Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Condemnable attacks

All right-thinking people, including millions of readers of The Hindu, will undoubtedly stand by and share the concern expressed by its Editor-in Chief, N. Ram, in his well-timed and even-handed statement on the violence and mischief perpetrated by a pro-LTTE fringe group targeting the newspaper in Coimbatore and Erode. One may or may not agree with all that the media say. But opposition and dissent can be expressed by lawful means. The tendency to gag the press by resorting to unruly and illegal acts is dangerous and condemnable.

V.K. Sathyavan Nair,

Kottayam

The senseless attack on the newspaper’s office in Coimbatore is highly condemnable. No right-thinking person will support the LTTE, which is the most ruthless and inhuman terrorist outfit. One hopes the Sri Lankan military will remove the terrorists from the scene and bring relief to the suffering innocent Tamils as soon as possible.

J.J. Sundararaj,

Kanyakumari

A vast majority of educated Tamils endorse Mr. Ram’s views and do not support the LTTE. The threat by the political parties of Tamil Nadu — that their MPs will resign if the Centre does not ensure a ceasefire in Sri Lanka within two weeks — should be taken with a pinch of salt. The people of the State voted for them to address their issues, not to impose their whims on another sovereign nation. We do not approve of Pakistan or the U.S. intervening in the Kashmir issue. We should apply the same yardstick with respect to the civil war in Sri Lanka.

J. David Rajkumar,

Erode

The vandalism resorted to by the activists of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam is condemnable. Many may differ with the views expressed in the article “The dangers of Tamil chauvinism” (Oct. 14) by Malini Parthasarathy. Many letters have appeared in The Hindu in support of the article and against it. I refer to the letter written by a Sri Lankan Tamil, Thambiah Sabarutnam, from Mullaitivu (Oct. 17) who, in principle, supports the contents of the article, apart from outlining the atrocities being committed by the LTTE on the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Is the PDK more representative of them than a Sri Lankan Tamil?

Raghu Seshadri,

Chennai

Mr. Ram’s statement reflects the view of not only The Hindu’s employees but all the well-meaning citizens of the country. Tolerance of dissent is the basic character of democracy. The leaders of the PDK should apologise in word and deed. All political parties should treat such incidents seriously.

P.R.V. Raja,

Pandalam

The attack on The Hindu office is similar to the attacks by Hindu, Muslim and other obscurantist outfits whose violent acts against the freedom of expression have become routine, with the state watching helplessly. The growing intolerance, that too, in the name of the great rationalist and social reformer, Periyar, is a blot on the fair reputation of the liberal people of Tamil Nadu. The article in question adroitly exposed the doublespeak of our politicians on terrorism. The interests of the Sri Lankan Tamils should be addressed by encouraging its society to expedite the economic and democratic freedom of the Tamils.

Kasim Sait,

Chennai

For too long, Sri Lanka has been bleeding, thanks to the uncompromising attitude of both Colombo and LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran. The deadline set by the Tamil MPs is unrealistic. Peace negotiators have tried for years to bring both the parties to a working solution without success.

D.B.N. Murthy,

Bangalore

Many political parties and pro-LTTE elements in Tamil Nadu were vehemently opposed to sending the IPKF to Sri Lanka when Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. Today, the same people want New Delhi to intervene. When the Tamil Nadu government is not able to procure the basic water rights from its own southern neighbours, the drama over Sri Lankan Tamils is out of place.

S. Ramachandrasekaran,

Chennai

Thanks to the LTTE, a beautiful island nation has been destroyed. It is only a matter of time before the Sri Lankan army defeats the Tigers. Let us not intervene and provide an opportunity to the LTTE to regroup.

Air Commodore V.V. Nair (retd.),

Manipal

There is no point in the political parties of Tamil Nadu bringing pressure on India to intervene in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka just because the suffering Tamils happen to be of Indian origin. Sri Lanka has not requested India for help. If at all an intervention is needed, it is for the United Nations to act.

Chelakkad Rajam,

Kochi

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