You saw election results in Tamil Nadu. Would you agree that the Eelam issue did not find acceptance as an election issue with the people of the state?

I don't think the feelings and the views of the people of Tamil Nadu with regard to the rights of the Tamils in Sri Lanka can be determined by the electoral results. The people are convinced that the Sri Lankan state is not genuinely interested and are convinced that the Sri Lankan government is trying to inflict a military solution on the Tamil people.

My own view is that the Tamil people are clear and are fully supportive of the struggle of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka.

Of course, in Tamil Nadu, the DMK supports that position. The AIADMK, the PMK, Vaiko, Tirumavalavan all support that. Even the Congress supports that. It is only a question of degree.

So I don't think that voting for any one party in Tamil Nadu can be related exclusively to the question in Sri Lanka. In some areas, in some constituencies it might have had some impact. Thus I don't think the elections in any way reflect a weakness or ambiguity with regard to the support of Tamil Nadu for the aspirations of Tamils in Sri Lanka. People may not accept the LTTE, but they definitely support the Tamil people.