She also urged the centre to cancel the programme which was against the Tamil people and to send back the Lankan Air force personnel immediately.

In a strongly worded statement released today Ms Jayalalithaa said that at a time when voices of human rights agencies  worldwide had asked the Indian government, of which the DMK was a part, to pressure the Sri Lankan government to ensure that the Lankan Tamils, who were displaced during the ethnic war in Sri Lanka, got back their rights and were able to live their life on a par with the Sinhalese - the report that 9 Lankan Air force personnel had come to Tamil Nadu to undergo 9 months of training at the Tambaram Airforce Station had virtually driven a dagger through the hearts of the Tamil people.

The Chief Minister strongly condemned this move of the Union government which was against the Tamil people and the Tamil race.

The Union government, which remained silent on the resolution passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly urging that India should join other countries in imposing an economic embargo on Sri Lanka until the Tamils, who were languishing in the camps in Sri Lanka, returned to their own homes and got equal rights on a par with the Sinhalese, was now imparting training to the Lankan Air force personnel in Tamil Nadu. This amounted to insulting the Tamils, she charged.

Ms Jayalalithaa said she would like to inform the Union government categorically that at a time when voices had been raised worldwide that action should be taken against those who operated against International war rules during the Lankan ethnic war, imparting training to Sri Lankan Air Force in India, and that too in Tamil Nadu was not only inappropriate but was also an overt act against the Tamil people.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa urged the Union government on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu that the centre should abort its move and immediately take steps to send the Sri Lankan Air Force personnel back.