Tamil Nationalist Movement leader Pazha Nedumaran called for 'an immediate end to the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka' and demanded that the Indian government 'spell out its stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils'.

Even as two dozen more refugees arrived in Tamil Nadu from war-torn northern Sri Lanka on Saturday, two state ministers began inspecting a transit camp for them.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has asked Suba Thangavelan and K.R. Periyakaruppan to study conditions in the refugee camps.

After visiting the transit camp at Mandapam in Ramanathapuram district where the refugees are being taken first, the ministers told reporters that there were about 3,200 refugees in the camp.

They announced that the government would allocate Rs.3.3 million for repairing of shelters and basic amenities in the transit camp. They said other camps - numbering more than 100 - would also be inspected soon.

The supervision started after reports said that thamil Nadu government was not doing enough for the refugees fleeing Sri Lanka in the wake of the escalation of the strife between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Meanwhile, various Tamil nationalist groups urged the central government to send an all-party delegation to Sri Lanka to assess the condition of the people living in Tamil-dominated areas.

Speaking at a meeting of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Supporters Coordination Council in Madurai Friday, MDMK leader Vaiko said Tamils could be attacked by Sri Lankan forces after Thursday's bomb blast that killed 64 in Colombo.

'The Indian government should extend support to them, as they are our blood brothers,' Vaiko said.

He also asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to talk to Tamil MPs in Sri Lanka. He said New Delhi must stop supplying arms to the Sri Lankan army.

Speaking in Chennai, Dalit Panthers of India leader T. Thirumavalavan and Tamil Nationalist Movement leader Pazha Nedumaran called for 'an immediate end to the killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka' and demanded that the Indian government 'spell out its stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils'.

'Last month alone, more than 3,000 Tamils were forced to flee the island. How can any Tamil keep quiet over these excesses?' Thirumavalavan asked.

Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, however, Saturday lambasted Vaiko and other Tamil Nationalist Movement leaders for seeking India's involvement in Sri Lanka. He said the strife in the island was due to the refusal of the Sinhala majority to adopt a federal constitution and also because of the LTTE.

By courtesy Daily India

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