Nadesan said whenever the Tamils in Northern Sri Lanka had faced "miseries" at the hands of Sri Lankan military, "the people of Tamil Nadu have expressed their support, beyond their political differences."

To another query, he said the Sri Lankan government and military chiefs have openly claimed that the Indian government has been giving them military assistance.

"The Indian government is silent over this comment. This is indeed an issue that saddens the Tamils, people in Tamil Nadu, and Tamils all over the world."

On Sri Lankan army chief Sarath Fonseka's recent comments in an interview to an overseas paper, that Island country was a Sinhala majority nation, Nadesan said "this shows that he is an irresponsible and immature military chief."

"I strongly believe that this country belongs to the Sinhalese but there are minority communities and we treat them like our people," Fonseka had said.

In reply to the offensive on the Northern areas by the security forces, Nadesan said "our homeland has been subjected to a severe economic blockade for many years. The current military action has displaced Tamils and many are living in forests."

"The (Sri Lankan) government is intent on brutally oppressing a group of people who are waging a struggle for their rights. Sadly, the media does not bring this out. I view this as a great human tragedy of the 21st century," he said.