorted to a fast-unto-death after an abortive boat journey to deliver medicines and food to Tamils in Jaffna. They were released in the evening. The agitators were forced to give up the campaign as fishermen refused to make available a boat. Mr. Nedumaran had led a march from Tiruchi to Nagapattinam to carry the Rs. 1-crore worth consignment to Sri Lanka as the State and Central governments did not clear a request to send it through the Indian Red Cross. The organisers alleged that the police had threatened fishermen against lending their boats to them. Police officers, however, claimed that the fishermen panchayats had decided against giving their boats for the agitation.

Earlier, high drama prevailed in the town as Mr. Nedumaran led a short march from the railway station to the fishing jetty near the Nagapattinam port. Many of those who took part in the rally had a picture of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader V. Prabakaran on their shirts. At first, the police did not make any move to arrest the organisers when they reached the fishing jetty as anticipated by them.

After some sloganeering, they moved over to the First Line Beach Road, where Mr. Nedumaran announced that he would go on a fast-unto-death until the Indian government permitted them to send the consignment to the “starving” Tamils in Sri Lanka. The other marchers, he said, would observe a token fast for a day.

But Revenue officials told Mr. Nedumaran that the fast amounted to unlawful assembly. Thereafter, the police moved in quickly to arrest Mr. Nedumaran and over 320 others, including members of the Tamizhar Desa Podhu Udaimai Katchi, Tamizh Desiya Viduthalai Iyyakkam, Tamizhar Kazhagam and National League.

In Rameswaram too, the marchers were unable to proceed for want of boats. They sat at the jetty for about 90 minutes shouting slogans. Anticipating trouble, a Seaward Defence Boat T-60 of the Indian Navy and Habba Khautun, an in-shore ship and interceptor craft C-138 of the Coast Guard, were deployed in the Palk Strait.

A marcher jumped into the sea to take control of a rubber boat of the Navy. Immediately, about 50 others barged into the Naval jetty where some mechanised boats of the Navy were anchored. Some of them boarded the Navy boats with small boxes of rice and medicine. However, the police removed the activists from the spot.

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